Sukat · JPG · 20 KB

Compress a JPG to an exact 20 KB

20 KB is the tight ceiling exam and recruitment portals put on signature scans and small ID photos — SSC, UPSC, IBPS, RRB and similar forms reject anything larger, and they want a .jpg. Sukat takes the format requirement and the KB cap together: drop the file, type 20, pick JPEG, download a signature or photo that clears the field on the first try.

Compress JPG to 20 KB now →
Last reviewed: July 2026
A 4 MB image reduced to fit under a 20 KB JPG-only limit Animation: you set a 20 KB limit and require JPG output; the file size counts down through a binary search from 4 MB and lands at 18 KB as a JPG, under the limit. YOUR LIMIT 20 KB JPG ONLY ← format + size, both locked CURRENT FILE SIZE 4.0 MB 1.18 MB 212 KB 64 KB 18 KB binary search · JPEG quality scale · highest quality that fits DONE18 KB · JPG — fits
How to

Compress a JPG to 20 KB

Three steps. State the limit, pick JPEG, download a .jpg under 20 KB the portal will accept.

Upload the image

Drop a JPG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, AVIF, or GIF onto the drop zone. A scanned signature or a small headshot is the usual input at this size — iPhone HEIC works directly.

Set 20 KB and pick JPEG output

Type 20 in the Maximum File Size field and pick KB. Switch the output format to JPEG so the download keeps the .jpg extension the portal expects.

Convert and download

Click Convert & Download. Sukat binary-searches the JPEG quality scale — dropping pixel dimensions only as a last resort — and saves a .jpg that fits under 20 KB.

When you need it

When a portal demands 20 KB

20 KB is a signature-and-small-photo ceiling, not a general web target. It clusters around a specific set of forms.

  • Signature uploads on exam portals. SSC, UPSC, IBPS, RRB, and state PSC applications commonly cap the scanned-signature file at 20 KB (with the photo allowed a little more). A signature is mostly white space, so 20 KB holds it cleanly.
  • Small ID-photo fields. Some government and exam forms set a tight 20 KB ceiling for the applicant photo itself, not just the signature. Sukat re-encodes quality first and only downscales dimensions if it has to.
  • Legacy form fields. Older school, university, and municipal portals built around small upload limits that were never modernised still enforce a hard 20 KB cap at the field level.
  • Bandwidth-constrained attachments. Keeping a JPG tiny enough to send reliably over MMS, a slow connection, or a mailbox with a strict per-attachment limit.
  • Bulk document sets. When a form wants several small images (photo, signature, thumb impression) each under a KB cap, a 20 KB-per-file batch keeps the whole upload under the total ceiling.
Why Sukat

Built for the JPG-plus-20-KB constraint

A tight ceiling and a required format at once — without guessing quality settings or running two tools.

Hits 20 KB and JPG together, in one pass

Set JPEG as the output, type 20 KB as the maximum file size, click convert. The binary search converges on the highest JPEG quality that still fits under the cap, and the download lands with a .jpg extension and the right header bytes for the portal’s file-type check. No trial-and-error slider, no second tool for the format.

Quality first, dimensions only as a last resort

At 20 KB the file is tight, but the order still matters. Sukat drops JPEG quality first and only reduces pixel dimensions when quality alone can’t reach the target — so a signature stays crisp and a small photo keeps as much resolution as the cap allows. The live preview shows the real output dimensions before you download.

Signatures compress cleanly at this size

A scanned signature is mostly flat white with thin dark strokes — exactly what JPEG handles well at a tiny size. 20 KB is comfortable for a signature and workable for a small headshot. For a full-resolution photo, expect some downscaling, which Sukat shows you up front.

HEIC or PNG input, JPG output, one step

If the source is an iPhone HEIC or a PNG scan and the form needs a JPG under 20 KB, Sukat handles the decode and the format conversion in the same compression pass. No separate “convert to JPG first” step, and PNG signatures usually come out cleaner as JPEG at this size.

Local-only, no upload

Compression runs entirely in your browser via the Canvas API. Your files never reach a server, EXIF and GPS are stripped on re-encode, and you can verify by switching to airplane mode after the page loads — the conversion still works.

Questions

FAQ

Can I compress a JPG to 20 KB without losing quality?

20 KB is a tight ceiling, so some quality loss is unavoidable for anything larger than a small headshot or a signature scan. Sukat’s binary search finds the highest JPEG quality that still fits under 20 KB, so you get the best possible result for that size rather than an arbitrary guess. For a signature or a small ID photo — the usual reasons to need 20 KB — the output is clean.

Why do some portals ask for exactly 20 KB?

20 KB is a common ceiling for signature uploads and small ID photos on government and exam portals. SSC, UPSC, IBPS, RRB, and similar recruitment or admission forms often cap the signature file at 20 KB while allowing the photo a slightly higher limit. The field simply rejects anything larger, so the file has to sit under the cap exactly.

Does this work for PNG or WebP too, not just JPG?

Yes. Sukat accepts JPG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, and AVIF as input and can convert format during compression. Converting a PNG to JPG on the way to 20 KB usually gets a cleaner result, since JPEG compresses photographic and signature detail more efficiently than PNG at a tiny size. Pick JPEG as the output when the portal wants a .jpg.

What if my original photo is very high resolution?

Sukat re-encodes JPEG quality first and only reduces pixel dimensions as a last resort if quality reduction alone can’t reach 20 KB. This keeps the image as sharp as possible at the smaller file size. At 20 KB a full-resolution photo will usually need some downscaling — the live preview shows the actual output dimensions before you commit.

Can I batch-compress several files to 20 KB at once?

Yes. Drop multiple images onto the drop zone, set 20 KB as the maximum file size, and pick JPEG. Sukat processes each one independently — the binary search runs per file because the optimal quality depends on the image — and you can download them individually or as a single ZIP. Handy when a form wants a photo and a signature both under a KB cap.

Is my file uploaded to a server?

No. Sukat compresses entirely in your browser using the Canvas API. Your file never leaves your device — nothing is uploaded, stored, or seen by anyone else. After the page loads you can switch to airplane mode and the compression still works, which is how you can confirm it.

State the format and the limit. Sukat hits both.

Free, browser-based, no upload, no watermark. Drop your signature or photo, type 20, pick JPEG, download a .jpg the portal accepts.

Compress JPG to 20 KB now →