Compress an image to 1 MB

Where 1 MB limits come from

Many older upload forms and content systems use a 1 MB cap as well. The file this tool makes is at most 1,000,000 bytes, so it also passes forms that count 1 MB as 1,048,576 bytes.

What 1 MB holds

In our tests, at good JPEG quality:

Phone photos and 1 MB

A 12-megapixel phone photo is usually 2 to 5 MB, and phones that shoot 24 or 48 megapixels make bigger files still. The tool lowers the JPEG quality first, and only if that isn't enough does it scale the picture down. Each file shows "resized" when that happened, with its new dimensions.

iPhones save photos as HEIC by default. HEIC opens in Safari; in Chrome or Firefox, export the photo as JPG first, or set the camera to Most Compatible in Settings › Camera › Formats so new photos are saved as JPG.

Profile pictures under 1 MB

A profile picture is shown small, so the 1 MB limit is rarely the real problem. GitHub recommends about 500 × 500 px, which is around 50 KB as a JPEG. Crop it square with the 1:1 crop tool, set the max width to 500 here, and the file is tiny and sharp.

Pick JPG for profile pictures: GitHub lists PNG, JPG and GIF, not WebP, and the same goes for many other sites.

When the upload still fails

• Format: the site may not accept WebP or HEIC. Switch the tool to JPG.
• Pixel size: GitHub refuses images of 3000 × 3000 px or more, whatever their file size. Set a max width.
• Wrong file: after downloading, upload the new file (its name ends in -1mb), not the original.

How to compress to 1 MB

1. Drop your photos, one or a whole batch.
2. 1 MB is already selected. Add a max width if the site has a pixel limit.
3. Check each result's size and dimensions.
4. Download them individually or as a zip.

For tighter limits use 500 KB or 200 KB. Nothing you drop here is uploaded.