# Compresto

> Compresto is a native macOS app that batch compresses videos, images, PDFs, and GIFs — up to 90% smaller with no quality loss, all offline on your Mac. Formerly known as CompressX. Also offers an Image Compression REST API.

Compresto is a native macOS application and web platform for multimedia file compression. It supports videos (MP4, MOV with H.264 / H.265 / HEVC / AV1), images (PNG, JPEG, HEIC, WebP, AVIF, GIF, SVG, TIFF), and PDFs, with batch processing and hardware acceleration via VideoToolbox on Apple Silicon.

Last updated: 2026-08-14

## Main pages

- [Homepage](https://compresto.app/): Product overview, features, testimonials, and download.
- [Pricing](https://compresto.app/pricing): Plans and pricing FAQs.
- [Image Compression API](https://compresto.app/api): REST API with live demo, code examples, and API pricing.
- [Downloads](https://compresto.app/downloads): Current and previous macOS builds.
- [Blog](https://compresto.app/blog): Guides on compression, codecs, and macOS workflows.
- [Changelog](https://compresto.app/changelog): Release notes.
- [FAQs](https://compresto.app/faqs): Frequently asked questions.
- [Use cases](https://compresto.app/use-case): Scenario-based guidance.
- [Industries](https://compresto.app/industries): Industry-specific compression solutions.
- [Case studies](https://compresto.app/case-studies): Customer stories.
- [How to set up](https://compresto.app/how-to-setup): Installation guide.
- [Contact](https://compresto.app/contact): Reach the team.
- [Author: Hieu Dinh](https://compresto.app/authors/hieu-dinh): Founder and primary author of the guides on this site.

## Comparisons

- [Compresto vs HandBrake](https://compresto.app/compresto-vs-handbrake): Native macOS compression vs. cross-platform video encoder.
- [Compresto vs FFmpeg](https://compresto.app/compresto-vs-ffmpeg): GUI compression on macOS vs. command-line encoding.
- [Compresto vs ImageOptim](https://compresto.app/compresto-vs-imageoptim): All-in-one media compression vs. image-only optimizer.
- [Compresto vs TinyPNG](https://compresto.app/compresto-vs-tinypng): Offline local compression vs. online PNG/JPEG service.
- [Compresto vs Adobe Acrobat](https://compresto.app/compresto-vs-adobe-acrobat): Lightweight PDF compression vs. full PDF suite.
- [All comparisons](https://compresto.app/compare): Full list of Compresto vs. competitor pages.

## Free online tools

- [Tools index](https://compresto.app/tools): Collection of free online utilities.
- [Image Metadata Viewer](https://compresto.app/tools/image-metadata-viewer): View EXIF and metadata of images online.
- [EXIF Data Remover](https://compresto.app/tools/exif-data-remover): Remove EXIF metadata from images online.
- [Image Metadata Extractor](https://compresto.app/tools/image-metadata-extractor): Extract detailed image metadata.
- [Image Diff](https://compresto.app/image-diff): Compare two images side by side.
- [PDF to Image](https://compresto.app/pdf-to-image): Convert PDF pages to images.

## API

The Image Compression API provides programmatic access to Compresto's compression engine.

- Endpoint: `POST /v1/compress` — compress images (multipart or base64 JSON).
- Demo: `POST /v1/demo-compress` — try compression without signup (rate limited).
- Usage: `GET /v1/usage` — check API usage statistics.
- Parameters: `quality` (1-100), `format` (auto/jpeg/png/webp), `maxWidth`, `maxHeight`.
- Auth: API key required (except the demo endpoint).

## Supported formats

- Video: MP4, MOV (H.264, H.265 / HEVC, AV1).
- Image: PNG, JPEG, HEIC, WebP, AVIF, GIF, SVG, TIFF.
- PDF: Standard PDF files.
- Features: batch processing, hardware acceleration via Apple Silicon and VideoToolbox, folder monitoring, video trimming, GIF conversion.

