Best image converters in 2026 — a scorecard across 6 tools

The short version

1. Best single-image quality tuner: Squoosh. Google's open-source codec comparator — nothing touches it for "find the ideal quality slider for this one image."
2. Best compression ratio at defaults: TinyPNG. Aggressive palette quantization on PNG + perceptual JPEG tuning. You don't control it, but the output is smaller than anyone.
3. Best batch + AI + PDF bundle: FireConvertApp (us). Batch convert/compress/resize + background removal + upscale + PDF tools in one place, browser-side where possible.
4. Best offline batch: XnConvert. Desktop, free, cross-platform, 500+ format combinations, scriptable.
5. Best format coverage + API: CloudConvert. 200+ formats including RAW, PSD, SVG → PDF. Paid after a small free tier.
6. Best for legacy / obscure formats: Online-Convert. The one tool that still handles .wbmp, .pcx, and 1998-era formats.
7. Best image-editing-adjacent: Photopea. Browser-side Photoshop clone; converts as a side effect. Great if you're also editing.
8. Best command-line: ImageMagick / libvips. The backbone of almost everything else on this list.

The rubric — how we ranked each tool

Eight criteria, 0-10 each:

• Format coverage — how many input/output formats?
• Batch mode — can you drop 200 files at once?
• Single-image tuning — how good is the quality-vs-size UX?
• Compression quality — smallest file at matched visual quality?
• Privacy — file never leaves, or it uploads?
• Bundled AI — background removal, upscale, restore?
• Offline mode — works with no network?
• Free tier — what can you do without paying?

We excluded every tool that watermarks free output, every tool that requires a signup to convert a single file, and every tool whose free tier is really a 7-day trial. What's left is the real field of 8 tools.

1. Squoosh — best single-image quality tuner

Squoosh (by Google Chrome Labs) is the best tool in the world for one specific job: "I have one image, and I want to find the smallest file that still looks fine." The split-pane UI with a live quality slider, pixel-level diff, and a codec picker (MozJPEG, WebP, AVIF, OxiPNG) is unmatched. Open-source, free, no ads, runs 100% in your browser.

• Scorecard: Single-image tuning 10/10 · Batch 0/10 · Privacy 10/10 · Free tier 10/10.
• Where it wins: Single-image codec comparison. The UI teaches you about compression. Free forever. Open-source (Apache 2.0).
• Where it loses: No batch mode — one image at a time. No PDF tools. No AI. No HEIC input (yet). You'll burn hours on a 200-photo job.
• Read the full head-to-head: FireConvertApp vs Squoosh.

2. TinyPNG — best compression ratio at defaults

TinyPNG (and its sibling TinyJPG) doesn't let you touch the settings — you drop a file, you get back a smaller one. The magic is their PNG palette quantizer, which is genuinely state-of-the-art: they squeeze 40-70% off typical PNG screenshots with no visible loss. On JPEGs it's a more normal 20-40%. Free tier caps at 20 files / ~5 MB each per session, which is plenty for casual use.

• Scorecard: Compression 10/10 · Batch 7/10 · Single-image tuning 3/10 · Privacy 4/10.
• Where it wins: Out-of-the-box the smallest PNG output. Dead-simple UI. WordPress/Photoshop plugins. Drive / Dropbox integrations.
• Where it loses: No quality control. PNG + JPEG + WebP only (no HEIC, no AVIF, no TIFF). 20-file free cap. Uploads to their servers.
• Read the full head-to-head: FireConvertApp vs TinyPNG.

3. FireConvertApp — best batch + AI + PDF bundle (that's us)

Where we win: you drop 200 photos, we convert + compress + resize all of them in one pass. AI tools (background removal, upscale, restore) are bundled in the same UI. PDF tools are right next door. Most conversions run in your browser, so files don't upload. Where we lose: Squoosh's single-image slider is smoother than ours, TinyPNG squeezes a few % more out of PNGs by default, and XnConvert handles more exotic formats offline.

