Overview of Image Compression Tools
Platform: WindowsCaesium is a simple open source tool that is designed to compress PNG, JPG and BMP. This is a fairly easy-to-use program. Click the Add button, select images, select the folder where the processed images will be loaded - Output, click the Compress button, and in a few seconds you will get the result.
BMP compression is of no interest to us, as it is rarely used when creating websites, and there was also nothing special for us in JPG compression technology. The program does not offer lossless compression; it simply re-encodes the file at the selected quality setting.
Caesium does provide support for lossless PNG compression, although it does have some limitations. It can only output 24-bit images, otherwise it will likely increase the image size. The program's results clearly illustrate the problem, as most of our test PNG web graphics images with 48-bit color depth actually increase in size. Even with careful adjustments, the overall size of our image was reduced by only 1.2%.
3. FILEminimizer Pictures 3.0
Platform: WindowsFILEminimizer Pictures takes a more radical approach to image compression than most of its competitors. By default, when it tries to compress your photos, it may change the image format and size, re-encode JPEG files with lower quality, and strip out metadata. Most of these options can be set in the program settings.
In use, the program adheres to the generally accepted principle. Once you've given it the source file, chosen a folder for the output, and maybe configured an option or two, it only takes one click to start optimizing. This all happens fairly quickly, so you don't have to wait too long.
How good is the compression? Everything varies depending on the format, at least in our tests. PNG compression was nothing special - 26.8% (some tools do better without losing quality), GIF compression was above average - 16.5%, but our JPG web graphics were reduced in size by 39.3% - the highest compression in the study group. But in all tests the loss of quality was visually noticeable.
4. FileOptimizer 2.10.135
Platform: WindowsThe capabilities of the FileOptimizer program are quite large. Not only can it compress JPG, GIF and PNG images, but it can also work with executable files, archives, Microsoft Office documents, PDF files - the list goes on and on.
Surprisingly, it is absolutely not difficult to use. In fact, the program has one of the simplest interfaces: drag images into FileOptimizer, right-click, select Optimize - and enjoy the result. However, this simplicity also has a downside - the source files are replaced by the program. The originals are sent to the trash, so you will have to restore them (if you need them, of course).
But compression is, of course, of paramount importance, and here FileOptimizer provides good results. For example, the program reduced our test PNG graphics by 42.2% - this is the best compression without loss of quality in this group. JPEG and GIF compression were 17.7% and 15.9% higher than standard, respectively, but there are still plenty of useful options in this program that you can use with FileOptimizer to compress other files on your site.
5. ImageOptim 1.4.0
Platform: MacImageOptim is a Mac tool that optimizes GIF, JPEG and PNG images, and also acts as an interface to a variety of other applications: PNGOUT, AdvPNG, Pngcrush, extended OptiPNG, JpegOptim, jpegrescan, jpegtran and Gifsicle.
The program performs almost lossless compression: rather, it removes comments, color profiles, etc., without recoding or reducing the number of colors. ImageOptim's interface is also very user-friendly. Drag and drop a single file, group, or folder of the files you want, and the program immediately begins compressing each image and displaying the results. It's not the fastest tool, but even if you send a thousand high-resolution JPEG files for processing, it's unlikely to be a problem.
The end results were impressive, but not exciting. Our web graphics GIFs decreased in size by 16.2%, PNGs by 17.8%, and JPGs by 18.3%. You can do better with individual tools. But if you want a simple Mac tool that can handle GIF, JPEG, and PNG files, then ImageOptim is a perfectly reasonable choice.
6. JPEG mini
Platform: MacJPEGmini is an interesting Mac application with a non-standard approach to reducing the JPEG format.
First, it uses an intelligent algorithm to figure out how much images can be compressed without any visible effect (that is, not just re-encoding at some fixed quality setting). The program uses its own JPEG encoder to try to produce the smallest files possible. Processing is done in the background. Simply drag and drop your photos into the program (the free version has a maximum of 20 per day) and it will replace the originals with compressed versions.
But the range of results turned out to be huge. Our JPG image was reduced by only 8.2%, but when we submitted 25 large digital photos for processing, they were reduced by 71.3% with little visible loss of quality. With simple web graphics, JPEGmini doesn't do anything too surprising. It is best used for processing large-sized images.
