Image Tools

Which image tool do you need?

The twelve tools here do twelve different jobs, and none of them is a general photo editor. Pick by what you want to end up with.

Telling similar jobs apart

• Working out a size is not resizing. The Aspect Ratio Calculator gives you the dimensions that keep a picture's shape, or the Fit and Fill numbers for a different frame, but it does not touch an image file; enter its result in the Image Resizer to resize the image itself.
• Resizing is not compressing. The Image Resizer changes an image's pixel dimensions and keeps its format; the JPEG Compressor keeps the dimensions and lowers quality to shrink the file. Need smaller pixel dimensions, use the Image Resizer; need the same dimensions but a smaller file, use the JPEG Compressor.
• Converting is not resizing or compressing. The Image Converter changes only the file format (JPG, PNG or WebP) and keeps the pixel dimensions exactly as decoded; it does not shrink a file the way the JPEG Compressor does or change dimensions the way the Image Resizer does.
• HEIC is its own job. The Image Converter does not open HEIC or HEIF files; photos from an iPhone go through the HEIC to JPG Converter, which outputs JPG only and keeps the pixel dimensions. Run the resulting JPG through the JPEG Compressor or Image Resizer if you also need it smaller.
• One image is not a batch. The JPEG Compressor takes one image at a time, always outputs a JPEG and offers scaling and a target file size; the Image Compressor takes up to 20 JPG, PNG or WebP files, keeps each one's format and pixel dimensions, and optimizes PNG files without any loss.
• Compressing is not converting. The JPEG Compressor lowers quality to shrink a file and always outputs a JPEG, while the Image Converter changes format without targeting a smaller file size. SVG to PNG changes a vector into pixels and does not shrink anything: larger pixel sizes make larger files.
• Vectorizing is not converting or rasterizing. The Image to SVG Vectorizer traces the pixels of a JPG or PNG into vector shapes, which is an approximation; SVG to PNG goes the other way and turns existing vector artwork into pixels; the Image Converter only changes a raster file's format and keeps it a raster image; the Image Resizer changes pixel dimensions.
• Removing a background is not cropping. The Background Remover keeps the subject and makes everything else transparent, so you get a PNG, which for a photograph is usually a bigger file than a JPEG of the same picture.
• Image to PDF changes the container, not the pictures. Each image becomes a page scaled to fit, so a small image on a large page will look soft. Quality depends on the images you put in.
• Color Palette only reads an image. It reports colors and leaves the picture untouched.
• Generating a favicon pack is not the same job as converting one image. The Favicon Generator takes a single logo and produces a whole set of differently sized icons plus a manifest in one ZIP, rather than the one-image-in, one-image-out result that Image Resizer and SVG to PNG each give you.

Common image workflows

• Photos for a form or an email: shrink each one with the JPEG Compressor, then combine them into a single file with Image to PDF. If the PDF is still too large, the PDF Compressor can reduce it, at the cost of making any text in it unselectable.
• A logo for an app listing or a slide deck: export the SVG at the size the destination asks for with SVG to PNG. The size presets are square, so for non-square artwork use Original Size or a Custom Size with the same proportions, and pick a solid background if the destination handles transparency badly.
• A raster logo that needs to scale: trace it with the Image to SVG Vectorizer using the Logo / Icon preset. If the logo sits on a busy background, run it through the Background Remover first so only the artwork is traced.
• A design built around a photo: take the main colors from it with the Color Palette, then paste a HEX value into the Color Converter if you need it as HSL for lightening or muting.
• Scanned pages that need to be one document: put them in order with Image to PDF, then use PDF Tools to merge them with other files or pull out individual pages.
• A folder of mixed screenshots and photos to shrink before uploading: compress the whole batch with the Image Compressor, which keeps each file's format and dimensions, and download one ZIP.
• iPhone photos a form, website or older app rejects: convert the HEIC files to JPG with the HEIC to JPG Converter, then shrink them with the JPEG Compressor if the destination has a size limit.
• A WebP export your CMS, email client or an older app rejects: convert it to JPG or PNG with the Image Converter first, or go the other way and convert a batch of JPGs or PNGs to WebP before uploading them.

Before you start

• JPEG compression is lossy. Work from the original file, and avoid compressing the same image twice.
• The Background Remover downloads a machine-learning model the first time you use it (a few tens of megabytes), then reuses the cached copy. It needs a browser with working WebGPU or WebAssembly.
• SVG to PNG converts one file at a time, and fonts or images that an SVG loads from the web will not appear in the result. The SVG to PNG page explains how sizing and backgrounds behave.
• The Image to SVG Vectorizer approximates an image with new vector shapes rather than recovering original artwork, handles one JPG or PNG at a time, up to 4096 pixels on either side and about 8.4 megapixels in total, and suits flat logos and icons far better than photographs: a traced photograph becomes a stylized, often large SVG.
• The Image Compressor handles up to 20 images of about 50 megapixels at a time, refuses animated images, and its JPG and WebP results are lossy and carry no metadata.
• The HEIC to JPG Converter handles up to 10 photos of about 50 megapixels at a time, does not carry over metadata or HDR information, and turns a Live Photo into its still image only.
• None of these tools crops or rotates a photo. The Image Converter changes format only and the Image Resizer changes dimensions only; neither one edits pixels beyond that.

Common questions

Related pages

• PDF Tools: Merge, split or compress the PDF you build from your images, or turn PDF pages back into JPG images.
• Color Converter: Convert a color from a palette into RGB or HSL.