About the Compress Images for Email
Sending a dozen holiday photos by email often fails because the total is over the attachment limit. This tool solves that in one step. Add all your pictures, choose the size limit of your email service, and it shares the available size between the pictures according to how big each one is, then compresses each to its share. A big photo gets a bigger share than a small one, so the quality stays balanced. Because email adds about a third to the size of attachments, the tool aims at about 70 percent of your limit. You see the size before and after for every picture and the total, and you can download single pictures or all as a ZIP. Your pictures never leave your device.
Updated October 2026
How to use the Compress Images for Email
- 1Add the pictures you want to send.
- 2Choose the total size limit, for example 20 MB.
- 3Press Make them fit and wait while each picture is compressed.
- 4Check the sizes and the total.
- 5Download the pictures one by one or as a ZIP and attach them.
How the size budget is shared
A fair share is not an equal share. A 12 megapixel photo needs more bytes than a small screenshot to look good, so the budget is divided by the pixel area of each picture. Each picture is then compressed by lowering the quality and, when that is not enough, the pixel size, until it fits its share.
Pictures that are already smaller than their share are left as they are if they are JPG files. That keeps their quality and gives the saved space to the others.
Tips for sending photos
- Compress first, then attach. Do not rely on your email program to shrink them.
- For more than about 15 photos, use a shared album or cloud folder.
- Choose a lower limit for the receiver if you know their mailbox is small.
- Name the files before sending so the receiver can sort them.
- Keep the originals if you want to print the pictures later.
Related tools
For a single picture to an exact size, use Compress Image, and for a specific pixel size use the Image Resizer. Make a single PDF of the photos with JPG to PDF, put them in one file with Create ZIP File and turn phone pictures into JPG with HEIC to JPG. Keep your originals for printing.
Features
- Total size budget shared across all pictures
- Aims below the limit to allow for email encoding
- Per-picture and total sizes shown
- Pictures saved as JPG
- Download singly or as ZIP
- Handles up to 40 pictures
- Private, nothing is uploaded
Frequently asked questions
Why does the tool aim at 70 percent of my limit?
Email programs convert attachments to a text form that is about 33 percent larger, and the message itself also takes space. A 20 MB limit therefore fits only about 14 to 15 MB of files.
What are the usual email limits?
Gmail allows 25 MB per message, Outlook.com about 20 MB, and many company servers only 10 MB or less. Check the limit of the sender and the receiver.
Will the photos look worse?
They will be smaller in file size, and for large photos that usually means lower resolution or slightly higher compression. For screens and email, the difference is rarely noticeable.
What if the pictures still do not fit?
The tool says so. Send fewer pictures per email, choose a larger limit or use a link to a cloud folder instead.
Which formats can I add?
JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF and other pictures your browser can open. The results are saved as JPG, which gives the smallest files for photos.
Are the original photos changed?
No. New files are made, and your originals stay as they are.
Does it remove location data?
Re-compressing a picture in the browser does not carry over most camera data, including GPS location, which is good for privacy. Check the result if this is important.