Free Image Tools Guide: Compress, Resize, Crop and Convert Images in Your Browser

Most image problems are small but stubborn: a job portal rejects a photo because it is over 200 KB, a Windows PC cannot open an iPhone picture, a profile photo needs to be square, or a website loads slowly because its images are huge. Our image tools solve these one at a time, and every one of them runs in your browser, so your photos never leave your device^[1].

This guide explains the 12 tools, the formats they work with, and which one to reach for in common situations.

A quick word on image formats

Choosing the right format solves half of all image problems. MDN's image file type guide is a good reference^[3]; in short:

• JPG is best for photos. Files are small, but quality drops a little every time the image is edited and saved again.
• PNG is lossless and supports transparency, which makes it right for logos, screenshots and graphics with text. Files are larger.
• WebP is a newer format from Google that produces smaller files than JPG and PNG at similar quality and also supports transparency^[2]. It is the best choice for websites.
• HEIC is what iPhones save by default. It saves space, but many PCs, websites and forms cannot open it.

Make images smaller

Image Compressor reduces file size by re-encoding the image at a quality you choose. Pick JPG, PNG or WebP output, drag the quality slider and compare the sizes before and after. A quality of 70–80% is usually the sweet spot for photos: the file shrinks dramatically with little visible difference. This is the tool for visa forms, exam applications and job portals with strict size limits. When a form states a limit, switch to Target size and type it in: the compressor finds the highest quality that fits, and only shrinks the dimensions if quality alone is not enough. Ready-made pages open with the most common limits, such as compress an image to 20 KB, to 50 KB and to 100 KB.

Image Resizer changes the pixel dimensions, either to exact width and height or by percentage. Keep the aspect ratio locked unless a form demands exact dimensions, so faces and products do not look stretched. Resizing a large photo down to the size it is actually displayed at often saves more than compression alone. Enlarging a small image, on the other hand, always makes it blurry. The resizer also knows the recommended sizes of the big social platforms and can crop to fill, so nothing looks squashed: for example an Instagram post (1080 × 1080), a YouTube thumbnail (1280 × 720) or a LinkedIn banner (1584 × 396).

Convert between formats

Image Converter handles JPG, PNG and WebP in one place: choose the output format, set the quality for lossy formats, and pick a background colour for transparent areas when converting to JPG. For specific jobs there are dedicated converters with sensible defaults:

• JPG to PNG: for images you will edit or annotate several times, since PNG does not lose quality on each save. It cannot restore detail the JPG already lost.
• PNG to JPG: shrinks screenshots and photos saved as PNG; transparent areas are filled with a colour you choose (white works well for documents).
• JPG to WebP and PNG to WebP: make website images smaller. JPG photos typically come out 25–35% smaller at similar quality, and PNG to WebP keeps transparent backgrounds for logos and icons.
• WebP Converter: converts both ways, including WebP back to JPG or PNG for software and upload forms that do not accept WebP.
• HEIC to JPG: opens iPhone photos anywhere. If you would rather avoid HEIC altogether, iPhone's Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible saves new photos as JPG.

Fix shape and orientation

Image Cropper trims a photo to the area you want, with presets for square 1:1 (profile pictures), 4:3 and 16:9 (thumbnails and slides), or exact X, Y, width and height values. Leave a little space around the subject so it does not feel cramped.

Image Rotator turns images 90°, 180° or 270° and flips them horizontally or vertically. Flipping horizontally fixes mirrored text in front-camera selfies. Rotations and flips stack, so check the preview before applying.

Passport and visa photos

Passport Photo Maker crops a photo to the official size for the country and document you choose — 2 × 2 inches for the United States, 35 × 45 mm for the UK, the Schengen area and most other countries, 50 × 70 mm for Canada — with guides for the top of the head and the chin. It makes a sharp digital file for online applications and a print sheet with the photos at their exact size, ready to print at 100% and cut out. Pages are ready for the most requested ones, such as the US passport photo, the UK passport photo and the Schengen visa photo. Take the photo against a plain, light wall in even daylight; the tool does not change the background.

Which tool should you use?

• "File too large" errors: Image Compressor in Target size mode (for example 50 KB), then Image Resizer if it is still too big.
• A passport or visa photo: Passport Photo Maker.
• An image for social media: Image Resizer with the platform size you need.
• A photo that will not open: HEIC to JPG, or WebP Converter for.webp files.
• A form that wants a specific format: Image Converter.
• A faster website: JPG to WebP or PNG to WebP, after resizing to display size.
• A profile photo or thumbnail: Image Cropper.
• A sideways or mirrored photo: Image Rotator.

Why images should not need uploading

Personal photos, ID cards and documents are exactly the images people most often need to compress or convert, and they are the ones you least want sitting on a stranger's server. Because these tools process everything locally in the browser, there is no upload, no account and no queue: the result is ready as fast as your device can produce it^[1].

A good place to start is the Image Compressor. It fixes the most common image problem, and it shows you exactly how much space each setting saves.