Built for forms with hard limits
Most compressors give you a quality slider and leave the arithmetic to you: try 80, download, check the size, try 65, download again. This tool inverts that. You state the rule the form gave you, in kilobytes, and a binary search over the quality parameter finds the best-looking file that obeys it, usually in seven encoding passes or fewer, all on your own device. Photos going through this page output as JPG, the format every form accepts; PNGs with transparency that must stay PNG are better served by lossless PNG compression.
When the target is very tight
Bytes buy pixels. A 12-megapixel photo simply contains too much information for a 30KB budget at any acceptable quality, so for tight targets the winning move is dimensions first, quality second: run the photo through the resize tool at 1200 or 800 pixels, then compress to your target. A passport-style form asking for 50KB rarely displays the image larger than a few hundred pixels anyway, so nothing visible is lost. For everyday 100 to 200KB limits, dropping straight onto this page is enough.
Common questions
Why do websites demand images under 100KB?+−
Upload limits protect servers and page speed: government portals, job boards, exam registrations and marketplace listings commonly enforce 100KB, 200KB or 50KB ceilings. The rule is arbitrary from your side, but non-negotiable from theirs, which is why a tool that hits the number exactly beats one that just offers a quality slider.
How close to the target will the result be?+−
The search stops at the highest quality that fits at or under your limit, typically landing within a few percent below it. That maximizes the visual quality your byte budget allows instead of overshooting to a much smaller, uglier file.
What if the image cannot fit the target?+−
Very large dimensions can make a target impossible at any quality: a 6000-pixel photo will not fit in 20KB. In that case the tool returns the smallest result it could produce. Reducing dimensions first with the resize tool makes tight targets achievable, since fewer pixels need fewer bytes.
Can I use a target other than 100KB?+−
Yes, the kilobyte field accepts any value from 10 to 10,000. Common requirements are 50KB for ID portals, 100KB for application forms, 200KB for marketplaces and 500KB for email attachments. The default is simply the most requested number.