7. jStrip 3.3
Platform: WindowsJStrip is a lossless compression tool for JPEG files that removes non-essential information: thumbnails, comments, color profiles, extra bytes at the beginning or end of the file, and various other bits and pieces. But file compression will be small, since the program does not use re-encoding. This was especially noticeable when we loaded JStrip with high-resolution JPG photos, which the program was able to reduce by about 1%.
If the files you want to compress are already small, the compression will likely be much larger. When we ran our selection of JPEG web graphics through jStrip, the images shrank by an average of 16.1%. It is worth noting that the program is not stable. By default, it replaces the images you specify with compressed versions, so it's best to use copies for processing. Overall, jStrip is a fast and easy way to slightly reduce the size of JPEG images.
8. OptiPNG 0.7.3
Platform: WindowsOptiPNG is a popular command-line, lossless PNG compression tool that is regularly used in other programs (such as PNGGauntlet) for image processing and optimization.
The program is much better documented than many similar packages, so even if you have not worked with the command line, it will not be difficult to understand. The installation files are downloaded along with a PDF that explains the various switches and options, which is quite handy (though you'll still need to practice image optimization to fully understand how it works). If you want to combine several command line tools to get the best results, OptiPNG is one of them.
The results, even with the default compression settings, were quite acceptable: our test PNG web graphics were reduced in size by an average of 32.2%.
9. PNGGauntlet 3.1.2.0
Platform: WindowsPNGGauntlet is a pretty interesting tool that is essentially a wrapper around three other open source image compression programs (PNGOUT, OptiPNG, DeflOpt).
In the process of work, it acts in the same way as its competitors. Drag and drop your source images, select the output folder, click the “Optimize!” button! and wait.
It is possible that you will have to wait, and wait, and wait... Presumably this long wait is due to the fact that it combines the work of three processing tools. PNGGauntlet can be very slow, in our case it took 50 minutes 44 seconds to compress 25 high-resolution PNG photos.
However, the results obtained are impressive. When processing our test PNG web graphics, the program reduced our 50 images by an average of 41.3% and even reduced photos by 7.75% with no visible loss of quality. Sometimes this is enough to justify performance problems. So if you're looking for a quality PNG compression tool, then PNGGauntlet really needs to be on your list.
10. PNGOptimizer 2.2
Platform: WindowsWith a tiny size of 146 kb, PNGOptimizer is the most lightweight program presented in this review, so it is not surprising that its interface is as simple as possible and it specializes only in PNG files.
Using PNGOptimizer 2.2 you have the ability to control a surprisingly large number of processing parameters. PNGOptimizer can remove frame interlacing, preserve, remove, or replace background color, and remove text or physical pixel dimensions from an image. The program can even import GIF, BMP and TGA files, saving them as PNG according to the selected options.
But the program was unable to beat its competitors in image compression, as can be seen from the test results. PNGOptimizer reduced high-resolution PNG photos by only 3.6% on average. It performed much better with small graphic images, with an average compression of 39.8%. If you need a small and simple PNG compression tool, then PNGOptimizer is the way to go.
11. PNGOUTWin 1.5.0
Platform: WindowsPNGOUT is one of the best image compression tools. Unfortunately, it is quite inconvenient to use because it is command line-based without batch processing support. But if this is a problem for you, you can always choose its commercial interface: PNGOUTWin.
The program is easy to configure. You can use PNGOUTWin to overwrite your original images or save the output in a new folder. There are also options to save file time attributes, adjust the compression level, implement the ability to store some (or all) PNG pieces, etc.
It's also easy to use. Drag an image into the program window and it will immediately begin the compression process, using multiple threads to work on multiple images simultaneously. The results are also great, with our PNG web graphics reduced in size by 40.5% (not bad for lossless compression).
Unfortunately, the only free interface it currently offers is PNGOUT, the same as PNGGauntlet, which is also a very easy program to use (in fact, you can achieve even higher levels of compression if you combine it with other tools). While PNGOUTWin is a powerful program, it's probably not worth the $14.95 (personal license) / $29.95 (enterprise license) it's asking for.
