Which tool should I use on Windows?
| Tool | Best for | Resize | Quality control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photos: Resize image | One photo, see the size before saving | Pixels or percentage | Quality slider for JPG |
| Paint: Resize and skew | Quick resize, PNG to JPEG | Pixels or percentage | None |
| PowerToys Image Resizer | Batches from File Explorer | Presets or custom sizes | JPEG quality level in settings |
| Browser compressor | Exact KB target, smaller PNGs | Limit width | 1–100 or target size in KB |
How do I resize an image in the Windows 11 Photos app?
The Photos app has a Resize image dialog that changes the pixel size, the JPG quality and the file type in one place, and it shows the new file size before you commit.
- Open the image in Photos (double-click it in File Explorer).
- Select See more (the … button in the toolbar), then Resize image.
- Choose Pixels or Percentage, keep Maintain aspect ratio on, and enter a width such as 1600.
- For JPG, move the Quality slider down a little and watch the new file size.
- Choose the File type, click Save, and give the copy a new name in the Save As window so the original stays intact.
Older versions of the app show presets instead: Small (0.25 MP), Medium (2 MP), Large (4 MP) and Define custom dimensions. Medium is a good choice for email. If you do not see Resize image, update Photos from the Microsoft Store.
How do I make an image smaller in Paint?
- Open the image in Paint.
- Press Ctrl+W (or select Image > Resize and skew).
- Choose Pixels, keep Maintain aspect ratio on, type the new Horizontal value (for example 1600) and click OK.
- Choose File > Save as > JPEG picture and give it a new name.
Paint has no quality slider, but saving a photo that was a PNG (a pasted screenshot of a photo, for example) as JPEG is often the biggest saving of all. Keep screenshots of text and interfaces as PNG.
How do I batch resize with PowerToys Image Resizer?
PowerToys is a free set of utilities from Microsoft, available in the Microsoft Store. Its Image Resizer adds a right-click command to File Explorer.
- Select images in File Explorer, right-click and choose Resize with Image Resizer.
- Pick a preset: Small (854 × 480), Medium (1366 × 768), Large (1920 × 1080), Phone (320 × 568), or enter a custom size.
- Keep Make pictures smaller but not larger ticked, leave Overwrite files unticked to get copies, and tick Remove metadata that doesn't affect rendering to drop camera data.
- JPEG quality is set once in PowerToys Settings > Image Resizer > JPEG quality level (%); the default is 90. Lowering it to 80 shrinks files further with little visible change.
How do I compress an image to an exact KB size on Windows?
The Windows tools set pixels and quality, but none of them aims for a file size. For a job portal, a government form or a website that says “max 200 KB”, open the compressor in Edge or Chrome, choose Target size, type the limit and drop the image. It finds the highest quality that fits, and only scales the image down if it cannot fit otherwise. Nothing is uploaded: the work happens in the browser on your PC.
To confirm the result, right-click the file and choose Properties: the General tab shows the size and the Details tab the dimensions (see check image file size and dimensions). On a Mac, the equivalent steps are in reduce image size on Mac, and large folders are covered in bulk compress images.