Reduce the number of colors (quantization)

Reduce a photo to a palette of only a few colors for a clean graphic look, like screen printing or flat icons. The final number of colors is fully adjustable.

Example:
Drag and drop, or click to browse (30 MB max)

How it works

Quantization consists of first extracting the image's dominant colors (a simplified palette computed by an algorithm close to median cut), then replacing each pixel with the palette color that resembles it most. The result is an image with crisp flat areas, with a strictly limited number of hues.

How many colors should I choose?

A low value (2 to 6) produces a very graphic result, like a logo or minimalist poster. A higher value (16 to 32) keeps more shades while significantly reducing the weight and visual complexity of the original image.

Is it the same as simple posterize?

No: posterize reduces levels per channel (red, green, blue) independently, while quantization first picks a set of colors representative of the whole image, then assigns each pixel the closest color from that specific set — the result better matches the hues actually present in the photo.

100% local processing: palette extraction (WebAssembly) and pixel replacement (JavaScript) run entirely in your browser, with no file upload.