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Test scope & comparison notes
These are recorded facts, not a unified ranking. Tested tiers and scope are not consistently recorded. Read pricing with its date and timing with its conditions. Privacy observations reflect visible flows and statements, not a security audit.
Cross-task capability coverage across selected products
Each product is scored independently per task edge; switch tasks below while keeping shared products selected| Task edge | RedKetchup | ShortPixel | Switch / compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Image compression | 92/100 2048 × 2048 · PNG | 86/100 2048 × 2048 · PNG | Active task |
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Browse this task →| Criterion | RedKetchup Image Compressor Image compression 92/100 Seven-aspect task score On-device processing retains full size for free with detailed controls; ad blocking adds a 20-second export wait, avoidable by allowing ads or paying. Tested export 2048 × 2048 · PNG Historical test · 2026-10-19 | ShortPixel Online Image Compressor Image compression 86/100 Seven-aspect task score Login-free access offers three compression modes without third-party ads and discloses batch and size limits; this run cut size about 68% using cloud processing. Tested export 2048 × 2048 · PNG Historical test · 2026-10-18 |
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| Pricing & rules | ||
| Pricing plans | RedKetchup web tools and ad-free Premium account (Free / $5 One-Year / $10 Lifetime); USD · 2026-10-21 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits Free Web2026-10-21 ↗ Free Free Free Free unlimited compression for PNG/JPEG/WEBP/HEIC without login; includes ads and a support countdown when ad blockers are active. Premium One-Year2026-10-21 ↗ — USD 5/year Annual USD 5 for 1 year of Premium access: removes ads (No ads) and skips download previews/countdowns (Skip previews). Premium Lifetime2026-10-21 ↗ USD 10 · one-time payment Usage / one-time Usage / one-time USD 10 one-time Lifetime Premium access: removes ads (No ads) and skips download previews/countdowns (Skip previews). 3 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded. RedKetchup online compression and bulk tools are free with all compression settings unlocked. Clicking Upgrade / REMOVE ADS opens the Upgrade to Premium modal offering two lightweight plans: USD 5 One-Year and USD 10 Lifetime to remove ads and skip download previews/countdowns. Cancellation, sources & verification recordFree tier requires no login; Premium offers USD 5 One-Year and USD 10 one-time Lifetime upgrades under official Terms. RedKetchup online compressor page and Upgrade to Premium modal ↗ · 2026-10-21 Capture 1 ↗ | ShortPixel free web tool, one-time non-expiring credit packs, and annual unlimited plans; USD · 2026-10-21 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits Free Web / Free Plan2026-10-21 ↗ Free Free Free Web tool free without login up to 50 images/batch and ≤10 MB/file (login removes 10 MB limit); Free account includes 100 credits/month. One-time 30K2026-10-21 ↗ USD 19.99 · one-time payment Usage / one-time Usage / one-time 30,000 credits (never expire) + 100 AI credits/month + 150 GB CDN traffic across unlimited websites. Rules [1] One-time 50K2026-10-21 ↗ USD 29.99 · one-time payment Usage / one-time Usage / one-time 50,000 credits (never expire) + 100 AI credits/month + 250 GB CDN traffic across unlimited websites. Rules [1] One-time 100K2026-10-21 ↗ USD 49.99 · one-time payment Usage / one-time Usage / one-time 100,000 credits (never expire) + 100 AI credits/month + 500 GB CDN traffic across unlimited websites. Rules [1] One-time 250K2026-10-21 ↗ USD 99 · one-time payment Usage / one-time Usage / one-time 250,000 credits (never expire) + 100 AI credits/month + 1.25 TB CDN traffic across unlimited websites. Rules [1] Unlimited Yearly2026-10-21 ↗ — Annual price not verified Annual Unlimited monthly credits, unlimited websites, 100 AI credits/month, 500 GB CDN/month; card displays USD 8.33/month equivalent (2 Months Free). Card displays only the USD 8.33/month equivalent ("Saving $31.98 / year") without printing the annual invoice total. Unlimited AI Yearly2026-10-21 ↗ — Annual price not verified Annual Unlimited compression and AI credits (including AI background removal and upscaling), 500 GB CDN/month; card displays USD 13.33/month equivalent. Card displays only the USD 13.33/month equivalent ("Saving $31.98 / year") without printing the annual invoice total. 