## Recent guides

- [Google Photos Storage Full? How to Compress Photos and Get Space Back](https://compresto.app/blog/compress-photos-for-google-photos): Google's Storage Saver will shrink your library for free. It will also re-encode every original you own, irreversibly, using settings you do not get to see.
- [Premiere Pro Export Settings for Small File Size Without Losing Quality](https://compresto.app/blog/premiere-pro-export-settings): Premiere's export dialog has around forty controls. Three of them determine your file size, and two more determine whether it looks good at that size.
- [DaVinci Resolve Export Settings for Smaller File Sizes](https://compresto.app/blog/davinci-resolve-export-settings): Most oversized Resolve exports come from two settings left on their defaults — and one of them is an audio setting nobody thinks to check.
- [How to Compress a Zoom Recording (and Why It's So Big)](https://compresto.app/blog/compress-zoom-recording): Zoom recordings are large for an avoidable reason: Zoom writes several parallel video tracks and encodes them in real time, on a machine already busy running the call.
- [How to Compress Video for Telegram (Without Letting Telegram Do It)](https://compresto.app/blog/compress-video-for-telegram): Telegram's 2 GB limit is generous enough that most people never hit it. The reason to compress anyway is that Telegram compresses for you — badly — unless you stop it.
- [How to Reduce Screen Recording File Size on Mac](https://compresto.app/blog/reduce-screen-recording-file-size): A ten-minute screen recording has no business being 2 GB. It usually is, and the reason is a mismatch between how screen content looks and how video encoders expect content to behave.
- [Best HandBrake Settings for Compressing Video Without Losing Quality](https://compresto.app/blog/best-handbrake-settings): Most HandBrake guides list every checkbox in the interface. Four settings do almost all the work, and one of them is responsible for the majority of your file size.
- [Hardware vs Software Video Encoding: When Each One Wins](https://compresto.app/blog/hardware-vs-software-video-encoding): The old rule was 'hardware for speed, software for quality.' The gap has narrowed enough that the rule now depends almost entirely on your bitrate.
- [7-Zip Compression Ratio: What You Actually Get, and What Costs What](https://compresto.app/blog/7-zip-compression-ratio): 7-Zip's ratio depends far more on what you feed it than on which level you pick. Text drops 90%. Video drops 2%. Knowing which is which saves you hours.
- [VidCoder vs HandBrake: Same Engine, Different App](https://compresto.app/blog/vidcoder-vs-handbrake): VidCoder is built on HandBrake's encoding engine, so output quality is effectively identical. The comparison is entirely about workflow — and about one hard platform limit.
- [Best Open Source Video Converters in 2026 (Actually Open Source)](https://compresto.app/blog/open-source-video-converter): Half the tools marketed as open source video converters are freeware with an installer full of extras. Here are the ones with real licences, and what each is genuinely good at.
- [FFmpeg Scale Filter: Every Option You Actually Need](https://compresto.app/blog/ffmpeg-scale): scale=1280:720 is where everyone starts and where most people stop. The expressions, the -2 trick, and the algorithm flag are what separate a working command from a correct one.
- [x264 vs x265: The Encoder Comparison That Actually Matters](https://compresto.app/blog/x264-vs-x265): x265 makes smaller files. That part is easy. The parts that catch people out are that CRF 23 does not mean the same thing in both, and that encode time can grow by an order of magnitude.
- [Keka vs The Unarchiver: Which Mac Archive Tool Should You Use?](https://compresto.app/blog/keka-vs-the-unarchiver): These two get compared constantly, but they are not really competitors. One only opens archives. The other opens and creates them. That single difference decides the answer.
- [How to Create Proxy Files for Video Editing (Premiere, Resolve, Final Cut)](https://compresto.app/blog/how-to-create-proxy-files): Proxies let a modest laptop edit 6K footage smoothly. The creation step is easy in every NLE — the parts that bite are codec choice, storage layout, and relinking.
- [Best OBS Recording Settings: Quality, File Size, and the CBR Mistake](https://compresto.app/blog/obs-recording-settings): Most OBS recording problems trace back to one thing: using streaming settings to record. Recording and streaming have opposite constraints, and CBR is the wrong answer for one of them.
