Comparison · Local-First · Open Source
Free File Converter vs Squoosh: Which is right for you?
Quick verdict. Squoosh is a beautifully engineered, single-image, local-first compressor built by the Google Chrome team. If you want to A/B compare WASM codecs (MozJPEG vs WebP vs AVIF) on one image at a time, Squoosh is still the best tool for that — its side-by-side preview is unmatched. The catch: Squoosh has not seen a major release since 2024 and is effectively in maintenance mode. Free File Converter is the better fit if you want batch processing, formats beyond image compression, PWA install, active development, and a single tool for HEIC, PDF, and 30+ other format pairs.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Free File Converter | Squoosh |
|---|---|---|
| Files uploaded to a server? | No — runs in your browser | No — runs in your browser |
| Free price | Free, no signup, no ads | Free, no signup, no ads |
| Per-file size cap | 25MB | Effectively browser memory |
| Batch / bulk support | Multi-file drop → ZIP back | One image at a time |
| Supported formats | 40+ — images, PDF, HEIC, SVG, CSV, JSON, YAML, Markdown, SRT/VTT | Image compression only |
| HEIC support | Native HEIC → JPG / PNG / PDF | Not supported |
| PDF support | Merge, split, rotate, PDF→images, PDF→text | No |
| Mobile / phone UX | PWA install, share-target on iOS/Android, mobile-optimized layout | Mobile web; no install/share-target |
| Ads in the UI? | None | None |
| Account required? | No | No |
| Works offline (PWA)? | Yes — installable, offline-capable | Service worker present but no install promotion |
| Open-source | Uses open libraries; embed widget will be open-sourced | Fully open source (GitHub: GoogleChromeLabs/squoosh) |
| Codec A/B preview | Single output path per conversion | Side-by-side preview with multiple codecs |
| Active maintenance | Actively developed (2026) | No major release since 2024 — effectively orphaned |
| Quality slider / fine control | Quality slider + max-dimension cap | Per-codec quality + advanced controls |
When to use Squoosh
- You want to A/B compare WebP vs AVIF vs JPEG on a single image to pick the smallest output at a target quality.
- You're a front-end developer optimizing one hero image at a time.
- You want a fully open-source, Google-blessed reference implementation of WASM codecs.
When to use Free File Converter
- You have a folder of HEIC photos from your iPhone — Squoosh can't read them.
- You need to compress more than one image at a time.
- You also need PDF, CSV, JSON, SVG, or markdown conversion.
- You want a tool that's still being actively maintained.
- You want it installable to your home screen and usable offline.
Privacy comparison
Both tools run conversion entirely in your browser. Neither uploads files. This is rare and worth celebrating — most "free converters" online are server-based and require trusting their TOS.
Squoosh is the gold standard reference for client-side image work — Google Chrome Labs built it specifically to demonstrate what's possible with WebAssembly in the browser. Free File Converter follows the same architectural principle (no server endpoint receives your file) and extends it across 40+ format pairs Squoosh doesn't touch.
On privacy alone, both are excellent. The choice between them comes down to features, batch support, and which formats you need.
Frequently asked questions
Is Squoosh actually abandoned?
"Abandoned" is too strong — the GitHub repo is still up and the public site at squoosh.app still works. But the last significant release was in 2024 and the team that built it has largely moved on inside Google. Existing functionality keeps working; new format support is unlikely to land.
Can Squoosh batch-process images?
No. Squoosh's UI is built around comparing a single source image across codecs. If you have a folder to compress, you'll be doing it one image at a time. Our JPG, PNG, and WebP tools all accept multi-file drops and return a ZIP.
Does Squoosh handle HEIC?
No. Squoosh supports JPEG, PNG, WebP, and AVIF — but not HEIC/HEIF. For iPhone photos, use our HEIC to JPG converter (also fully in-browser).
Which one produces smaller files?
For a single image at a hand-tuned quality, Squoosh's MozJPEG and AVIF encoders typically edge out canvas re-encoding by a few percent. For bulk workflows where you set "good enough" defaults and downscale, Free File Converter is faster end-to-end because you're not tweaking sliders per file.
Why not just use Squoosh for everything?
Squoosh is image-compression only. It can't open a PDF, parse a CSV, decode a HEIC, render an SVG, or convert markdown. Free File Converter exists to fill the same "stays on your device" guarantee across all those format pairs.
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Files stay on your device. No login. Installs as a PWA on iPhone, Android, and desktop.
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