How to get a photo under 2 MB

Check exactly what the form asks for

Look near the upload button, or in the instructions above the form, for three things:

• The maximum file size. Here, 2 MB. Make sure it says MB and not KB.
• The file types. If the form lists them, such as JPG or PNG, your copy needs to be one of those.
• A pixel size. Some forms also give a width and height. A file under 2 MB can still break that rule.

If your photo shows a size just under 2 MB and the form still refuses it, the two may be counting differently. KB and MB: why a file that looks small can still be too big explains why.

Shrink it to 2 MB

1. Open the Make My File Fit Image tool from the button on this page. It opens with 2 MB already chosen.
2. Choose your photo: a still JPG, PNG or WebP up to 20 MB and 24 megapixels.
3. Press “Make it fit under 2 MB”, then download the copy.
4. Check the size and the width and height the result shows you.

With the default settings the copy stays the same file type. For a JPG or WebP, the tool lowers the quality first, down to about 65%. Only if that isn’t enough does it make the picture smaller in pixels, never below 640 px on the longest side. The tool measures the real file before it calls it a fit, and aims a little under your limit.

What happened at 2 MB in our tests

We ran the Image tool at 2 MB on two JPG photos, in two browser engines, Chromium and WebKit, on a computer:

• A 12-megapixel photo (4000 × 3000 pixels, 3,422,855 bytes) that we generated for testing. The copy fitted at its full 4000 × 3000 pixels, at 1,758,451 bytes. The tool saved it at about 83% JPG quality and didn’t resize it at all. With “Keep original dimensions” turned on, the copy was the same.
• A real street photo (3840 × 2880 pixels, 1,446,573 bytes). It was already under 2 MB, so the tool said “Your file already fits” and kept the picture as it was, without compressing it again.

Note: That is what happened with these two photos. Other photos can come out differently. If a photo doesn’t fit at full size even at about 65% quality, the tool makes it smaller in pixels too.

If your photo is already under 2 MB, you may not need a new copy for the size. The tool still offers one without location and camera details, if the photo had any. See how to remove location and camera details.

If it still won’t fit

When the tool can’t get under the limit, it doesn’t call the copy a fit. It shows “Closest we could get” with the smallest size it reached, and asks you to pick one change to try. Which changes it offers depends on why the copy didn’t fit:

• “Keep original dimensions” is on. Then the tool only lowers the quality, and some photos can’t reach the limit that way. Choose the “Allow resizing, keep JPG” change (the card names your file’s type) and the tool tries again.
• It’s a PNG. The tool has no quality setting for PNG, so a PNG only gets smaller in pixels. If the form accepts JPG, choose Convert to JPG. JPG has no transparency, so a transparent background becomes white. The tool only does that when you choose it.
• WebP. If the form accepts WebP, the tool can offer Convert to WebP, but only in a browser that can save WebP files.
• The form allows more. If the form actually takes a bigger file, pick that limit instead.

An iPhone photo in HEIC format can’t be opened by the tool. See how to get a JPG from your iPhone first.

Before you upload

Open the downloaded copy once and check that faces, text and important details are still clear. Lowering the quality and shrinking the pixels both lose some detail, so look for yourself rather than assume.

Then compare the copy with the form’s rules: under 2 MB, an accepted file type and, if the form gives one, the right pixel size. A copy under 2 MB meets the size rule only. The form may have other rules.

Upload the copy, not the original. Your original stays on your device exactly as it was.