How to compress photos for email
- Tap Choose image above. To do several at once, select them all.
- The target is set to 1024 KB (about 1 MB) with At or under target. For fewer, bigger photos type 2000; to fit more, type 500.
- Tap Compress to target.
- Tap Download result. Several photos download together as one ZIP; unzip it and attach the photos, or attach the ZIP.
Email attachment limits
From each provider's own help pages, checked 26 October 2026:
| Provider | Limit | Counts | If you go over |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gmail (personal) | 25 MB | All attachments together | Gmail turns the attachments into a Google Drive link |
| Outlook.com | 25 MB | The whole email: text and attachments | Microsoft suggests a OneDrive link instead (links don't count) |
| Yahoo Mail | 25 MB | All attachments in one message, sending and receiving | Not stated |
| iCloud Mail | 20 MB | The whole message, sending and receiving | Mail offers Mail Drop (up to 5 GB) |
Microsoft's page for the classic Outlook app gives 20 MB for internet accounts such as Outlook.com or Gmail, so the lower figure can apply depending on the app you send from. Work and school accounts often have different limits, set by their administrator.
The recipient's limit matters as well as yours: a 24 MB email from Gmail is too big for an iCloud address, which accepts 20 MB. And email encodes attachments for sending, which makes them roughly a third larger in transit. The safe plan: keep the photos in one email to about 15 MB in total.
What 1 MB keeps
We compressed four real phone-size photos to 1 MB and 2 MB:
| Photo (original) | At 1 MB | At 2 MB |
|---|---|---|
| Portrait, plain wall (4160×6240, 2.7 MB) | 4160×6240 (full size) | 4160×6240 (full size) |
| Indoor selfie (4000×6000, 2.1 MB) | 4000×6000 (full size) | 4000×6000 (full size) |
| Group photo outdoors (6000×4000, 4.8 MB) | 3102×2068 | 4492×2995 |
| Busy street market (4000×6000, 5.5 MB) | 1885×2827 | 2547×3820 |
Unsplash originals, PixKB Exact KB "At or under target", desktop Chromium on our test server, October 2026.
Portraits and simple scenes stay at full resolution at 1 MB; only very detailed scenes are reduced, and even those keep more than enough pixels to look sharp on any screen. A JPEG that's already smaller than your target isn't made bigger.
How many photos fit
| Size per photo | Photos in about 15 MB |
|---|---|
| 2 MB | 7 |
| 1 MB | 15 |
| 500 KB | 30 |
Sending more than that? Split them over two or three emails, or share a link with Google Drive, OneDrive or iCloud Mail Drop, as the providers suggest.
Tips
- iPhone photos (HEIC): the tool converts them to JPG, which every email app and computer can open.
- Location data: compressed photos are saved without the camera's hidden details, including GPS location, which is worth removing before emailing photos to people you don't know.
- Documents: for a scanned document use the PDF compressor, or photograph it, crop to the page and compress to 200–500 KB.
Frequently asked questions
What is Gmail's attachment size limit?
25 MB for personal accounts, counting all attachments together. Above that, Gmail turns the attachments into a Google Drive link. Work and school accounts are set by their administrator.
What is Outlook's attachment size limit?
Outlook.com allows 25 MB for the whole email, including the text. Microsoft's page for the classic Outlook app gives 20 MB for internet accounts.
What is the iCloud Mail limit?
20 MB for the whole message, sending and receiving. Mail Drop can send attachments up to 5 GB as a link.
What is the Yahoo Mail limit?
25 MB for all attachments in one message, for both sending and receiving.
What size should a photo be for email?
About 1 MB. In our tests portraits stayed at full resolution at 1 MB, and about 15 photos fit in one email.
Why is my email too big when the photos add up to less than 25 MB?
Email encodes attachments for sending, making them roughly a third larger, and the recipient's provider may have a lower limit. Keep the total to about 15 MB.
Can I compress several photos at once?
Yes. Select them together; they're compressed to the same target and download as one ZIP.
Will the photos look worse?
Not on screen at 1 MB: portraits and simple scenes kept their full resolution, and detailed scenes kept plenty of pixels.
Does the tool remove location data?
Yes. Compressed photos are saved without the camera's metadata, including GPS location.
Are my photos uploaded to PixKB?
No. Compression runs in your browser on your device.