• Scorecard: Batch 10/10 · Bundled AI 10/10 · Privacy 9/10 · Compression 8/10 · Single-image tuning 7/10.
• Where we win: Batch + AI + PDF in one place. Browser-side processing. No signup. Clean modern UI. HEIC, AVIF, WebP, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, BMP, ICO, SVG.
• Where we lose: Squoosh's single-image tuning. TinyPNG's raw compression ratio on PNG. Desktop/offline mode (XnConvert wins). API access (CloudConvert wins).
• Try it: /compress-image for batch, /remove-background for AI, /upscale-image for upscaling.

4. XnConvert — best offline batch

XnConvert (XnSoft, France) is the best-kept secret on this list. Desktop app for Windows / macOS / Linux. Completely free for personal use. Batch-convert 10,000 images at once, apply 80+ actions (resize, watermark, rotate, sharpen, color adjust), and save as 70+ formats. If you have a photo library and don't want any of it to touch the cloud, XnConvert is the answer.

• Scorecard: Batch 10/10 · Privacy 10/10 · Format coverage 10/10 · Offline 10/10 · Bundled AI 0/10.
• Where it wins: Truly free. Truly offline. Handles any format you've ever heard of. Scriptable.
• Where it loses: UI is functional-ugly. No AI. Desktop install. No browser-side fallback.
• Read the full head-to-head: FireConvertApp vs XnConvert.

5. CloudConvert — best format coverage + API

CloudConvert (Lunaweb, Germany) is the "if any tool can convert this, it's them" pick. 200+ formats, including RAW (CR2, NEF, ARW), PSD, EPS, SVG-to-PDF, and document formats. Has a real REST API used by a lot of SaaS. Free tier is tight — 25 conversion minutes/day, ~1 GB limit — but paid plans are reasonable.

• Scorecard: Format coverage 10/10 · Batch 8/10 · API 10/10 · Free tier 5/10 · Privacy 5/10.
• Where it wins: 200+ formats. API for automation. Webhook callbacks. Enterprise-grade reliability.
• Where it loses: Tight free tier. Uploads to their servers. Overkill for basic JPG/PNG needs. No AI.
• Read the full head-to-head: FireConvertApp vs CloudConvert.

6. Online-Convert — best for legacy formats

Online-Convert is the tool that still handles .wbmp, .pcx, .xpm, and a hundred other formats you've never seen. It's ugly, it's covered in ads, and it works. If you got a file from a 2002 digital camera or an embedded device and nothing else can open it, try Online-Convert first.

• Scorecard: Format coverage 10/10 · Legacy support 10/10 · UX 4/10 · Privacy 4/10.
• Where it wins: The one tool that still converts niche formats. Been around forever — reliable and predictable.
• Where it loses: UX looks 2010. Ad-heavy. Uploads to their servers. File size limits on the free tier.
• Read the full head-to-head: FireConvertApp vs Online-Convert.

7. Photopea — best if you're also editing

Photopea is a free, browser-side Photoshop clone that happens to convert as a side effect. Open a PSD, save as JPG. Open a JPG, save as WebP with the exact quality slider you'd use in Photoshop. If your workflow involves any editing (crop, color, retouch), Photopea replaces both Photoshop and a converter. Free with a tiny ad strip; Premium removes ads.

• Scorecard: Editing 10/10 · Single-image tuning 8/10 · Batch 3/10 · Format coverage 8/10.
• Where it wins: Full editing + converting in one browser tab. Handles PSD, AI, SVG, Sketch. Free.
• Where it loses: Not built for batch. Slow with 100+ files. Ads on free.

8. ImageMagick / libvips — best command-line

Not a UI — but if you're scripting, ImageMagick (the venerable one) and libvips (the faster newer one) are the backbone of almost every other tool on this list. Free, open-source, Apache / BSD licensed. Batch 100,000 files in a loop. If you can describe the job in one sentence, there's a one-liner that does it.

• Scorecard: Free 10/10 · Format coverage 10/10 · Offline 10/10 · Batch 10/10 · UX 3/10.
• Where it wins: Scriptable, free, offline, every format.
• Where it loses: CLI only. Learning curve.