7 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded. The online web compressor is free without login for files ≤10 MB (login removes the 10 MB limit; free plan includes 100 credits/month). The pricing page lists four non-expiring one-time credit packs (30K at USD 19.99, 50K at USD 29.99, 100K at USD 49.99, and 250K at USD 99.00). The Unlimited Yearly cards display only monthly equivalents (USD 8.33/month and USD 13.33/month, "Saving $31.98 / year") without printing the annual invoice total on the card, so the annual totals are kept unverified. Verification has gaps; unknown prices and quotas are not inferred. Cancellation, sources & verification recordOne-time credit packs never expire; subscriptions can be cancelled anytime in the account dashboard under official Terms. ShortPixel official pricing page (annual plans and one-time credit packs) ↗ · 2026-10-21 Capture 1 ↗ · Capture 2 ↗ |
| Free & trial allowance on the test date | Unlimited free local compression; adblock users wait a 20-second support countdown before final file export | Up to 50 files per batch and 10 MB per file without login; free access to Lossy, Glossy, and Lossless modes |
| Cancellation & refunds | Free tier requires no login; Premium offers USD 5 One-Year and USD 10 one-time Lifetime upgrades under official Terms. | One-time credit packs never expire; subscriptions can be cancelled anytime in the account dashboard under official Terms. |
| Disclosure of costs & limits | Workspace settings and adblock countdown notice are clear and upfront | Discloses 'maximum 10Mb. Login to remove the restriction.' upfront below the dropzone |
| Task quality | ||
| Measured fixture results | File reduction: 56.31% · Output size: 1807.8 KB | File reduction: 67.54% · Output size: 1343 KB |
| Fixture findings | Local processing reduced this fixture by about 56% with adjustable quantisation; useful if you want parameter control. | Offers three modes without login; the default reduced this fixture by about 68%, with quality trade-offs to inspect. |
| Original historical observation | RedKetchup is one of the few tools that lets users manually pick 8-bit quantization dithering algorithms (Atkinson) and inspect pixels side-by-side in a full-screen viewer: it shrinks our 4.14 MB anchor PNG by 56.31% to 1.77 MB locally at PSNR=39.35 dB and SSIM=0.9984 (02_workspace.png, 03_download.png). | ShortPixel's online compressor is completely ad-free, discloses its 10 MB guest limit upfront (01_landing.png), and freely unlocks Lossy, Glossy, and Lossless modes. In default Lossy mode, it shrinks our 4,137.9 KB PNG to 1,343.0 KB (-67.54%, 3.08× ratio, 02_workspace.png) at 34.72 dB PSNR and 0.9954 SSIM. |
| Suitable uses · historical assessment | Developers and UI designers who want fine-grained control over PNG color depth (8/24/32-bit) and dithering algorithms with 100% local browser privacy | Webmasters and designers who want an ad-free workspace with free access to Lossy, Glossy (photographer-grade), and Lossless modes |
| Result & output evidence | ||
| Delivery capabilities | ||
| Recorded export specifications | 2048 × 2048 · PNG · No watermark in test | 2048 × 2048 · PNG · No watermark in test |
| Historical specification note · not an official maximum | 2048×2048 (native resolution watermark-free PNG direct export) | 2048×2048 full-resolution PNG free direct export (up to 10 MB and 50 files without login) |
| Watermark observation | Watermark-free | Watermark-free |
| Batch & API | Offers a dedicated Bulk Image Resizer page; no external cloud API | Supports up to 50 files per batch on web, plus WordPress plugins and REST API |
| Recorded free-tier dimensions | 2048 × 2048 | 2048 × 2048 |
| Attached file dimensions | 2048 × 2048 · PNG | 2048 × 2048 · PNG |
| Speed & reliability | ||
| Timing observation | Recorded local processing time: 2.2s · End-to-end reference: 2.2s | Network-observed server wait: 9.8s · End-to-end reference: 12.2s |
| Date & fixture | 2026-10-19 · anchor_compress_v1 · US-West (California, AS2914) | 2026-10-18 · anchor_compress_v1 · US-West (California, AS2914) |
| Repeated tests & reliability | No standardized repetition count, success rate or variability range is recorded. | No standardized repetition count, success rate or variability range is recorded. |
| Interaction experience | ||
| Account requirements | No login in this test | No login in this test |
| Sign-in methods | No login required; optional $5 ad-free account login | No login required (free account login removes the 10 MB per-file cap) |
| Manual adjustment | Not verified | Not verified |
