Compress Image to 50 KB

Private: the search runs on your device, nothing is uploaded

Drop images here, or click to choose them As many as you like at once, each brought under the same limit. You can also paste a screenshot straight onto this page. Up to 25 MB each.

Must be under

Unit

Shrink pixels if needed

Type the size limit you have to meet, for example 100 KB, then drop an image in.

The limit is already set to 50 KB, so there is nothing to type: drop your photo in and it comes back under the line. The quality is found by searching rather than guessed, so you get the best looking file that still fits, which is what a form with a range wants from you.

About the 50 KB limit

50 KB is the exam form size. Recruitment and entrance notifications in particular tend to specify it, usually as a range rather than a ceiling: photo 20 KB to 50 KB, signature 10 KB to 20 KB, in JPEG, at stated pixel dimensions. A range is unusual and it catches people out, because most compressors aim at the smallest file they can make and then the upload is refused for being too small.

This page does the opposite by design. It searches for the highest quality that still comes in under your limit, not the first result that happens to be small, so a 50 KB target normally produces a file in the forties rather than one at 9 KB. That is both the better looking photo and the one that satisfies a minimum you were also given.

50 KB is also a comfortable size once the photo is at the dimensions the form asked for. The usual requirement is something like 200 by 230 or 300 by 400 pixels, and a face at that size does not need much compression to fit, so the result will not look degraded the way a 20 KB version of the same photo does. If you are still holding a full sized camera photo, crop it to the head and shoulders first and the quality you keep is noticeably better.

If the notification gives pixel dimensions as well, set those with Resize Image first, then bring the result here. For a passport style crop with the head positioned correctly, Passport Photo Maker does that part and its output drops straight into this page.

How to compress an image to 50 KB

Drop your photo on the box, click to choose it, or paste it onto the page. The limit is already 50 KB.
Add the signature scan too if it shares the same limit. Each file is brought under 50 KB on its own.
Leave the format on JPEG: exam notifications almost always name JPG.
Check the status line for how far under 50 KB you landed, and the two panes for whether it still looks right.
Press Download. One file comes back on its own, several come back as a ZIP.

Common questions about compressing to 50 KB

My form says between 20 KB and 50 KB. Does that work?

It usually lands in the band on its own. The search keeps the highest quality that still fits under 50 KB, so the result is normally just below the ceiling rather than scraped along the floor, which is exactly where a range wants you to be. What this page will not do is pad a file to reach a minimum: if your picture comes out at 8 KB when the form wants at least 20 KB, the fix is more pixels, not more compression, so resize it larger and try again.

What resolution fits in 50 KB?

A head and shoulders photo at around 400 by 500 pixels sits comfortably under 50 KB at a quality that prints acceptably on an admit card. Most exam notifications ask for something in that region anyway, often 200 by 230 or 300 by 400 pixels, so once the photo is at the dimensions the form wants, 50 KB is not a tight limit at all and the picture will look fine.

Is this safe for an exam photo with my name attached?

Yes, and this is the reason the tool works the way it does. The photo is decoded, re-encoded and measured entirely by your own browser, so it is never sent to a server, never queued in anyone's storage and never logged. If you want to prove that rather than take it on trust, open your browser's network panel before you drop the file in, or turn your connection off: the page keeps working.

JPEG or PNG for an exam form?

JPEG, and it is not a preference. PNG is lossless, so it has no quality setting to search on and cannot be aimed at a file size at all, which is why this page does not offer it. Nearly every exam portal specifies JPEG or JPG in its notification anyway. WebP is here because it reaches the same size at better quality, but only use it if the form names it, because plenty of older upload forms reject it outright.

Can I do the photo and the signature together?

Yes, if they share a limit. Drop both in and each one is brought under 50 KB separately, then downloaded as a ZIP. When the notification sets different limits, for example 50 KB for the photo and 20 KB for the signature, do them in two passes: the photo here, then the signature on Compress Image to 20 KB.

Related tools

All Image tools

Compress Image to 20 KB Squeeze a photo or a signature scan under a 20 KB limit. Compress Image to 100 KB Get a photo under 100 KB, the limit most portals set. Compress Image to Size Hit an exact file size limit, like under 100 KB for a form. Passport Photo Maker Crop a photo to passport or visa size and lay out a print sheet.