The full scorecard

Total scores put us first on a weighted rubric that rewards bundled AI — but if you zero out the AI column, XnConvert and ImageMagick tie us at 44. Honest call: if you want a modern browser UI with AI and batch, we're the pick. If you want offline privacy with everything-and-the-kitchen-sink format coverage, XnConvert. If you want to script it, ImageMagick / libvips.

Which tool should you use for what

One hero image for a landing page

Squoosh. The split-pane and live slider will get you the smallest file that still looks good. See our AVIF vs WebP vs JPEG guide for picking the codec.

200 product photos for an ecommerce site

Us (/compress-image) or XnConvert. Both batch 200 files in one pass; we do it in the browser with no install, XnConvert is offline.

Smallest possible PNG for a UI screenshot

TinyPNG. Nothing beats their palette quantizer on flat-color PNGs. See our compression guide for the math.

Convert HEIC from an iPhone

Us: /heic-to-jpg or /heic-to-png. Browser-side, batch, fast. See our HEIC guide.

Remove a background

Us (/remove-background), remove.bg, or Photopea. We run the AI model in your browser — free, unlimited, private. See our background removal guide.

Upscale an old photo

Us (/upscale-image), or Topaz Gigapixel ($99). See our upscaling guide.

Resize for Instagram / Twitter / a print DPI

Us: /resize-image. See our resize guide for the ratio math.

Convert a RAW file (CR2, NEF, DNG) from a DSLR

CloudConvert. We don't ship RAW decoding (different codec family). XnConvert does too, offline.

Convert an old-school .pcx or .wbmp

Online-Convert. They're the last site that still handles these without you compiling ImageMagick yourself.

What this list doesn't include

• Adobe Photoshop / Lightroom. Paid, overkill for conversion; see Photopea for a free alternative.
• ShortPixel, Kraken.io. Similar compression-focused tools; TinyPNG is the category leader and representative.
• Zamzar, Convertio. General-purpose converters we cover in the video + PDF roundups.
• Tools that watermark free output. Not free.
• Tools requiring signup to convert one file. Lead-gen, not a free tool.

Frequently asked

Why don't you rank yourself #1?

Because Squoosh is better at single-image tuning, TinyPNG is better at raw PNG compression, and XnConvert is better offline. We lead on batch + AI + PDF-bundled, which is a weighted-average win, not a category sweep. Honesty is the point.

Is AVIF support widespread in 2026?

Yes. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and iOS Safari all ship AVIF decode. Encode is still 10-40× slower than JPEG, which is why most sites serve AVIF as one option inside a <picture> element. See our AVIF vs WebP vs JPEG post.

Does Squoosh handle batch mode yet?

Not officially. You can drop multiple files but it processes them one at a time with the same settings. For true batch (different settings, different targets, resize + convert pipeline), use us or XnConvert.

Is TinyPNG actually lossless?

No — TinyPNG's PNG path uses lossy palette quantization (the "pngquant" algorithm). It looks lossless because the palette is carefully chosen, but it is not bit-for-bit identical. For true lossless PNG, use Squoosh's OxiPNG.

Does your browser-side tool work on a phone?

Yes for most tools. Modern iOS Safari and Chrome Android handle WebAssembly and Canvas work well for files under ~50 MB. Very large batches or 50+ megapixel photos are smoother on a laptop.

What about privacy — should I trust browser-side claims?

Trust is earned by inspection. Open your browser's DevTools → Network tab → do a conversion. Browser-side tools (us for most jobs, Squoosh, Photopea) will show zero uploads of the image bytes. Server-side tools will show a multipart POST with your file. It's a 10-second check.

Can I automate this via an API?

CloudConvert has the most mature REST API. ImageMagick / libvips are the free scriptable path. We don't ship a public API today — on the roadmap.

Bottom line

No single tool wins every category. If we had to bookmark three: Squoosh for single-image tuning, FireConvertApp for batch + AI, and XnConvert for offline. Together they cover every image conversion job we've seen.

Start here: /compress-image, /remove-background, /upscale-image, or read the head-to-head against a specific competitor — vs Squoosh, vs TinyPNG, vs CloudConvert, vs XnConvert, vs Online-Convert.