How to compress a JPG to 100 KB
Last updated: October 16, 2026
Job portals, school applications and government forms often reject photos over 100 KB. SqueezeLocal lets you type in the exact limit and gives you a JPG under it. It runs in your browser, so your photo, which is often an ID or a portrait, never leaves your device.
Open the compressorFree. No account. Works on phones too.
Steps
- Open squeezelocal.com.
- Under Target size, choose Custom size, type 100 and pick KB.
- Drop your JPG into the box, or tap it to choose a photo.
- When the row says Under 100 KB, download the file.
What happens to your photo
SqueezeLocal first lowers the JPG quality step by step until the file fits. If even the lowest sensible quality is still too big, it also scales the photo down. A typical phone photo is 3 to 5 MB, so getting it to 100 KB usually means both: a smaller picture and some compression. At the size forms display photos, this is rarely noticeable.
The file stays a JPG, so forms that only accept JPG will take it.
Tips for a better result
- Crop first. If the form wants a head-and-shoulders photo, crop away the background before compressing. Fewer pixels means more quality for the ones that remain.
- Check the required dimensions. If the form also says something like 600 × 600 px, crop to that first, then compress.
- Start from the original. Compressing a photo that was already compressed, such as one saved from a chat app, makes it look worse faster.
Questions
Is it really free?
Yes. The free version handles up to 20 images at a time, 10 MB each, which covers any phone photo.
Is my photo uploaded anywhere?
No. Compression runs inside your browser. You can switch off Wi-Fi after the page loads and it still works.
What if the row says "Closest result available"?
That means the photo couldn't get under the target without falling apart. This is rare at 100 KB. Crop the photo smaller and try again.