How to resize an image
- Drag one or more images onto the box above, or click to browse. Every file you add gets the same settings.
- Choose Percentage (5% to 200%, in steps of 5) to scale by a factor, or Max width & height to fit inside a box. The box starts at 1280×1280 and you can type any values. Each result row shows the original size, the new size and the new file size, so you can check the numbers before you download.
- Pick an Output format if you want one. Keep original saves PNG as PNG and WebP as WebP; any other input type is saved as JPG.
- Click Download on one image, or Download all to save the whole batch.
Percentage or max dimensions?
Use Percentage when you just want everything smaller by the same factor. Use Max width & height when images must fit a specific space. Either way the aspect ratio is preserved, so nothing looks stretched.
The two modes give different results, so it helps to see real numbers. Take a typical 12-megapixel phone photo of 4032×3024 pixels:
- 50% gives 2016×1512. That is half the width and height but only a quarter of the pixels, which is why file size drops so sharply.
- 25% gives 1008×756, a comfortable size for a blog post or an email.
- Max 1280×1280 gives 1280×960. The width hits the limit first, and the height follows from the 4:3 ratio.
- Max 1920×1080 gives 1440×1080, not 1920×1080. The height hits the limit first. The box is a ceiling, not a target, so an exact size in both directions is only possible when the image already has the same ratio as the box. If you need an exact shape, crop first with the image cropper.
One behaviour to know about: in max-dimensions mode a picture that is smaller than your box is enlarged to fill it. An 800×600 image with a 1280×1280 box comes out at 1280×960. If you only want to shrink large files, set the limits at or below your smallest source image.
What happens to quality and file size
Shrinking an image throws pixels away, and the browser blends neighbouring pixels using its high-quality smoothing setting, so edges stay clean rather than jagged. File size roughly tracks the pixel count, but not exactly: a noisy photo compresses worse than a flat graphic of the same dimensions. JPG and WebP output is encoded at a fixed quality of 92%, which is visually very close to the source; there is no quality slider on this page. PNG output is lossless, so a resized photo saved as PNG can end up larger than the original JPG even though it has fewer pixels. For photos, keep JPG or WebP. If you need a specific file size such as under 100 KB, resize first and then run the result through the image compressor.
This tool changes pixel dimensions only. It does not set a DPI or print resolution, because a screen image file has no physical size until it is placed in a layout. Embedded metadata such as camera model and GPS location is not carried into the resized file, since the image is redrawn and saved fresh.
Common mistakes
- Enlarging and expecting detail. Going to 150% or 200% only invents pixels by interpolation. The picture gets bigger and softer, never sharper. Start from the largest original you have.
- Resizing a copy of a copy. Each time a JPG is saved it is compressed again, and small losses add up. Always resize from the original file, not from a version you already shrank.
- Resizing before cropping. Crop to the shape you need first, then scale. Otherwise you spend pixels on areas you will throw away.
- Converting a transparent PNG to JPG. JPG has no transparency, so the see-through areas become solid white. Keep PNG or WebP if the background must stay transparent.
Practical sizes by use
- Bloggers and web designers: screens with high pixel density show an image at twice its CSS width, so an 800-pixel-wide content column looks best with a 1600-pixel-wide file. Going much beyond that only adds download weight.
- Sellers: a consistent size across a catalogue looks more professional than a mix. Set one max box, such as 1280×1280, and run the whole batch at once.
- Photographers: keep the full-size originals untouched and export a separate web copy, for example a 2048-pixel long edge, for sharing or portfolio use.
- Email and chat: a 4032×3024 photo is rarely needed on a phone screen. Around 1600 pixels on the long edge is plenty and often cuts a 4 MB photo to a few hundred kilobytes.
Limits of this tool
All images in a batch share one setting, so mixing a thumbnail run and a banner run means doing two passes. Very large images, such as 50-megapixel scans, are held in memory while they are processed and can fail on older phones; if that happens, try one image at a time. There is no non-proportional resizing, by design, because stretched images almost always look wrong.
Is it private and safe?
Yes. Toolyard resizes images inside your browser on your own device. Your files are never uploaded anywhere, so they can't be stored or seen by anyone. It works offline once loaded, too.
Related guides
Want more detail? Read how to resize an image to exact pixel dimensions, how to resize an image without losing quality, how to resize images for a faster website, and image dimensions vs file size.
Frequently asked questions
Does resizing keep the aspect ratio?
Yes. Images are always scaled proportionally, so they never look stretched or squashed. Because of that, max width and height works as a limit: the image is scaled until it fits inside the box in both directions, and the other side may end up smaller than the number you typed.
Can I enlarge an image?
Yes. Percentage mode goes up to 200%, and max mode will enlarge a smaller image to fill the box. Enlarging cannot add real detail, though, so the result looks softer than the original. For sharp results, start from the largest source you have.
How do I get exactly 1000 by 1000 pixels from a photo that is not square?
This tool never distorts the picture, so a 4:3 photo cannot become exactly 1000 by 1000 here. Crop it to a square first with the image cropper, then resize the square to 1000 by 1000. Alternatively, the social image resizer can fill or pad to fixed frame sizes.
Why did my resized file get bigger?
The usual cause is the output format. If you resize a photo and save it as PNG, the lossless encoding can produce a file larger than the original JPG. Choose JPG or WebP for photos, or keep the original format. Enlarging above 100% also adds pixels and therefore size.
What quality is used for JPG and WebP?
Both are saved at a fixed quality of 92%, which keeps photos visually very close to the source while still reducing size. PNG is lossless, so quality does not apply. If you need a smaller file than the resize alone gives you, run the result through the image compressor.
Is metadata like GPS location kept?
No. The image is redrawn and saved as a new file, so embedded EXIF details such as camera model, date and GPS coordinates are not copied over. This is handy before sharing photos online, but it also means copyright fields stored in metadata are dropped.
Are my images uploaded?
No. Everything runs on your device, and nothing is sent to a server. You can even disconnect from the internet after the page has loaded and it will keep working.
Is it free?
Yes. It is completely free, with no watermarks, no sign-up and no limit on how many images you process.