PNG gives you pixel-perfect quality and transparency, and in exchange you get large files. A single screenshot can be a couple of megabytes. If you need to bring a PNG down to size, there are several approaches, and the right one depends on what the image contains.
Why PNG files are big
PNG is lossless, meaning it keeps every detail exactly. It compresses the data cleverly, but it never throws anything away. That works brilliantly for flat colors and sharp edges, and badly for photographs, where every pixel is slightly different. We cover the idea in lossy vs lossless compression.
Option 1: Reduce the dimensions
Same as with any image, fewer pixels means a smaller file. If your PNG is 3000 pixels wide and will be shown at 800, scaling it down will cut the file size sharply with no visible penalty. Start here. Keep the aspect ratio locked.
Option 2: Switch formats if you can
If your PNG is really a photograph and doesn’t need transparency, convert it to JPG or WebP. The difference can be enormous, often a file a fraction of the size. Check our guide to converting PNG to JPG for what to watch out for. If you want to keep transparency but shrink the file, lossless or lossy WebP both support it, and converting images to WebP is worth trying.
Option 3: Reduce the number of colors
A standard PNG can hold millions of colors (24-bit). Many graphics, such as logos, icons, simple illustrations and UI screenshots, only use a small handful. Saving them as an indexed or “PNG-8” file with a palette of 256 colors or fewer can shrink the file dramatically, often by more than half, with little visible change. Tools that do this are sometimes called quantizers. It works well on flat art and badly on photos or smooth gradients, where you might see banding.
Option 4: Run a lossless optimizer
Optimizer programs rewrite a PNG’s internal data more efficiently without changing a single pixel. The savings are usually modest, perhaps 5 to 30 percent, but because nothing visible changes it’s a risk-free step, and it’s worth running on images that must stay pixel-perfect.
Option 5: Strip extra metadata
Some PNGs carry hidden information, such as software notes or color profiles. Removing what you don’t need trims a little. The saving is small for most files but can matter for tiny icons.
Option 6: Simplify the image itself
Noise, gradients and fine textures all inflate PNGs. A screenshot of a plain interface compresses far better than one of a busy desktop. Cropping out unnecessary areas also helps.
Which approach for which image?
- Photo saved as PNG: convert to JPG or WebP.
- Logo or icon: reduce colors, optimize, or use SVG. See what is SVG.
- Screenshot: resize to a sensible width, then optimize.
- Image with transparency: resize and optimize, or try WebP.
How small should it be?
For web use, try to keep most PNGs well under 200 KB, and tiny icons under 20 KB. For general tips on page weight, see how to compress images for a faster website.
Begin with the easiest win: resize your PNG to the size you need using our free online image resizer, then compare the file size before and after.