Fotor Free Image Compressor · Image compression
Default PNG output grew in this run, and login was demanded only at download; marketing prompts and late gating add friction.
US-West (California, AS2914)
2048 × 2048 · PNG · Open native file ↗
Subsequent pricing and service checks are shown separately without altering historical scores.
One run does not establish all complex scenes, untested paid maxima or long-term uptime.
Plans & historical pricing
Web personal free, all Pro/Pro+/Max monthly/annual tiers, credit subscriptions and 10 retail packs; excludes headshots/API · 2026-10-20
39 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded.
All six Max tiers, monthly credit subscriptions and ten retail packs verified; retail packs require paid membership. Annual amounts preserve the observed promotion. Price cards do not specify renewal quotes, free removal counts, removal conversion or retail expiry; these remain unconfirmed.
Verification has gaps; unknown prices and quotas are not inferred.
Cancellation, sources & verification record
Cancel auto-renewal anytime in account settings
Official plans and usage terms ↗ · 2026-10-20 Capture 1 ↗ · Capture 2 ↗
All subscription tiers and retail credits ↗ · 2026-10-20 Capture 1 ↗ · Capture 2 ↗ · Capture 3 ↗ · Capture 4 ↗ · Capture 5 ↗ · Capture 6 ↗ · Capture 7 ↗ · Capture 8 ↗ · Capture 9 ↗ · Capture 10 ↗ · Capture 11 ↗ · Capture 12 ↗ · Capture 13 ↗ · Capture 14 ↗
Pricing recorded on the test date · 2026-10-18
Fotor Pro $3.33 / mo (billed annually at $39.99/yr)
Mandatory-login basic tier + Fotor Pro / Pro+ subscriptions
Historical context only; not current purchase guidance.
Delivery & access
- Free delivery record
- Blocked without login (underlying re-encoded blob is 2048 × 2048 but inflated to 5.89 MB)
- Attached file dimensions
- 2048 × 2048 · PNG
Read directly from the attached file; this does not establish free download availability at that size.
- Watermark
- Watermark-free (requires login)
- Free allowance
- Allows dragging up to 50 images into the batch editor, but clicking Download enforces a mandatory login wall
- Account requirements
- Mandatory Google / Facebook / Apple / Email login modal triggered when clicking Download
- Maximum specification record
- 2048×2048 (download blocked without login, and default PNG mode inflates file size by +42.3%)
May include advertised capabilities; this does not establish a tested paid tier.
- Batch & API
- Batch workspace supports up to 50 images per session
- Manual refinement
- Not recorded or not verified
Tested result & sample
Fotor's Image Compressor exposed two major flaws in real-machine testing: first, its default 'Format: Original / Image Quality: Medium' mode has no PNG palette quantizer, causing our 4.0 MB PNG to balloon to 5.7 MB (`↑ 42.3%` in red on Fotor's own card, 02_workspace.png); second, clicking Download immediately hits a mandatory login wall (03_download.png).
- Fixture
- anchor_compress_v1
- Recorded environment
- US-West (California, AS2914)
- Network-observed server wait
- 2.4 s
- End-to-end reference
- 2.4 s
Network wait includes round trips, queuing and polling error, not pure inference time. Local timings depend on the device; repetition counts are not standardized in legacy records.
Experience, rules & trust
- Disclosure
- Login requirement is only revealed after clicking Apply and then clicking Download
- Interaction
- Enforces a classic post-action login gate after the user has already configured and applied settings, accompanied by persistent top promo banners (02_workspace.png, 03_download.png).
- Entity record
- Everimaging Ltd. (Fotor)
- Origin
- Chengdu, China / Global Operations
- Domain history record
- 2012–Present (14-year photo editing suite)
- Third-party tracking record
- Not recorded or not verified
- External information
- Not recorded or not verified
- Processing
- Client-side batch editor Canvas re-encoding + mandatory account gate on download
- Retention statement
- Client-side Canvas processing, but exporting requires binding a personal user account
A recorded statement does not verify deletion or all data-processing behavior.
Verifiable audit trail & evidence
Four SHA-256-verified stages link the benchmark fixture, same-run interface screenshots, native exported artifact and archived pricing sources.
anchor_compress_v1 · Inspect fixture & file inspector →
Captures entry rules, result view and export disclosure.
Official plans and usage terms (snapshot ↗) · All subscription tiers and retail credits (snapshot ↗)
Screenshots, native output and official claims support different conclusions. Evidence grades are not product safety certifications.
Evaluation basis & full scores · Overall 49.2/100
Overall = honesty & reputation × 30% + capability × 70%. Component maxima follow this report’s rubric. List scores are rounded for display; original precision is retained here.
Scoring version 2.3.1 · Test fixture anchor_compress_v1
Honesty & reputation · 52/100 · 30%
| Criterion | Score | Rationale | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing transparency | 14 / 35 | The landing page advertises 'Compress JPG, JPEG, PNG, WEBP... with Fotor’s free image compressor' (01_landing.png) without mentioning mandatory registration; after uploading and clicking Apply, clicking the top-right Download button triggers a 'Continue to Download Your Work' login wall that blocks guest export (03_download.png). | Evidence A → |
| Interaction restraint | 13 / 30 | Enforces a classic post-action login gate after the user has already configured and applied settings, accompanied by persistent top promo banners (02_workspace.png, 03_download.png). | Evidence A → |
| Background & reputation | 15 / 20 | Batch compression module within the globally recognized Fotor photo editing suite operated by Everimaging Ltd. | Evidence A → |
| Engineering & privacy | 10 / 15 | Re-encodes images in the browser via Canvas Blob generation, but forces personal account sign-in before allowing file export. | Evidence A → |
Capability · 48/100 · 70%
| Criterion | Score | Rationale | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Task quality | 25 / 65 | Severe algorithmic flaw on PNGs: under the default 'Format: Original / Image Quality: Medium' setting, Fotor lacks a PNG palette quantizer and simply re-encodes via unquantized browser Canvas `toBlob('image/png')`, INFLATING our 4,137.9 KB anchor PNG up to 5,886.7 KB (displaying a red `4.0MB → 5.7MB ↑ 42.3%` badge on its own UI, see 02_workspace.png) (25.0/65) | Evidence A → |
| Deliverable specifications | 11 / 20 | While 2048×2048 dimensions are preserved, guest downloads are blocked by a mandatory login modal and native PNG file size increases instead of shrinking (11.0/20) | Evidence A → |
| Processing speed | 12 / 15 | Local Canvas re-encoding takes ~2.4s, but workflow is stalled by the batch editor redirect and download login wall (12.0/15) | Evidence A → |
Legacy scores may include advertised maximum capabilities. Read tested output separately from paid capabilities. Records without matching tiers and scope are not ranked together.
Revisions & corrections
- 2026-10-18
Initial real-machine audit on Mode A compression anchor (anchor_compress_v1), documenting +42.3% PNG size inflation and download login wall.