Pick Kompressor if…
You compress in batches — folders of photos, web assets, social media exports.
You want a native Mac app with proper Finder integration, not a browser tab.
You want two settings, not a codec optimisation rabbit hole.
Last updated: 7 May 2026
Kompressor vs Squoosh
Squoosh is brilliant for fine-tuning one image. Kompressor handles your whole folder. Same local processing, different scale.
Verdict
Squoosh from Google Chrome Labs is the best tool on the web for fine-tuning a single image — it exposes detailed codec controls (MozJPEG, AVIF, WebP, JPEG-XL) and runs locally in your browser via WebAssembly. Its catch is fundamental: one image at a time, no batch. Kompressor handles whole folders in a single drop. For a single hero image you want perfect, use Squoosh. For everything else, use Kompressor.
| Feature | Kompressor | Squoosh |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 one-time | Free (Chrome Labs) |
| Free tier | 10 images / day | Unlimited (1 at a time) |
| Platform | macOS 11+ (Universal) | Web (any OS) |
| Privacy | 100% local (native) | 100% local (WebAssembly in browser) |
| Batch compression | Whole folders | No — one image at a time |
| Output formats | JPEG, PNG, WebP | JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, JPEG-XL, OxiPNG, MozJPEG |
| Detailed codec controls | Quality slider only | Chroma subsampling, lossless, alpha quality, etc. |
| Side-by-side preview | No | Yes |
| Drag & drop folder | Yes, recursive | No |
| Resize | 5 presets + original | Yes, custom |
Where Kompressor wins
Batches — drop a folder, get smaller copies
Squoosh's biggest single limitation is that it handles one image at a time. To compress 50 photos you drag them in one by one, tweak settings, save each manually. That is fine for one carefully optimised hero image; it is painful for a real workflow with a folder of holiday shots, blog images, or web assets. Kompressor takes a whole folder in one drop and outputs the lot in seconds.
Native macOS app, not a browser tab
Squoosh lives in a browser tab. That has trade-offs: every
new image is a fresh upload to the page (locally, but
still), the browser tab can crash, and you operate the
tool in browser chrome. Kompressor is a real Mac app —
it shows up in the Dock, supports proper drag from
Finder, and writes results directly to
~/Documents/Kompressor/ with a clean
-kompressor suffix. No browser, no Save As
dialog, no rename dance.
Faster on big batches via native CPU
Squoosh runs in WebAssembly — fast for what it is, but fundamentally bottlenecked by the browser engine and a single image at a time. Kompressor uses native Rust on all CPU cores. A folder of 200 photos that would take Squoosh 40+ minutes (one by one) takes Kompressor 6–10 seconds in batch.
Two settings, no codec rabbit hole
Squoosh's strength is its detailed codec controls — chroma subsampling, lossless mode, alpha quality, palette sizes, the works. For optimisation work that is great. For "I just want my photo smaller" it is overwhelming. Kompressor reduces the decision to a quality slider and a max-size dropdown. Pick a number, hit Compress.
Where Squoosh wins
It is genuinely free, on every OS
Squoosh is a free Google project, runs in any modern browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge), works on Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, Mac, even iPad. Kompressor is macOS only. For a Linux user or someone on a friend's Windows PC, Squoosh is the only option from this comparison.
Detailed codec controls (the most of any tool)
Squoosh exposes more codec parameters than any other compressor on this list. You can tune chroma subsampling, select MozJPEG vs OxiPNG vs AVIF vs JPEG-XL, control alpha channel separately, switch between lossless and lossy. For a developer optimising the hero image of a performance-critical landing page, these knobs let you shave the last few kilobytes Kompressor cannot reach.
Side-by-side preview
Squoosh shows the original and compressed image side by side, with a slider you can drag across to compare. This is genuinely useful for finding the exact quality setting where artifacts appear. Kompressor shows file size before and after but no visual preview. For visual perfection work, Squoosh wins.
Pricing breakdown
Squoosh is free, forever, with no strings — it is a Google Chrome Labs experiment and an open source project. Kompressor Pro is $2.99 once for one Mac, Team is $9.99 once for five Macs.
The two tools target different needs and the price gap should not drive the choice. If you compress one image a month, use Squoosh and save your $2.99. If you compress batches regularly, the time you save with Kompressor across a single afternoon's work pays for it many times over. Many designers actually use both: Squoosh to find the right quality setting for a representative image, Kompressor to apply that setting to the whole folder.
Pick Squoosh if…
You optimise one hero image at a time with detailed codec controls.
You need AVIF, JPEG-XL or OxiPNG output that Kompressor doesn't (yet) support.
You're not on a Mac, or want a tool that works in any browser, any OS.
Try Kompressor free.
10 images every day, no email, no card. Skip the one-by-one workflow.
macOS 11+ · 6 MB universal binary · refundable within 14 days
Frequently asked
Can Squoosh batch-compress a folder of images?
No. Squoosh handles one image at a time. To compress 50 images you would need to drag them in one by one — slow and tedious. Kompressor handles whole folders in a single drop.
Is Squoosh really local even though it's a website?
Yes. Squoosh runs entirely in your browser using WebAssembly — no server upload. Your images never leave your device. It is one of the few web tools that is truly local. Kompressor is also fully local but as a native Mac app.
Does Squoosh have AVIF and JPEG-XL?
Yes — Squoosh exposes the most advanced codec controls of any compressor on this list, including AVIF and JPEG-XL with detailed quality settings. Kompressor outputs JPEG, PNG and WebP only in 2026.
Why pay for Kompressor when Squoosh is free?
Because Squoosh handles one image at a time and Kompressor handles whole folders. For a single hero image, Squoosh wins on detail. For a folder of 50 photos for a website launch, Kompressor wins on speed.
Can I use Squoosh and Kompressor together?
Yes — they complement each other well. Use Squoosh to find the right quality setting for a representative image with side-by-side preview. Then use Kompressor to apply that setting to the whole folder in one drop.