How do I resize an image without losing quality?

Make it smaller rather than larger, keep the proportions, and resize from the original rather than from an already-shrunk copy. Downsizing a photo doesn't make it look worse on screen.

How do I resize many photos at once?

Add them all to the Image Resizer and set the size once — every image is resized with the same settings and you can download them together.

What's the difference between resizing and compressing?

Resizing changes the number of pixels. Compressing keeps the pixels but stores them more efficiently. Both make the file smaller; for the smallest file, resize first and then compress.

Are my photos uploaded?

No. The Image Resizer works in your browser, so your photos stay on your device.

Images guide

How to Resize an Image (Without Stretching or Blurring It)

Updated 28 September 2026 · 3 min read

Resizing changes how many pixels an image has. Done well, it makes a photo the right size for where it's going and shrinks the file at the same time. Done badly, it stretches faces or turns a sharp picture into a blurry one. The rules are simple: keep the proportions, make images smaller rather than larger, and decide the size from where the image will be used. The Image Resizer does the work in your browser, one photo or a whole batch at a time.

Open the free Image Resizer

How to resize an image, step by step

Open the Image Resizer and add one or more images.
Choose Pixels to type an exact width or height, or Percentage to scale everything by the same amount (for example 50% to halve it).
Leave keep proportions ticked and set just one side — the other is worked out for you, so nothing is stretched.
Download the resized image, or all of them at once if you added a batch.

Pick the size from where the image is going

Where it's used	Good width	Why
Email attachment	1200–1600 px	Sharp on any screen, small enough to send
Website photo (full width)	1600–2000 px	Covers large screens without wasting data
Website photo (in text)	800–1200 px	Displayed smaller, so fewer pixels are needed
Online forms with a size limit	1000–1200 px	Usually gets a photo well under 500 KB
Social media	Depends on the platform	See social media image sizes

Resizing for print: pixels and DPI

A printed photo needs enough pixels for its physical size. Photo labs usually recommend 300 pixels per inch (DPI or PPI). Multiply the print size in inches by 300 to get the pixels you need:

6 × 4 in (15 × 10 cm): 1800 × 1200 px
7 × 5 in (18 × 13 cm): 2100 × 1500 px
A4 (8.3 × 11.7 in): about 2480 × 3508 px

Changing the shape: crop, don't stretch

Resizing keeps the shape (the aspect ratio). If you need a different shape — a square profile picture from a landscape photo, or a 16:9 banner from a portrait — crop first with the Image Cropper, then resize. Typing a width and height that don't match the original's proportions is what makes people look squashed.

Can you make a small image bigger?

You can increase the pixel count, but it won't add detail — the image is stretched over more pixels, so it looks soft. Enlarging a little (up to about 150%) is usually fine for screens; beyond that, go back to the original photo if you can.

Resizing also shrinks the file

Halving the width and height leaves a quarter of the pixels, so the file typically drops to roughly a quarter of its size. If it's still too big, run it through the Image Compressor — our guide to reducing image file size explains how the two work together.