12. PUNYpng
Platform: webMuch more versatile than its name suggests is PUNYpng, a web service that can truly apply lossless compression to GIF, JPG and PNG images. Registration and account creation are free, but free accounts are subject to restrictions: you can only upload 15 images in batch mode, each no more than 150 kb.
Overall the service is quite convenient. Click the Upload Images button on the site, and then wait while the photos are downloaded and compressed. A report of the operations performed appears, and everything can be downloaded as a ZIP archive.
For testing we used a free account. PUNYpng showed good results and compressed various test sets of files by 16-32%. For $2 per month, you can upgrade your account to PRO, with which you can get an additional compression option with less quality loss and upload more files.
13. RIOT 0.4.6
Platform: WindowsRIOT is free, but it is one of the few programs that tries to install additional software during the setup process. Be sure to uncheck the box during installation if you are not interested in such additional software.
Everything else is very simple. The clear, intuitive interface makes it easy to compress individual GIF, PNG or JPG images and compare results, while the batch interface processes multiple files at very high speeds.
Unfortunately, there is no lossless compression here. RIOT rather reduces the number of colors in the image and re-encodes it as a JPEG with a low quality value. Despite this, the program managed to make some of our test images significantly larger. Therefore, we recommend that you carefully check the output settings of RIOT before using it for processing.
The program still coped well with the task; in particular, it managed to reduce our GIF files by an average of 42.8%. But first a detailed configuration was needed - the “default” performance was much worse.
14. ScriptJPG
Platform: WindowsScriptJPG is one of the more primitive packages, essentially just a Windows script that acts as an interface to several command line based tools. Drag your JPG files into the script, select compression options (either lossless or a special JPEG quality setting), and ScriptJPG will shrink your images. So, at least, it was stated in the description. For some reason, the program with our JPG web graphics did not work as promised, and the start menu was not even displayed.
We were able to test the package on our JPEG photo and got good results. Its lossless compression option reduced the size of our image by almost 10%. If you are a graphics professional, then ScriptJPG may be of interest to you. You'll be able to diagnose problems as they arise and possibly modify the script to adjust compression settings to suit your needs. If you prefer clearer and simpler tools, we recommend using one of the analogues with a graphical interface. There are many more powerful alternatives and, of course, they are much easier to use.
15. ScriptPNG
Platform: WindowsAs you probably guessed from the name, ScriptPNG is the closest relative of ScriptJPG. It is a Windows batch file that uses four utilities to compress PNG files to the desired size. Also, as with ScriptJPG, there are very few customization options here. Drag an image into a file, and nine possible compression options open in the command line. Select the one you need, and the program will immediately begin trimming each file in turn (and replacing the original images with the output ones, so it's best to work with copies).
Another problem we had was that after installing Starza, pngout.exe crashed. This didn't show up when we ran the script, but we had to manually close the error dialog every time it appeared. Despite this, the compression results were quite impressive. Our PNG web graphics lost up to 40.1% of their volume without any visible degradation in image quality.
16. Smush. It
Platform: webMost web services for image compression are very limited, but Smush. It on Yahoo is a rare exception. The only limitation is the file size (no more than 1 MB), but you can upload as many images to the system as you need. There is no registration, no account creation, no daily quotas. Images are compressed using various tools, and the results can be obtained as a ZIP file.
There's just one problem with this approach - you don't have access to the compression tools themselves. You cannot customize or change them. You see the results you will get and there is nothing you can do to change them. Some problem was discovered with JPG files since Smush. It managed to reduce our test images by just 1%. PNG compression was more efficient at 35.3%, although our GIFs lost an impressive 23.9% of volume (the best lossless compression in all tests).
17.TinyPNG
Platform: webSo is Smush. It, TinyPNG is a free web service that can optimize images for you. Just drag and drop your files onto the web page, it will compress them and provide download links. The system has some disadvantages: file size limitation to 2 MB, the ability to download only 20 files at a time, and the lack of batch download capabilities.
