How to Convert and Optimize Images for Notion
Notion is great for organizing notes, wikis, and project documentation, but image handling is one of its weaker points. Large images slow down page loading, unsupported formats fail to display, and Notion's built-in storage counts against your workspace limits on the free plan.
Optimizing your images before adding them to Notion makes your pages load faster, keeps your storage usage in check, and avoids broken image blocks.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Check format compatibility
Notion supports JPG, PNG, GIF, SVG, TIFF, and BMP for image uploads. It also supports WebP in most cases since Notion renders in a Chromium-based environment. However, HEIC and AVIF may not display correctly. For maximum reliability, convert to JPG or PNG before uploading.
- Optimize image file sizes
Notion's free plan has a 5 MB per-file upload limit. Even on paid plans, large images slow down page rendering. Convert photos to JPG at 80-85% quality and screenshots to PNG. For documentation images, aim for under 500 KB per image. This ensures fast page loads even on pages with many images.
- Convert your images
Open imageconvert.co and drag your images onto the converter. Select your target format and adjust the quality slider. For Notion documentation, JPG at 80% quality gives the best balance of clarity and file size. Download the converted files.
- Add images to your Notion pages
In Notion, type /image to add an image block, then upload your converted file. Alternatively, drag and drop images directly into the page. You can also paste images from your clipboard. Notion will host the image on its servers and display it inline.
- Organize with image galleries
For pages with many images, use Notion's gallery view in a database or arrange image blocks in columns. This keeps your pages organized and ensures images display at appropriate sizes. You can resize images by dragging their edges in the editor.
Notion's Image Hosting and Storage
When you upload an image to Notion, it gets stored on Notion's servers and served through their CDN. The free plan limits uploads to 5 MB per file. The Plus plan increases this to 5 GB total workspace storage, and the Business plan offers 250 GB. Understanding these limits helps you plan your image optimization strategy.
For teams using Notion heavily for documentation with many screenshots and diagrams, optimizing images before upload can save significant storage. Converting PNG screenshots to JPG at 85% quality typically reduces file sizes by 60-80% with no visible quality loss on screen.
Screenshots for Notion Documentation
Screenshots are the most common image type in Notion workspaces. Screen capture tools save as PNG by default, and a single full-screen screenshot can be 2-5 MB. If your Notion workspace has hundreds of screenshots, the storage adds up quickly.
For most documentation purposes, converting screenshots to JPG at 85-90% quality is perfectly acceptable. The slight quality reduction is invisible at normal viewing sizes, and the file size savings are substantial. Keep PNG only for screenshots where pixel-perfect text rendering is critical.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Notion support WebP images?
Notion can display WebP images since its desktop and web apps use Chromium-based rendering. However, for maximum compatibility across all Notion clients including mobile, JPG and PNG are the safest choices.
What is the maximum file size for Notion image uploads?
Notion's free plan limits individual file uploads to 5 MB. Paid plans have higher limits but shared workspace storage caps. Keeping images under 1 MB each ensures fast loading and efficient storage use.
How do I reduce the size of screenshots for Notion?
Convert PNG screenshots to JPG at 85% quality using imageconvert.co. This typically reduces file size by 60-80% with no visible quality loss at screen viewing sizes.