Squoosh Alternative for Mac: 7 Batch Image Compressors (2026)
Squoosh is one of the best things Google's Chrome team ever shipped. Open a browser tab, drag in an image, and you get a live side-by-side slider, granular codec controls, and genuinely excellent compression, all running locally in WebAssembly. For tuning a single hero image to perfection, nothing beats it.
But there is a wall you hit the moment your workflow grows past one file. Squoosh handles one image at a time. There is no batch mode, no multi-select, no folder queue. You drag an image in, tune it by hand, export it, then start over from scratch for the next one. Google once shipped a Squoosh CLI for batch jobs, but it has been deprecated and is no longer maintained. If you have a folder of 300 product photos, Squoosh is the wrong tool, full stop.
That is why so many Mac users go looking for a Squoosh alternative that keeps the local, private, no-upload philosophy but adds the one thing Squoosh was never built for: batch processing. This guide covers the 7 best options for 2026, starting with native macOS apps that compress entire folders offline. We will be honest about where Squoosh still wins, too, because for single-image work it remains hard to beat.
What Squoosh Does Well (and Where It Stops)
Before you replace it, it is worth being fair about why Squoosh earned its reputation.
What Squoosh does brilliantly:
- Everything runs locally. Squoosh does the compression in your browser using WebAssembly. Once the page has loaded, your image is processed on your own machine, not uploaded to a server. This is a real privacy win over cloud tools like TinyPNG or ShortPixel.
- World-class codec control. It supports MozJPEG, OxiPNG, WebP, AVIF, and JPEG XL, with granular sliders for quality, effort, and advanced encoder settings. For squeezing the absolute smallest file out of one image, the control is unmatched.
- The best before/after preview anywhere. The draggable slider that shows original versus compressed side by side, with a live file-size readout, is the feature everyone remembers. It makes dialing in the quality trade-off genuinely easy.
- Zero install. It runs in any modern browser. Nothing to download, nothing to update.
Where Squoosh stops:
- One image at a time. This is the headline limitation. No batch, no queue, no multi-select, no folder support. Every image is a fresh manual session.
- Manual tuning by design. The control that makes Squoosh great for one image makes it exhausting for fifty. You are hand-adjusting sliders per file with no way to save and reapply a preset across a batch.
- Images only. Squoosh does not touch video or PDF, so a real multimedia workflow still needs other tools.
- No automation. There is no folder-watching, no drag-a-folder-and-walk-away, no scripting for the average user now that the CLI is gone.
- It lives in a tab. For a quick one-off that is a feature; for a daily workflow, a browser tab is a fragile place to keep a tool you rely on.
If you compress one image a week, Squoosh is perfect and you can stop reading. If you regularly process folders, or need video and PDF too, keep going.
The 7 Best Squoosh Alternatives for Mac
Here are the tools worth your attention in 2026, ranked with offline batch-capable options first.
1. Compresto - Best Batch Squoosh Alternative for Mac
Price: One-time purchase with a free trial (no subscription)
Platform: Native macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel)
Compresto keeps everything people love about Squoosh - fully local, no uploads, quality-first compression - and adds the one thing Squoosh cannot do: it processes an entire folder in a single pass. It is a native Mac app rather than a browser tab, which is exactly what you want when compression stops being a one-off and becomes part of your routine.
Key advantages over Squoosh:
- True batch and folder processing. Drop in a whole folder and Compresto chews through hundreds of images at once. No dragging files in one at a time, no re-tuning per file.
- 100% local and offline. Like Squoosh, your files never touch a server. Compresto just extends that privacy to large batches and to formats Squoosh does not handle.
- More than images. Beyond image compression, Compresto handles video (MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, and more) and PDFs, so a single app covers a whole multimedia workflow instead of just still images.
- Hardware acceleration. It uses Metal and VideoToolbox on your Mac for fast compression, which matters a lot once you are processing folders rather than single files.
- Automatic quality optimization so you get small files without hand-tuning a slider for every image - the opposite of Squoosh's manual-per-file model.
- Folder-watching auto-compress. Point it at a folder and new files get compressed automatically as they land.
