6 Quick Steps to Change the Size of an Image on Paint.NET

Upscale or shrink down images in Paint.NET

Co-authored by Boris Polissky and Rain Kengly

Last Updated: February 19, 2026 Fact Checked

Do you need to resize an image or photo in Paint.NET? You can use the resize tool to easily make it smaller or bigger without stretching. Here's how to resize an image with Paint.NET.

Quick Steps

Open an image in Paint.NET.
Click the Image tab.
Click Resize.
Enter a size by percentage or absolute size.
Click OK.
Save the image.

Steps

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1
Open the image you want to resize. You can click File, and then Open to select the image.^{[1]
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- If you don't already have Paint.NET, you can install it from the official website.
2
Click Image. This is in the top toolbar between View and Layers.

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3
Click Resize. You can also use the shortcut CTRL + R.
- A new window will open.
4
Input a new size. You can choose to resize the image by percentage or by absolute size.
- By percentage: Enter a new percentage. A number below 100 will shrink the image, and a number above 100 will expand the image.
- By absolute size: Set the width, height, and/or resolution for the Pixel size. Alternatively, set the width and height for the Print size.
  - Make sure the box is checked for Maintain aspect ratio. When this is checked, you can change the value of the width and Paint.NET will automatically calculate the correct value for the height (or vice versa) so the image won't get distorted.
5
Click OK. This is at the bottom of the window.
- The new size will be reflected.
- If you don't like the new image size, click Edit > Undo or CTRL + Z and repeat the steps to enter a new size.
6
Save the image. Click File in the top-left corner and select Save or Save as. Enter a name, select a save location, and then click OK.

Community Q&A

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Question

When I do resize my image, it just gets really blurry. How do I fix this?

Community Answer

Create a new image with more pixels, then resize it.

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Tips

Professional photographer Boris Polissky notes there are plenty of alternatives to Paint.NET for resizing JPEGs and other images. "Photoshop and PS Lightroom provide export options," he explains, which can come in handy if you need to resize multiple images, or opt for the Paint program that comes preinstalled on Windows.^{[2]
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