TinyPNG also takes a clear approach to compression at the expense of quality, unlike most other tools, and overhauls its palette to reduce (sometimes significantly) the number of colors used. Unsurprisingly, it pays off when it comes to raw graphics, compressing our PNG web graphics by 48% - the best result in this test. In most cases, it was very difficult to detect any differences between the original images and the compressed versions.
By the way, the best compression rate without loss of quality among locally installed programs is 40%. So if your main priority is image quality, or you just don't want to constantly compare graphics trying to see if there's a difference, then TinyPNG might be of interest to you.
18. Trout's GIF Optimizer 2.3
Platform: WindowsTrout's GIF Optimizer is a compression tool that requires no installation. Its parameters are, of course, a little limited. As you might guess from the name, the program only compresses GIF files, so it doesn't have any global configuration options of particular interest (though you can manually optimize the palette of individual images in a variety of ways).
However, Trout's GIF Optimizer is very easy to work with. Simply import your selected photos, the size reduction for each image is displayed immediately (it's very fast), and you can save them with just a few clicks. But unfortunately, the compression results weren't particularly impressive: our GIF web graphics were reduced by an average of only 16.7%.
Summary table for all tested services
| Tested | Platform | Compression | PNG reduction (in%) | JPG reduction (in%) | GIF reduction (in%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AdvanceComp 1.15 | Windows | No loss of quality | -14.20% | ||
Caesium 1.4.1 |
Windows | +18.7% | |||
| FILEminimizer 3.0 | Windows | With loss / Without loss of quality | -26.8% | -39.3% | -16.5% |
FileOptimizer 2.10.135 |
Windows | No loss of quality | -42.2% | -17.7% | -15.9% |
| ImageOptim 1.4.0 | Mac | No loss of quality | -17.8% | -18.3% | -16.2% |
| JPEGmini Lite 1.4.1 | Mac | No loss of quality | -8.2% | ||
| jStrip 3.3 | Windows | No loss of quality | -16.1% | ||
| OptiPNG 0.7.3 | Windows | No loss of quality | -32.3% | ||
| PNGGauntlet 3.1.2.0 | Windows | No loss of quality | -41.3% | ||
| PNGOptimizer 2.2 | Windows | With loss / Without loss of quality | -39.8% | ||
| PNGOutWin 1.5.0 | Windows | No loss of quality | -40.5% | ||
| PUNYpng | Web | No loss of quality | -32.1% | -27.5% | -16.1% |
| Riot 0.4.6 | Windows | With loss of quality | -21.7% | -39% | -42.8% |
| ScriptJPG | Windows | With loss / Without loss of quality | -10% | ||
| ScriptPNG | Windows | No loss of quality | -40.1% | ||
| Smush. It | Web | No loss of quality | -35.3% | -1% | -23.9% |
| Tiny PNG | Web | With loss of quality | -48% | ||
| Trout's GIF Optimizer 2.3 | Windows | With loss / Without loss of quality | -16.7% |
conclusions
After many hours of testing and a general breakdown of the participating programs into stages, we can conclude that image compression is truly an effective optimization tool and gives quite good results. All of our test PNG files could be reduced by 30-40%, and even JPEG files could be compressed by 16-18%. In all cases, lossless compression was used, so the image quality was not reduced, the images look exactly the same, they just load faster.The exact results you get may, of course, vary. But if you haven't tried image compression before, it's definitely worth picking up the best of our programs and giving them a try to see what they can do for your sites.
Overall, FileOptimizer performed better than its Windows counterparts at lossless compression, delivering superior compression (up to 42.2%) on our test files. It also compresses files with the JPG and GIF extension quite well, and it also has other useful options (for example, PDF compression).
But if this program doesn't suit you for some reason, PNGGauntlet and ScriptPNG also provide good PNG compression, and ImageOptim is useful for Mac as it gives good levels of JPEG and GIF compression.
While we found web services to be less user-friendly in testing, we wouldn't rule them out entirely. PUNYpng was the best at lossless JPG compression, and Smush. It beat all the competition when it comes to GIF compression, both of which can be a big help in reducing the size of your web graphics.
Can be installed as a plugin for Chrome: goo.gl/aDSQ6, Firefox: goo.gl/mlxd0.
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