Image Compression Guide: Quality Settings for Every Use Case (2026)

"What quality should I set?" is the most common question in image optimization. The answer depends on the format, the content, and where the image will be displayed.

Here are concrete settings that work.

Quick Reference Table

Format	Web General	E-Commerce	Social Media	Archival
JPEG	80-85	85-90	85	95+
WebP	75-80	80-85	80	Lossless
AVIF	60-70	70-75	65	Lossless
PNG	N/A (lossless)	N/A	N/A	Default

These settings produce visually excellent results. Below these thresholds, compression artifacts become noticeable.

Understanding Quality Numbers

Quality settings are not linear. The relationship between quality and file size looks like this:

Quality	File Size (relative)	Visual Impact
100	100% (baseline)	Perfect — wastefully large
95	~60%	Virtually identical to 100
85	~35%	Imperceptible difference
75	~25%	Very slight softening in zoomed views
60	~15%	Noticeable on close inspection
40	~8%	Visible artifacts, blocky edges
20	~4%	Heavy degradation, posterization

The sweet spot is 75-85 for most formats. You get 65-75% file size reduction with virtually no visible quality loss.

Format-Specific Guidance

JPEG

• 80-85 for web use — the industry-standard sweet spot
• 90+ for images that will be re-compressed (uploading to social media, CMS processing)
• 95+ for archival or source files
• Below 70, you'll see blocking artifacts in gradients and smooth areas

WebP

• 75-80 for web — WebP's compression is more efficient than JPEG, so you can use lower quality numbers
• 80-85 for product photos and portfolio work
• Lossless for graphics, logos, and screenshots with text
• WebP handles low quality more gracefully than JPEG — less blocking, more smooth blurring

AVIF

• 60-70 for web — AVIF's quality scale is shifted compared to JPEG/WebP
• 70-75 for critical images (hero sections, product photos)
• AVIF preserves edges and text remarkably well at low quality
• Below 50, skin tones can show banding

PNG

• PNG is always lossless — there's no quality slider
• To reduce PNG file size, reduce color count or dimensions
• For web use, convert to WebP instead

Use Case Deep Dives

E-Commerce Product Photos

Start at quality 85 (JPEG) or 75 (WebP). Product photos need to look sharp because customers zoom in. A product photo should be under 300 KB at 1500x1500 px.

Blog and Article Images

Quality 80 (JPEG) or 70 (WebP) is fine. Editorial images are viewed at screen size, not zoomed. Target 100-200 KB per image.

Hero/Banner Images

These are large but compressed. Quality 80 (JPEG) or 65 (AVIF). A full-width hero at 1920px wide should be 200-400 KB in WebP/AVIF.

Thumbnails

Aggressive compression works here. Quality 70 (JPEG) or 55 (AVIF). Thumbnails under 200px don't show compression artifacts at any reasonable quality. Target 10-30 KB each.

Social Media

Quality 85-90 (JPEG) — platforms re-compress your images, so start high to survive the double compression. Target the largest file size the platform accepts.

How to Find Your Optimal Setting

1. Start at quality 80 (JPEG/WebP) or 65 (AVIF)
2. Convert your image
3. Compare the original and compressed version side by side at 100% zoom
4. If they're indistinguishable, try 5 points lower
5. When you notice a difference, go 5 points back up

In Konvrt's converter, you can adjust the quality slider and see the output file size change in real time. The batch processor lets you apply your chosen quality across hundreds of files.

The 200 KB Rule

For general web images, aim for under 200 KB per image. This is a practical target that works for most content:

• Fast enough on mobile connections
• Small enough that 20 images on a page total under 4 MB
• High enough quality for any non-zooming use case

If an image exceeds 200 KB at your target quality, resize it — the image is probably larger in dimensions than it needs to be for its display size.