Top 7 Programs to Resize JPGs: Increase or Decrease Height & Width Easily

Batch Resize JPGs: Tools for Increasing or Decreasing Height and Width QuicklyResizing large numbers of JPG images — whether to increase or decrease height and width — is a common task for photographers, web designers, marketers, and anyone managing image-heavy content. Doing it manually is slow and error-prone; batch resizing tools automate the work, preserve consistent dimensions and aspect ratios, and often include options to control quality, metadata, and file formats. This article explains when and why batch resizing is useful, what to consider when resizing JPGs, and reviews a range of tools (desktop, command-line, and online) that make the task fast and reliable.

Why batch resize JPGs?

Save time: process hundreds or thousands of files at once instead of one-by-one.
Consistency: ensure uniform dimensions across galleries, product listings, or thumbnails.
Performance: smaller images reduce page load times and bandwidth usage.
Compatibility: conform to platform or client specifications (e.g., Instagram, e‑commerce).
Storage: smaller files free up disk space when you reduce dimensions/quality.

Key considerations before resizing

Aspect ratio: maintain it to avoid distortion unless intentional cropping/stretches are required.
Interpolation method: bicubic, bilinear, lanczos — affects sharpness and artifacts when resizing.
Upscaling vs downscaling: increasing dimensions can introduce blur and artifacts; use specialized algorithms for better results.
Image quality & compression: JPG is lossy — higher compression reduces size but may reduce visual quality.
Metadata and color profiles: decide whether to preserve EXIF, IPTC, and ICC profiles.
File naming and backups: keep originals or use a renaming scheme to avoid accidental overwrites.
Batch workflow needs: GUI vs CLI, automation scripting, watch folders, or integration with other tools.

Common resizing strategies

Resize to exact dimensions (e.g., 800×600 px).
Resize by percentage (e.g., 50% smaller).
Resize to fit within a bounding box while preserving aspect ratio (e.g., max width 1024 px).
Resize and pad or crop to reach exact size (useful for thumbnails).
Smart upscaling: apply AI-driven algorithms to enlarge with less quality loss.

Desktop GUI tools

Adobe Photoshop (Image Processor / Actions)

Photoshop remains powerful for batch jobs via the Image Processor, Actions, or Image Processor Pro scripts.

Pros: flexible, high-quality resampling, automation, metadata control.
Cons: paid subscription; steeper learning curve.

Example workflow:

Record an Action that resizes and saves as JPG with desired quality.
Use File > Scripts > Image Processor to apply the action to a folder.

Affinity Photo

A modern, one-time-purchase alternative to Photoshop with batch processing in its Batch Job dialog.

Pros: affordable, strong resampling algorithms, preserves color profiles.
Cons: fewer automation integrations than Photoshop.

XnConvert / XnView MP

Free for personal use; robust batch conversion and resize features with many filters.

Pros: lightweight, supports many formats, easy scripting, preserves metadata if desired.
Cons: UI may look dated; advanced features require learning.

FastStone Photo Resizer

Windows-focused, simple interface, supports recursive folder processing, renaming, and basic editing in batch.

Pros: very fast, intuitive, effective for common tasks.
Cons: Windows-only; limited advanced resampling options.

Command-line tools (best for automation, servers, and power users)

ImageMagick (convert / mogrify / magick)

ImageMagick is ubiquitous and extremely flexible.

Resize examples:
- Downscale to fit width 1024 px, preserving aspect ratio:
```
mogrify -resize 1024x *.jpg 
```
- Resize to exact 800×600 (may distort):
```
mogrify -resize 800x600! 
```
- Fit within box 1024×768, preserving aspect ratio:
```
mogrify -resize 1024x768> *.jpg 
```
- Batch convert and set quality:
```
mogrify -path output/ -resize 1200x -quality 85 *.jpg 
```
Pros: powerful, scriptable, runs on Windows/macOS/Linux.
Cons: many options can overwhelm beginners; default interpolation may need tweaking (use -filter Lanczos, -define jpeg:extent).

GraphicsMagick

A lighter-weight fork of ImageMagick with similar commands and better performance in some cases.

Example:


gm mogrify -resize 50% -quality 85 -output-directory out/ *.jpg

libvips / nip2

Extremely fast and memory-efficient, recommended for large batches or very large images.

Example using vips from shell:


for f in *.jpg; do vips resize "$f" out/"$f" 0.5; done

Pros: speed and low memory usage; high-quality resampling.
Cons: less ubiquitous knowledge; CLI syntax differs.

AI upscaling tools (for increasing dimensions)

Topaz Gigapixel AI, ON1 Resize AI, and Upscale.media provide AI-driven upscaling that preserves detail better than traditional interpolation.
Use when you must enlarge images significantly (e.g., up to 2×, 4×) with better perceived sharpness.
Pros: superior visual results for upscaling.
Cons: resource-intensive, often paid, results vary by image type.

Online batch resizers

Many websites let you upload multiple JPGs, set dimensions/percentages, and download a ZIP of resized files.
Good for quick jobs without installing software, but watch for:
- File size/upload limits.
- Privacy concerns (avoid uploading sensitive images).
- Slower for large batches or very large files.

Popular options typically include bulk resizing, cropping, and format conversion. Choose ones that offer quality control (resampling method, output quality) and preserve or strip metadata as you prefer.

Example workflows

Web thumbnails: Resize to fit within 400×400 px, then use ImageMagick for batch:
```
mogrify -path thumbnails/ -resize 400x400> -quality 80 *.jpg 
```

E-commerce product images: Standardize to exact 1000×1000 px with white padding:


mogrify -path output/ -resize 1000x1000 -background white -gravity center -extent 1000x1000 *.jpg

Large-scale server processing with libvips (fastest for many files):
```
for f in *.jpg; do vips thumbnail "$f" out/"$f" 1200; done 
```

Tips to preserve quality

Downscale rather than upscale when possible.
Use higher initial JPG quality (lower compression) before resizing, then re-export with a reasonable quality setting (e.g., 80–92) to balance size and fidelity.
Choose lanczos or bicubic for photographic content; nearest-neighbor for pixel art to preserve hard edges.
Test on a subset of images to fine-tune parameters before running a full batch.
Keep originals or use versioned output folders.

Quick comparison

Tool type	Example tools	Best for	Pros	Cons
Desktop GUI	Photoshop, Affinity, XnConvert	Interactive batch jobs, visual control	Easy-to-use, rich options	Paid (some), heavier installs
Command-line	ImageMagick, GraphicsMagick, libvips	Automation, servers, large batches	Scriptable, fast, powerful	Requires CLI knowledge
AI upscalers	Topaz Gigapixel, ON1 Resize AI	Enlarging with quality preservation	Superior upscaling results	Costly, resource-heavy
Online services	Various web apps	Quick, casual resizing	No install, accessible	Privacy, upload limits, slower for big batches

Final recommendations

For occasional GUI use: XnConvert (free) or Affinity Photo (one-time purchase).
For professional, scriptable workflows: ImageMagick for flexibility; libvips for speed at scale.
For serious upscaling needs: try AI tools like Topaz Gigapixel AI.
Always test settings on sample images and keep backups of originals.

If you want, tell me your operating system, number of images, and whether you need upscaling or downscaling — I’ll recommend a specific tool and give exact commands or steps.