SaveDelete vs TinyPNG vs Squoosh: Which Image Compressor to Use (2026)
SaveDelete, TinyPNG and Squoosh are three of the most-used free image compressors, and they are built on quite different ideas. TinyPNG is a polished upload-and-go service with paid tiers and a developer API. Squoosh is an open-source lab tool from Google that never uploads your image at all. Ours is built around a narrower job: getting a file under a specific size limit.
A note on bias: SaveDelete makes one of the three tools compared here. We have tried to be straight about where the other two are the better choice, and every fact below was checked against each tool's own pages in September 2026.
Quick Comparison
| SaveDelete | TinyPNG | Squoosh | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free; no signup, no paid plan | Free tier; Web Pro $39/year, Web Ultra $149/year | Free and open source |
| Where images are processed | On our server | On TinyPNG's servers | In your browser — never uploaded |
| How long files are kept | About an hour | Up to 48 hours | Never leave your device |
| Images at once | Several, compressed together | Up to 20 on the free tier | One at a time |
| Max file size (free) | 25MB | 5MB (75MB on Web Pro) | No stated limit |
| Output formats | JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF | JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF (3 conversions per session on the free tier) | MozJPEG, WebP, AVIF, OxiPNG, JPEG XL (beta), QOI and more |
| Compress to a target size | Yes — 20–500KB presets or any custom value | No | No |
| Manual quality control | Quality slider | None — fully automatic | Full per-codec settings with live preview |
| iPhone HEIC photos | Accepted | Accepted, converted to JPG | Depends on your browser |
| Developer API | No | Yes — 500 free compressions a month | No (the CLI was retired in 2023) |
| WordPress plugin | No | Yes | No |
| Works offline | No | No | Yes, as an installable web app |
SaveDelete Image Compressor
Our free image compressor is designed for the situation where the file has to fit somewhere: an exam form that accepts photos up to 50KB, a job portal with a 100KB ceiling, an email attachment limit. Instead of a quality slider you guess with, you choose Compress to size and a limit. It then searches for the highest quality that fits, and only if quality alone would visibly damage the photo does it reduce the dimensions. Limits count 1KB as 1,000 bytes, so the result passes forms whichever way they measure it.
For ordinary web work there is a quality slider, a choice of JPEG, PNG, WebP or AVIF output (or Auto), optional maximum dimensions, and presets for social media, email, thumbnails and print. It accepts iPhone HEIC photos as well as JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP, TIFF and AVIF. EXIF metadata — including the GPS location a phone records — is stripped by default.
Where it falls short: images are processed on our server rather than in your browser. The compressed copy is deleted about an hour later, but if a file must never leave your device, Squoosh is the better tool. PNG output is lossless only, so it will not match TinyPNG's colour-reduction savings on PNG-to-PNG jobs; converting to WebP is where its big PNG savings come from. There is no API or WordPress plugin.
Best for: hitting an exact size limit for ID photos, signatures and document uploads, and quick one-off web optimisation.
TinyPNG
TinyPNG is the most familiar name here. You drop images in and it does the rest; there are no settings to adjust. For PNGs, its large savings come from reducing the image to a palette of up to 256 colours. On logos, icons and most graphics that is invisible, though smooth gradients can occasionally show banding. JPEGs, WebP and AVIF are compressed too, and it will convert between formats.
The free web tool takes up to 20 images of 5MB each, with three format conversions per session. Web Pro ($39 a year) removes the compression limit and raises the file size to 75MB; Web Ultra ($149 a year) adds unlimited conversions and 150MB files. Developers get 500 free API compressions a month, then $0.009 each up to 10,000 and $0.002 after that, and the official WordPress plugin uses the same allowance to compress uploads automatically.
Where it falls short: there is no control at all — you cannot choose a quality level or a target size, so if the result is still too big for a form, there is nothing to adjust. Uploaded images are kept on TinyPNG's servers for up to 48 hours.
Best for: website images and PNG graphics, and anyone who wants compression built into WordPress or a build pipeline.
Squoosh
Squoosh is Google Chrome Labs' open-source compressor, and it works differently from the other two: all processing happens in your browser using codecs compiled to WebAssembly. Your image is never uploaded, and once installed as a web app it works offline.