- [Apple Compressor: What It Does, When You Need It, and When You Don't](https://compresto.app/blog/apple-compressor): Apple Compressor is a professional delivery tool that happens to have 'compressor' in the name. If your goal is just smaller files, it is probably not what you're looking for.
- [JPEG XL: The Best Image Format You Still Cannot Ship](https://compresto.app/blog/jpeg-xl): JPEG XL is the strongest image codec of the three modern contenders on almost every technical axis. It is also the one you probably cannot use on a public website. Both things are true.
- [How to Compress a Word Document (and Why DOCX Files Get So Big)](https://compresto.app/blog/compress-word-document): Text is almost free. If your Word document is 40 MB, something other than words is responsible — and a DOCX is a ZIP archive, so you can find out exactly what.
- [YouTube Shorts Aspect Ratio and Size: The Specs That Actually Matter](https://compresto.app/blog/youtube-shorts-size): 9:16 at 1080x1920 is the easy part. The specs that actually decide whether your Short looks sharp are bitrate, safe zones, and what YouTube's transcoder does to your upload.
- [How to Reduce PowerPoint File Size (Without Wrecking Your Slides)](https://compresto.app/blog/reduce-powerpoint-file-size): A .pptx is just a ZIP archive, which means you can see exactly what is making it huge before you compress anything. Here's how to find the bloat and fix the right thing.
- [Squoosh Alternative for Mac: 7 Batch Image Compressors (2026)](https://compresto.app/blog/squoosh-alternative-mac): Squoosh is a brilliant single-image tool, but it compresses one photo at a time in a browser tab. Here are 7 offline alternatives that batch whole folders on your Mac.
- [ShortPixel Alternative for Mac: Compress Images Without Credits (2026)](https://compresto.app/blog/shortpixel-alternative-mac): ShortPixel charges credits per image and uploads every file to its servers. Here are 7 alternatives that compress your images locally on a Mac with no credits and no caps.
- [Clideo Alternative for Mac: 7 Offline Video Tools (2026)](https://compresto.app/blog/clideo-alternative-mac): Clideo runs entirely in your browser, which means every clip is uploaded to the cloud and the free tier adds a watermark. Here is how to compress and edit video offline on your Mac instead.
- [WebM VP8 Encoder (VP8 SDK): A Practical Guide to libvpx and vpxenc](https://compresto.app/blog/webm-vp8-encoder-sdk): The VP8 SDK from The WebM Project is libvpx — the reference encoder, decoder, and C API behind WebM video. Here's what it contains, how to build it, and how to actually encode VP8.
- [The VP8 Video Codec: High Compression, Low Complexity — Explained](https://compresto.app/blog/what-is-vp8-codec): VP8 was designed to trade compression tools for decode simplicity. Here's how the VP8 codec actually works, how honest its efficiency claims are, and why that tradeoff won it WebRTC.
- [Wondershare Alternative for Mac: 6 Lightweight Picks (2026)](https://compresto.app/blog/wondershare-alternative-mac): Wondershare's suite is powerful but heavy, subscription-priced, and full of upsells. Here are 6 lightweight, native Mac alternatives that just compress and convert your files.
- [VEED Alternative for Mac: 7 Offline Video Tools With No Watermark (2026)](https://compresto.app/blog/veed-alternative-mac): VEED uploads every clip to the cloud, stamps a watermark on the free tier, and charges per month. Here are 7 offline alternatives that compress and convert video locally on your Mac.
- [Best RedPanda Alternative for Mac (2026): Compress Without Uploading](https://compresto.app/blog/redpanda-alternative): RedPanda compresses video right in your browser — no upload, no account. But if you want a native, offline Mac app with batch processing and hardware acceleration, here's the best RedPanda alternative and how it compares.
- [What Is ProRes? Apple's Editing Codec Explained (2026)](https://compresto.app/blog/what-is-prores): ProRes is Apple's intra-frame, visually lossless intermediate codec built for editing — not delivery. Here's the full ProRes family, data rates, and how it differs from H.264 and HEVC.

## Legal

- [Privacy Policy](https://compresto.app/privacy)
- [Terms of Service](https://compresto.app/terms-of-service)
- [Acknowledgments](https://compresto.app/acknowledgments)

## Sitemaps

- [Sitemap index](https://compresto.app/sitemap.xml)
- [Server sitemap](https://compresto.app/server-sitemap.xml)
- [Docs sitemap](https://compresto.app/docs/sitemap.xml)