- Metadata control. Keep or strip EXIF and other metadata, plus downscale and resize on the fly.
Supported formats: JPEG, PNG, GIF, HEIC, WebP, TIFF, SVG (plus video and PDF).
Best for: Mac users who love Squoosh's local, private approach but need to compress folders, not single files - and anyone who also wants video and PDF support in one app.
Why choose Compresto: Squoosh is the gold standard for tuning one image. Compresto is what you reach for when "one image" becomes "this whole folder, every week." It keeps the on-device privacy, drops the manual-per-file grind, and adds video, PDF, and folder automation a browser tab simply cannot offer.
2. ImageOptim - Best Free Mac Batch Option
Price: Free (open source)
Platform: macOS
ImageOptim is the classic free Mac compressor, and unlike Squoosh it handles batches natively. Drag a folder of PNGs and JPEGs onto it and it runs them through a stack of open-source optimizers (PNGOUT, OptiPNG, MozJPEG, and others) locally. It leans toward lossless by default, with optional lossy settings, and it processes many files at once - the thing Squoosh cannot do.
Best for: Mac users who want a free, offline batch optimizer and do not need the granular codec sliders, video, or PDF. Our roundup of ImageOptim alternatives lists more options if it is not quite right.
3. Caesium - Best Cross-Platform Free Desktop App
Price: Free (open source)
Platform: Windows and macOS
Caesium is a free desktop compressor that processes JPEG, PNG, and WebP locally with adjustable quality and, crucially, batch support. It is a sensible pick if you split your time between a Mac and a Windows machine and want the same offline batch tool on both - a step up from Squoosh's single-file browser flow.
Best for: Budget-conscious users on mixed platforms who want local batch compression without a subscription.
4. XnConvert - Best Free Batch Converter and Compressor
Price: Free (personal use)
Platform: macOS, Windows, and Linux
XnConvert is a free, cross-platform batch image processor. It converts and compresses across a long list of image formats and can apply resizing and basic edits to hundreds of files at once, all offline. Where Squoosh is one image and one slider, XnConvert is a batch pipeline you configure once and run over a whole folder.
Best for: Free, offline batch image conversion and compression across many formats, if you do not mind a busier interface.
5. TinyPNG - Best Known Web Compressor
Price: Free tier and paid API
Platform: Web and API
TinyPNG is the tool most people compare Squoosh to. Its smart-lossy compression is excellent and it does allow a small batch (roughly 20 images) in the browser, so it is less single-file than Squoosh. The trade-off is the opposite one: TinyPNG uploads every image to its servers, where Squoosh keeps them local. If you want the privacy of Squoosh with the batching of a desktop app, see our TinyPNG alternative for Mac guide.
Best for: Quick online compression when a modest batch and a good API matter more than keeping files off a server.
6. ShortPixel - Best for WordPress and Websites
Price: Credit-based plans (free tier available)
Platform: Web, WordPress plugin, and API
ShortPixel is built for websites rather than desktops. Its WordPress plugin compresses your media library automatically and converts images to WebP and AVIF on upload, and its API plugs into custom pipelines. Like most web services it processes images remotely, so it trades Squoosh's local privacy for hands-off automation at site scale. Our ShortPixel alternative for Mac guide covers offline options.
Best for: WordPress site owners who want ongoing, automated compression baked into their CMS.
7. Optimizilla - Best Simple Web Compressor
Price: Free
Platform: Web
Optimizilla is a no-fuss online compressor for JPEG and PNG with a quality slider and a live preview, and it allows up to 20 images at a time - a small batch Squoosh does not offer. Like Squoosh it is browser-based, but files are uploaded rather than processed locally, so it is a different privacy trade-off.
Best for: Quick, occasional web compressions where you want a visual slider and a small batch without installing anything.
