Compress an Image Below 20 KB
Twenty kilobytes is the tightest limit most people meet, often on application portals for a photo or signature. Choose your image and the tool lowers quality, then size, until the file is at or below 20,000 bytes, and tells you plainly if it cannot.
What fits under this limit?
Typical photo dimensions that met each limit in our tests. The highlighted row is this page's preset.
| Size limit | JPG q75 · typical | JPG q75 · safe start | JPG q85 · typical | WebP q75 · typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 KB | 450 × 300 | 410 × 270 | 380 × 250 | 540 × 360 |
| 50 KB | 710 × 470 | 650 × 430 | 610 × 400 | 860 × 570 |
| 100 KB | 1010 × 670 | 920 × 610 | 860 × 570 | 1220 × 810 |
| 200 KB | 1430 × 950 | 1310 × 870 | 1220 × 810 | 1730 × 1150 |
| 500 KB | 2260 × 1500 | 2070 × 1380 | 1930 × 1290 | 2730 × 1820 |
| 1 MB | 3200 × 2130 | 2930 × 1950 | 2730 × 1820 | 3870 × 2580 |
Measured by Metro Research on 11 November 2026 using four public-domain test photographs, a 3:2 frame and standard JPEG/WebP encoders. Browsers encode slightly differently, and large camera photos usually compress better per pixel than these small test images, so treat the “safe” column as a conservative starting point. See the full method and data ↗
Small limits need small dimensions.
At 20 KB, pixel dimensions matter more than the quality slider. Resize first and the picture stays clean.
Settings that usually work
- Format: JPG, unless the form asks for something else.
- Dimensions: keep ratio and let the tool resize, or enter the exact size the form requires.
- For signatures, crop away empty paper first. Blank space still costs bytes.
- Download, open the file and check that a face or signature is still clear.
Can a normal photo really fit under 20 KB?+
Yes, if the dimensions are small. In our tests a typical photo fitted under 20 KB at roughly 450 × 300 pixels as a quality-75 JPG. A full-resolution phone photo will not fit without resizing, so keep automatic resizing on unless the form fixes the dimensions.
My form asks for a signature under 20 KB. What settings work?+
Scan or photograph the signature on plain white paper, crop tightly in the Screenshot Cleaner, then compress here as JPG. A 600 × 200 pixel signature on a white background measured about 7–8 KB as a JPG in our test, well inside a 20 KB limit.
Why does the result look blurry?+
At 20 KB there are only a few hundred thousand pixels to work with. Faces and text stay readable at 400–500 pixels wide, but fine texture is lost. Use the largest limit the destination allows.
Is there a minimum size as well?+
Some forms set both a minimum and maximum, for example 10–20 KB. This tool only enforces the maximum. If the result is below the minimum, raise the width or export format quality by choosing a higher target such as 19 KB.