Convert image

If the place you are sending the file names a format, use that one. Otherwise, the table sums up what each output is good at. The converter writes still images in every format, including those that can hold animation.

Sizes are relative because they depend on the picture: a photo of leaves is hard to compress in any format, a flat diagram is easy in all of them. For website icons in several sizes, use the Favicon generator instead of a single ICO.

What you can drop in

The converter reads JPG, JPEG and JFIF, PNG, WebP, AVIF, HEIC and HEIF, TIFF, GIF, BMP, SVG, ICO, Photoshop PSD and camera RAW files such as CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, DNG, ORF, RW2, RAF, PEF and SRW. A few are read in a particular way:

• HEIC and HEIF photos are decoded by a WebAssembly build of libheif that runs in the tab.
• RAW files are converted from the full-size JPEG preview the camera embeds in every RAW file, not from the sensor data. The result looks like the photo on the back of the camera, with the camera's own white balance and exposure.
• PSD files are read from the flattened image Photoshop stores when Maximize compatibility is turned on. Layers are not read separately.
• Multi-page TIFF files convert their first page only.
• GIF, animated WebP and animated AVIF files convert their first frame only.
• SVG files are drawn at the width and height written in the file.
• PDF files are not images. To turn PDF pages into pictures, use PDF to Image.

How to convert images

1. Drop files onto the page, pick them with Choose files, or paste a copied image with Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on a Mac). The free plan takes up to 50 files per batch, each up to 200 MB.
2. Choose the output in Format. JPG is selected by default.
3. For JPG, WebP and AVIF, set Quality. The default is 92 percent and the slider runs from 30 to 100.
4. For JPG and BMP, choose a Background colour. Transparent areas are filled with it; white is the default.
5. If the destination has a size limit, turn on Also limit file size and type the target. The quality slider is replaced by the target, and the converter looks for the highest quality that fits.
6. To crop, rotate or flip a single image before it is converted, press Edit on its card.
7. Press Convert. Check a result with Compare before and after, then use Download on a card, or Download ZIP for the whole batch.

Files keep their name with the new extension, so IMG_2041.HEIC becomes IMG_2041.jpg. Each card shows the new size and the change from the original.

A worked example: one folder, three outcomes

Imagine three PNG files that need to go into a slide deck as JPG. The numbers are illustrative; the result cards show the real figures.

• A 12-megapixel photo exported from an editor as PNG, around 18 MB. As JPG at 92 percent it comes out at roughly 3 to 4 MB with no visible difference. This is the case conversion was made for.
• A 1920 by 1080 screenshot of a web page, around 400 KB. As JPG it may shrink only a little, and the edges of small text pick up faint smudges. Keeping it as PNG is often the better choice.
• A logo with a transparent background, around 60 KB. As JPG the transparent area becomes a solid white box and the file may even grow. Keep the PNG, or convert to WebP if the destination accepts it.

The right conversion depends on what is in the picture, not on the file extension. Photos gain the most from JPG, WebP and AVIF; flat graphics with sharp edges and transparency are better left lossless.

Choosing a quality setting

Quality applies to JPG, WebP and AVIF. As a rule of thumb, 92 percent looks the same as the source for photos, 80 to 90 percent is plenty for sharing and web pages, and 95 percent or more suits images with small text or files that will be edited and saved again. Below about 70 percent, smooth areas such as skies and skin start to show blocks and banding.

Every lossy save throws a little detail away, so convert from the original file whenever you have it, not from a copy that was already compressed.

PNG, BMP and ICO are lossless, so they keep every pixel of the decoded image and the quality slider disappears. Lossless output does not undo earlier compression, though. A JPG converted to PNG gets larger, not sharper.

Troubleshooting

• Transparent areas turned white: JPG and BMP cannot store transparency, so those areas are filled with the Background colour. Choose PNG, WebP or AVIF to keep it. Soft, semi-transparent edges blend with the colour you pick, so choose the colour of the page the image will sit on to avoid a light or dark halo.
• Transparent areas turned black: tools that drop transparency without filling it do this. ShrinkLab always fills with the Background colour, so check that it is not set to black.
• The photo is sideways: the camera orientation is applied before converting, so pixels are written upright. If the original was sideways everywhere, rotate it with Edit on the card.
• Colours look slightly flatter: output is written as standard sRGB without an embedded colour profile, so wide-colour phone photos can lose a little saturation in the most vivid reds and greens. Images with 16 bits per channel are written with 8.
• Only one frame came out: animated GIF and WebP files convert their first frame. To build an animation from separate images, use GIF Maker.
• A file is not a supported image: check that it is not a PDF or a document. A PSD saved without Maximize compatibility has no flattened image; save it again with that option on.
• This browser cannot encode WebP: choose JPG, PNG or AVIF, or use another browser. AVIF has a built-in fallback encoder, so it works everywhere, but slowly on very large images.
• The capture date and location are gone: camera metadata is removed from every exported file. That protects your location, but photo libraries will sort the copies by file date. Keep the originals if that matters.
• The image processor ran out of memory: convert fewer or smaller files at once, especially on phones.

When not to convert

• When the destination already accepts the format you have.
• Logos, screenshots, diagrams and anything with text: keep PNG unless a form insists on JPG.
• WebP or AVIF images on your own website: as JPG, pages get heavier.
• To improve quality. Converting to a lossless format cannot bring back detail that was already discarded.
• Your editing masters. Keep the original HEIC, RAW or PSD and convert copies.
• When you only need a smaller file. Compress image keeps the format and lands on an exact size.

Converting in the browser versus uploading

Upload-based converters send each file to a server, convert it there and send it back. That works, but your photos sit on someone else's computer for a while, and a large batch spends much of its time in transit. Here the files never leave the device, so a batch starts immediately and runs as fast as your hardware allows: quick on a recent computer, slower on an older phone, never stuck in a queue.

The free plan takes 50 files per batch and 200 MB per file. Pro raises that to 500 files and 1 GB per file, and the installed app keeps working with no connection at all. A server can still do things a browser cannot, such as developing RAW sensor data or keeping animation across formats; for those, use desktop software or an upload service.