How to Compress Images for Email on Windows 11

The Problem

A phone photo is often 3 to 8 MB. Attach five of them and the email bounces, or the mail app refuses to send. Gmail caps attachments at 25 MB per message, and Outlook.com at 20 MB, and many work mail servers allow less.

The fix is to reduce the pixel dimensions. A photo 4000 pixels wide is far more than any screen shows in an email.

Pick a Method

Start at the top. Each row down handles a case the one above cannot.

Method	Cost	Best when
Photos or Paint	Free, built in	One to five photos
PowerToys Image Resizer	Free Microsoft tool	A batch of photos to resize
Send a link	Free with a Microsoft account	Dozens of photos, or full quality needed

Quick Checks First

1. Check the total size. Select the photos in File Explorer and look at the size shown in the bottom bar.
2. Work on copies. Every method below saves a new file. Keep the originals for printing.
3. Know the target. About 1600 pixels on the long side looks sharp on any screen and usually brings a photo under 500 KB.

1Step 1: Resize a Photo in Photos

1. Open the photo in Photos.
2. Choose Edit → Resize, or ... → Resize image, depending on the Photos version.
3. Pick a preset size, or set the width to about 1600 pixels with the aspect ratio locked.
4. Choose Save as copy.

2Step 2: Resize in Paint

1. Open the photo in Paint.
2. Choose Image → Resize (or press Ctrl + W).
3. Choose Pixels, keep Maintain aspect ratio ticked, and set the width to 1600.
4. Choose File → Save as → JPEG picture and give it a new name.

Saving as JPG matters. A photo saved as PNG can be larger than the original even after resizing.

3Step 3: Resize Many Photos with PowerToys

PowerToys is a free set of utilities from Microsoft. Its Image Resizer works on a whole selection:

1. Install PowerToys from the Microsoft Store and make sure Image Resizer is turned on in its settings.
2. In File Explorer, select the photos, right-click, and choose Resize with Image Resizer (under Show more options on some PCs).
3. Pick Medium or set a custom width of 1600 pixels.
4. Leave Resize the original pictures unticked so you get copies.

Need stronger compression, or the photos are WebP or PNG? Quick File Converter resizes and compresses folders of images on the PC and can convert PNG or WebP to JPG too, with nothing uploaded.

4Step 4: Send a Link Instead

For a whole album, or when the recipient needs full-quality originals, do not attach at all:

1. Put the photos in a folder in OneDrive.
2. Right-click the folder and choose Share.
3. Copy the link and paste it into the email.

In Outlook, attaching a file that is already in OneDrive offers Share link instead of a copy, which skips the size limit.

FAQ

What size should a photo be for email?

About 1600 pixels on the long side, saved as JPG. That is sharp on a laptop or phone and usually 200 to 500 KB per photo.

Does zipping photos make them smaller?

Barely. JPG files are already compressed, so a ZIP saves only a few percent. Resize them instead.

Will resizing ruin the photo for printing?

The copy will print well only at small sizes. Keep the original for prints, and send the resized copy by email.

Related: convert WebP to PNG or JPG and compress a PDF.