| Interaction observations | Offers industry-leading granular controls for PNG bit depth (8-bit / 24-bit / 32-bit) and dithering algorithms (Atkinson / Floyd-Steinberg / Sierra) plus a split-screen inspector; the only friction is the 20s timer when ads are blocked. | Clean workspace with zero third-party ad banners, offering Lossy / Glossy / Lossless mode toggles and direct one-click PNG download from the thumbnail card (02_workspace.png, 03_download.png). |
| Background & reputation | ||
| Service lifecycle notice | Not verified | Not verified |
| Operator | RedKetchup (redketchup.io) | ShortPixel (ID Scout SRL) |
| Recorded origin | Independent Developer Toolkit | Bucharest, Romania (EU GDPR compliant) |
| Domain history record | 2021–Present | 2014–Present (12-year image optimization specialist) |
| Background & reputation assessment | Well-regarded independent frontend image processing toolkit (Image Resizer, Compressor, Icon Editor) actively maintained since 2021. | Operated by ShortPixel (ID Scout SRL, founded in 2014), one of the most widely installed image optimization providers in the WordPress ecosystem. |
| External reputation record | Not verified | Not verified |
| Engineering & privacy | ||
| Processing location | On-device processing | Uploaded for cloud processing |
| Third-party tracking record | Not verified | Not verified |
| Engineering & privacy assessment | 100% client-side browser Web Worker and HTML5 Canvas execution—all PNG palette quantization and Atkinson dithering happen locally in browser memory (Blob URL) with zero server uploads. | Processes images via ShortPixel's GDPR-compliant European cloud cluster without requiring personal details for guests. |
| Retention statement | This flow runs locally; post-close deletion not independently verified | Explicit retention period unconfirmed; inspect policy record |
| Evaluation basis | ||
| Pricing transparency | 31.5 / 35 Completely free and requires no sign-up (01_landing.png, 02_workspace.png); when an adblocker is active, clicking final Download displays a transparent notice ('The download will begin in 20 seconds. To avoid the countdown... Allow ads or upgrade for $5', 03_download.png) and automatically exports the full-resolution PNG once the timer finishes. | 32 / 35 Clearly states right below the dropzone: 'Drop up to 50 files here to optimize. Compress JPG, GIF and PNG online. The files should have maximum 10Mb. Login to remove the restriction.' (01_landing.png). |
| Interaction restraint | 25.5 / 30 Offers industry-leading granular controls for PNG bit depth (8-bit / 24-bit / 32-bit) and dithering algorithms (Atkinson / Floyd-Steinberg / Sierra) plus a split-screen inspector; the only friction is the 20s timer when ads are blocked. | 26 / 30 Clean workspace with zero third-party ad banners, offering Lossy / Glossy / Lossless mode toggles and direct one-click PNG download from the thumbnail card (02_workspace.png, 03_download.png). |
| Background & reputation | 18 / 20 Well-regarded independent frontend image processing toolkit (Image Resizer, Compressor, Icon Editor) actively maintained since 2021. | 18 / 20 Operated by ShortPixel (ID Scout SRL, founded in 2014), one of the most widely installed image optimization providers in the WordPress ecosystem. |
| Engineering & privacy | 15 / 15 100% client-side browser Web Worker and HTML5 Canvas execution—all PNG palette quantization and Atkinson dithering happen locally in browser memory (Blob URL) with zero server uploads. | 14 / 15 Processes images via ShortPixel's GDPR-compliant European cloud cluster without requiring personal details for guests. |
| Task quality | 60.5 / 65 Default Auto-Detect (8-bit + Atkinson dithering) preserves native PNG format and shrinks 4,137.9 KB to 1,807.8 KB (56.31% reduction, 2.29× ratio) with PSNR = 39.35 dB and SSIM = 0.9984 (60.5/65) | 54.3 / 65 Reduces file size by 67.54% (3.08×) with 34.72 dB PSNR and 0.9954 SSIM, balancing strong compression with clean visual fidelity (54.3/65) |
| Deliverable specifications | 20 / 20 100% preserves 2048×2048 pixel dimensions and native PNG format without watermarks or login (20.0/20) | 19 / 20 Preserves full 2048×2048 resolution and native PNG format while offering free Lossy/Glossy/Lossless mode switching (19.0/20) |
| Processing speed | 12 / 15 Local Web Worker quantization and full-screen preview complete in ~2.2s (0s network upload; adblock users wait a 20s countdown before export) (12.0/15) | 11 / 15 Cloud SmartCompress processing takes ~9.8s (~12.2s end-to-end) (11.0/15) |