Quick Comparison Table
| Tool | Price | Batch | Formats | Platform | Offline | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compresto | One-time + free trial | Yes (folders) | Image, Video, PDF | Native Mac | Yes | Offline batch all-in-one |
| ImageOptim | Free | Yes | PNG, JPEG, GIF | Native Mac | Yes | Free local batch optimizing |
| Caesium | Free | Yes | JPEG, PNG, WebP | Win/Mac | Yes | Cross-platform batches |
| XnConvert | Free | Yes | Many image formats | Win/Mac/Linux | Yes | Free batch convert + compress |
| TinyPNG | Free/Paid | ~20 at a time | PNG, JPEG, WebP | Web/API | No | Quick online compression |
| ShortPixel | From free tier | Yes | PNG, JPEG, WebP, AVIF | Web/WordPress/API | No | WordPress and APIs |
| Optimizilla | Free | ~20 at a time | JPEG, PNG | Web | No | Quick web compression |
| Squoosh | Free | No (one at a time) | PNG, JPEG, WebP, AVIF, JPEG XL | Web | Yes (after load) | Tuning single images |
Which Squoosh Alternative Should You Choose?
The best Squoosh alternative depends less on which tool is "best" overall and more on what pushed you past Squoosh in the first place. Use these questions to narrow it down:
- Are you compressing more than one image at a time? This is the whole reason most people leave Squoosh. If you regularly process folders, choose a native batch app. Compresto, ImageOptim, Caesium, and XnConvert all handle whole folders locally. For a deeper look at the category, see our guide to the best batch image compression tool.
- Do your images need to stay private? Squoosh's local processing is a genuine strength, so if privacy is why you liked it, do not downgrade to a cloud uploader. Compresto, ImageOptim, Caesium, and XnConvert keep everything on your Mac.
- Do you need more than images? Squoosh is images-only. If your work also involves video and PDFs, an all-in-one app like Compresto saves you from juggling three tools.
- Is it genuinely a one-off? For a single image where you want to hand-tune the codec, honestly, just keep using Squoosh. It is excellent at that. You do not need to install anything for occasional single-file work.
- Do you want small files without the manual grind? Squoosh makes you tune every image by hand. If you would rather get good results automatically, tools with sensible defaults like Compresto or ImageOptim are far less work at volume. Our guide on how to compress images without losing quality explains the trade-offs.
For most Mac users who landed here, the answer is simple: you outgrew a single-image browser tool and need something that batches. A native app is the upgrade.
If you are replacing other web-based tools too, two sibling guides cover the same offline-first approach: our TinyPNG alternative for Mac roundup and the ShortPixel alternative for Mac guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Squoosh compress multiple images at once?
No. Squoosh processes one image at a time - there is no batch mode, multi-select, or folder queue in the web app. Google previously offered a Squoosh CLI that could batch, but it has been deprecated. For batch work, a native Mac app like Compresto or a free tool like ImageOptim processes entire folders in one pass.
Is there a Squoosh alternative that works offline on Mac?
Yes, and you actually get more offline capability, not less. Squoosh runs locally in the browser but only for single images. Compresto, ImageOptim, Caesium, and XnConvert all run entirely offline on your Mac and add batch processing on top. Compresto also handles video and PDF, which Squoosh does not.
What is the best free Squoosh alternative?
For free, offline batch compression on Mac, ImageOptim is the standout - it runs on your device, is open source, and handles folders. Caesium and XnConvert are strong free cross-platform picks. If you want batch plus video and PDF in one app, Compresto offers a free trial so you can test it first.
Does a batch tool give the same quality as Squoosh's manual tuning?
For most work, yes. Squoosh's per-image sliders can win a few kilobytes on a single hero image if you tune carefully. But batch tools use the same modern codecs (MozJPEG, WebP, quantization for PNG) with smart defaults, so across a folder of hundreds of images the results are comparable - and you save hours of manual adjustment.
The Bottom Line
Squoosh is a masterclass in single-image compression. The local WebAssembly engine, the codec control, and that draggable before/after slider make it the gold standard for tuning one picture. But it was never designed for volume, and the deprecated CLI means there is no batch path left. The moment "one image" becomes "this whole folder," you have outgrown it.
If you are on a Mac and need to keep Squoosh's local, private approach while compressing folders instead of single files, a native app is the answer. Compresto gives you on-device batch compression for images, video, and PDFs, with hardware acceleration and folder-watching automation, all from a one-time purchase with a free trial. Download it and compress your first folder in one pass, no uploads and no per-image tuning required.