It is the tool for people who want to see exactly what they are trading. A split-screen preview shows original and compressed side by side, and each codec exposes its real settings — MozJPEG, WebP, AVIF, OxiPNG, JPEG XL (beta) and more — along with resizing and palette reduction.
Where it falls short: it handles one image at a time, and the command-line version was retired in January 2023. There is no target-size option, so hitting a limit means adjusting the slider and watching the size readout. Development has also slowed, with the last code change in August 2024, though the web app remains online and fully usable.
Best for: private or sensitive images, fine-tuning a single important image, and trying newer formats such as AVIF and JPEG XL.
Which Should You Use?
- A form says "maximum 100KB" (or 20KB, or 50KB): SaveDelete. It is the only one of the three that takes a target size, so you get a compliant file in one step. Our guide to compressing an image to 100KB covers portal-specific details.
- Logos, icons and PNG graphics for a website: TinyPNG. Its colour reduction produces much smaller PNGs than lossless optimisation can.
- A WordPress site or an automated workflow: TinyPNG, via its plugin or API.
- ID documents or anything private: Squoosh, because the file never leaves your device. An offline editor is the other safe option.
- One hero image you want to get exactly right: Squoosh, for the side-by-side preview and codec-level control.
- iPhone photos still in HEIC: SaveDelete or TinyPNG — both accept HEIC. In ours, choose JPEG as the output format if the destination needs a JPG.
- A folder of photos to shrink quickly: SaveDelete or TinyPNG. Both take several images at once; Squoosh does not.
For a wider look at the options, see our roundup of the best free tools to reduce image size and our guide to how image compression improves website speed. On a phone, our guide to reducing image size on Android and iPhone covers the built-in options and apps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which image compressor gives the best quality for the size?
Squoosh, in skilled hands: it gives direct access to modern encoders such as MozJPEG and AVIF and lets you tune them against a live preview. For zero-effort results TinyPNG is very good, especially on PNG graphics. When the priority is fitting a specific size, SaveDelete keeps the highest quality that fits under the limit.
Can I use these tools for commercial projects?
Yes. All three can be used for commercial work. For volume, TinyPNG's paid web plans and API are designed for businesses; SaveDelete and Squoosh are free for any use.
How private are my images with each tool?
Squoosh never uploads your image, so it is the most private. SaveDelete and TinyPNG both process on their servers: we delete compressed copies after about an hour and strip location metadata by default, while TinyPNG keeps files for up to 48 hours. For ID documents, prefer Squoosh or an offline editor.
Which tool is best for WordPress websites?
TinyPNG, which has an official plugin that compresses images as you upload them, with 500 free compressions a month. SaveDelete and Squoosh have no WordPress plugins, so you would compress images before uploading them.
Do these tools support AVIF and other modern formats?
All three can produce WebP and AVIF. Squoosh goes furthest, adding JPEG XL (beta), QOI and WebP v2. TinyPNG also accepts JPEG XL as an input, and both TinyPNG and SaveDelete accept iPhone HEIC photos.
Can I compress images in bulk?
TinyPNG takes up to 20 images at a time on the free tier. SaveDelete lets you add several images and compress them together, up to 25MB each. Squoosh processes one image at a time.
Which tool has an API for developers?
Only TinyPNG, among these three. Its API includes 500 free compressions a month and official client libraries for several programming languages. Squoosh's command-line tool was retired in 2023.
Are there file size limits?
SaveDelete accepts files up to 25MB. TinyPNG's free tier is limited to 5MB per image, rising to 75MB on Web Pro and 150MB on Web Ultra. Squoosh states no limit, though very large images are constrained by your device's memory.
Which is cheapest for heavy use?
SaveDelete and Squoosh are free with no usage caps. TinyPNG's Web Pro plan, at $39 a year, removes the free tier's limits for web use; API use beyond 500 a month is charged per image.
Can I use these tools offline?
Only Squoosh. Once installed as a web app, it works without an internet connection because everything runs in your browser. SaveDelete and TinyPNG need a connection to reach their servers.
The Bottom Line
There is no single winner, because the three tools solve different problems. Use TinyPNG for effortless web compression and WordPress automation, Squoosh for privacy and fine control, and SaveDelete when a file has to come in under a specific size. All three are free to start with, so the quickest way to choose is to run the same image through each.
Facts checked September 2026 against each tool's own website. Prices and limits change; check the vendor's page before you buy.