Compress Image to 20 KB — Free & Online

Who needs a 20 KB image?

A 20 KB cap almost always points to an Indian government or examination portal. Recruitment bodies such as SSC and IBPS, state public service commissions and many university admission systems have used limits around this size for years. They typically want a passport-style photo or a signature scan, and many of them also set a minimum size and fixed pixel dimensions.

• SSC and IBPS applications, which commonly ask for a signature between 10 KB and 20 KB. Check the notification for your specific exam, as limits change between years.
• PAN card applications, where the photo is commonly capped at 20 KB.
• State recruitment portals and public service commissions that commonly use a 20 KB ceiling for the photo, the signature or both.
• University and college admission forms, especially older systems built when storage and bandwidth were expensive.
• Some scholarship and hostel applications that reuse the same photo rules as the main admission form.

Limits change between years, so confirm the exact 20 KB figure in your official notification or in our exam photo size list.

What to expect at 20 KB

For a passport-style headshot this is a comfortable size. Faces against a plain background compress well, and 20 KB is enough to stay clearly recognisable at the size these forms display. For a signature it is more than enough. A wide landscape photo will look rough at 20 KB, but these forms are not asking for one.

Recommended dimensions for a 20 KB file

Pixel count drives file size, so if your form states no dimensions, resize to one of these before compressing to 20 KB with the image resizer.

Which format to use for 20 KB

Use JPG. Almost every portal that enforces a 20 KB cap also asks for JPG or JPEG specifically, and JPG is the format that reaches this size while a face still looks natural. If your photo is a PNG, the tool outputs JPG for you; an iPhone HEIC photo can be handled the same way if your browser is able to open it.

Worked example: getting a file to 20 KB

1. Start point: a phone photo of you against a plain wall, typically 3 to 5 MB at around 4000 × 3000 pixels.
2. Read the notification and note three things: the maximum size (say 20 KB), any minimum (often 10 KB) and the pixel dimensions, if given.
3. Crop to a passport-style frame with your face centred, then resize to the stated dimensions. If none are given, about 350 × 450 is a reasonable choice.
4. Upload the cropped file here. The 20 KB target is already selected; leave the format as JPG and compress.
5. Check the result size shown on screen. It should sit just under 20 KB and above any minimum. Open the downloaded file once to make sure your face is sharp before uploading it to the portal.

A passport-style crop of about 350 × 450 pixels typically fits in 20 KB with quality to spare. The same 20 KB spent on a full 4000 × 3000 holiday photo would look badly degraded, which is why cropping first matters so much at this size.

These 20 KB figures are typical and approximate; your own image may land a little differently.

Getting the best result at 20 KB

• Note the minimum as well as the maximum; some forms reject a file that is too small
• Use a plain light background; walls with patterns waste bytes
• Signatures reach 20 KB easily, so spend your effort on the photo

Common mistakes at 20 KB

• Ignoring a minimum limit. If the form says 10 KB to 20 KB and your signature comes out at 6 KB, it will be rejected. Use slightly larger dimensions so the file lands inside the band.
• Uploading a selfie taken at arm's length. The face ends up small in the frame, so after cropping there are too few pixels left for a clear photo.
• Using a photo with a cap, dark glasses or a busy background. Most exam notifications do not allow these, and the upload may be accepted now but rejected at verification.
• Compressing first and resizing afterwards. Resizing re-saves the file and changes its size, so you may end up over the limit again.