JPG/JPEG is the most popular image format. Almost every photo you take will be in JPG format. Not only photos but other images you find in various sources like on the web will also be in the JPG format. It is so popular because of its built-in lossy compression technology, ability to show over 16 million colors, support for higher resolution, and lower file size compared to its peers.
While JPG/JPEG gives a good balance between file size and quality, there might be situations where you need to reduce the file size of your JPEG/JPG file. In that case, you can simply compress the JPG/JPEG file to decrease its file size without losing quality. In this tutorial, we’ll show you two easy methods to reduce JPG/JPEG file size. Let’s get started.
Note: Both JPG and JPEG image formats are the same.
Using an Online Image Compressor
One of the quickest ways to reduce the file size of a JPG/JPEG image is by using an online image compressor.
First, open the browser of your choice.
Enter the https://tinyjpg.com/ URL in the address bar and press Enter.
Now, drag and drop the image you want to compress into the drop field on the website.
The JPG/JPEG file size is instantly reduced. Click the download link next to it to download the compressed file.
Reduce JPG/JPEG File Size on Windows
Note: The below steps are tested to work on Windows 10 & 11.
If you want more control over how much the image is compressed, to target a specific file size, or to bulk reduce file sizes of JPG/JPEG images, you can use a free software called Caesium Image Compressor. It’s pretty easy to use. Let us show you how.
First, download and install Caesium Image Compressor. You can either download a regular installer or a portable version. The portable version allows you to use the application without installing it. If you downloaded the portable version, extract the zip file to your desktop.
Open the Caesium Image Compressor application using the desktop shortcut or by searching for it in the start menu. If you are using the portable version, open the extracted folder and double-click on the exe file.
Once it opens, click on the Add button.
Select the JPG/JPEG images and click Open. In my case, I’m selecting two JPG files. You can select any number of files.
Now, select the open the Compression tab and set the Mode to Quality. Next, select the Quality of your choice under the JPEG section. Any quality over 70 gives the best balance between file size and image quality.
(Optional) Alternatively, you can also target a specific file size. This is helpful when you have to meet certain file size requirements. To do that, change the Mode to Size and set the size you want the image file size to be reduced. For example, if you want the file size to be 500 KB or less, set the size to 500 KB.
Navigate to the Output tab. Select the Same folder as input checkbox. Enter “-compressed” (without quotes) in the Suffix field.
Click the Compress button.
As soon as you click the button, the program will compress the images to reduce JPG/JPEG file size. Once that is done, you will see an alert message letting you know the old & new file sizes and how much the images are compressed. In my case, the JPG file size is reduced by 55%.
Since the output folder is the same as the input folder, you will find the compressed images alongside the source images. The compressed images will have “-compressed” at the end of their file names.
And there you have it! It is that simple to reduce the file size of JPG/JPEG files. If you have any questions, comment below and we’ll answer.