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Browse this task →| Criterion | Squoosh (Google Chrome Labs) Image compression 97/100 Seven-aspect task score Free, open-source, login-free and ad-free on-device processing suits privacy and fine control; results depend on the chosen codec and settings. Tested export JPEG · Output attached Historical test · 2026-10-18 | Kraken.io Web Interface Image compression 47/100 Seven-aspect task score The interface avoids ad interruptions, but free files are capped at 1MB and many features need Pro; this fixture was rejected, so compression quality was not tested. Tested export Blocked for files >1 MB ('File size too large. Upgrade to PRO and get 32MB max file size.') · Historical description; output not attached Historical test · 2026-10-18 |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & rules | ||
| Pricing plans | Squoosh in-browser local image compressor; open-source free · 2026-10-21 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits Squoosh Web (Open-source free)2026-10-21 ↗ Free Free Free Completely free without login; local browser processing with no usage-count or file-size hard caps and full-resolution unwatermarked export. 1 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded. The official page states that all work runs locally in the browser so images never leave the device; it is an Apache-2.0 open-source tool with no paid tiers or in-app purchases. Cancellation, sources & verification recordCompletely free open-source tool with no accounts or subscription charges. Squoosh official page and open-source notice ↗ · 2026-10-21 Capture 1 ↗ | Kraken.io API and Web Interface PRO plans (Free / Micro / Basic / Advanced / Premium / Enterprise); USD · 2026-10-21 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits Free Account2026-10-21 ↗ Free Free Free 100 MB free testing quota without credit card; Free Web Interface restricts single files to ≤1 MB. Micro Monthly2026-10-21 ↗ USD 5/month — Monthly 500 MB of images/month (USD 5 per additional GB); includes Web Interface PRO (up to 32 MB/file) and full API access. Micro Yearly2026-10-21 ↗ — USD 50/year Annual USD 50/year (2 months free); 500 MB of images/month (USD 5 per additional GB), including Web Interface PRO and API. Basic Monthly2026-10-21 ↗ USD 9/month — Monthly 2 GB of images/month (USD 4 per additional GB); includes Web Interface PRO and full API access. Basic Yearly2026-10-21 ↗ — USD 90/year Annual USD 90/year (2 months free); 2 GB of images/month (USD 4 per additional GB). Advanced Monthly2026-10-21 ↗ USD 19/month — Monthly 5 GB of images/month (USD 3 per additional GB); includes Web Interface PRO and full API access. Advanced Yearly2026-10-21 ↗ — USD 190/year Annual USD 190/year (2 months free); 5 GB of images/month (USD 3 per additional GB). Premium Monthly2026-10-21 ↗ USD 39/month — Monthly 15 GB of images/month (USD 2 per additional GB); includes Web Interface PRO and full API access. Premium Yearly2026-10-21 ↗ — USD 390/year Annual USD 390/year (2 months free); 15 GB of images/month (USD 2 per additional GB). Enterprise Monthly2026-10-21 ↗ USD 79/month — Monthly 60 GB of images/month (USD 1 per additional GB); includes Web Interface PRO and full API access. Enterprise Yearly2026-10-21 ↗ — USD 790/year Annual USD 790/year (2 months free); 60 GB of images/month (USD 1 per additional GB). 11 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded. The official pricing page lists the Free Account (100 MB testing quota; Free Web Interface capped at 1 MB/file) and five monthly/yearly tiers (yearly includes 2 months free at USD 50 / 90 / 190 / 390 / 790 per year). All paid plans include Web Interface PRO (up to 32 MB/file), API access, WordPress plugin, and Magento extension. Cancellation, sources & verification recordNo long-term contract; upgrade, downgrade, or cancel anytime under Account Settings. VAT applies to non-business EU customers. Kraken.io official monthly/yearly pricing and FAQ ↗ · 2026-10-21 Capture 1 ↗ · Capture 2 ↗ |
| Free & trial allowance on the test date | Unlimited free forever with no daily count or file size caps | Free Web Interface strictly capped at ≤1 MB per file; paid PRO unlocks 32 MB per file |
| Cancellation & refunds | Completely free open-source tool with no accounts or subscription charges. | No long-term contract; upgrade, downgrade, or cancel anytime under Account Settings. VAT applies to non-business EU customers. |
| Disclosure of costs & limits | Original size, compressed size, and reduction percentage are displayed in real time on drop | Small gray footer note below dropzone ('Free Web Interface has a file size limit of 1MB') + inline error row on upload |
| Task quality | ||
| Measured fixture results | File reduction: 93.26% · Output size: 278.8 KB | File reduction: 0% · Output size: 4137.9 KB |
| Fixture findings | Local processing reduced this fixture by about 93%; results depend on the codec and settings. | The roughly 4MB fixture exceeded the recorded 1MB free limit; free compression could not complete. |
| Original historical observation | Squoosh is the gold standard of honest online utilities: uploading 0 bytes to any server, its local WebAssembly engine compresses our 4.24 MB 2048×2048 anchor image down to 278.8 KB (-93.26%) in 0.85s while maintaining PSNR=37.13 dB and SSIM=0.9973 (02_workspace.png). | Kraken.io's free Web Interface remains stuck in a decade-old '1 MB max file size' quota (01_landing.png): when fed our 4,137.9 KB (2048×2048) benchmark PNG, the queue immediately rejects it with 'File size too large. Upgrade to PRO and get 32MB max file size.' (02_workspace.png, 03_download.png). |
| Suitable uses · historical assessment | Privacy-conscious users, developers, and designers who refuse to upload sensitive photos to cloud servers and want fine-grained codec control with real-time split-screen preview | Only usable for tiny web icons/thumbnails already under 1 MB, or enterprise developers with a paid Kraken.io PRO API subscription |
| Result & output evidence | No native output obtained; the preview does not establish final export quality. | |
| Delivery capabilities | ||
| Recorded export specifications | JPEG · Output attached · No watermark in test | Blocked for files >1 MB ('File size too large. Upgrade to PRO and get 32MB max file size.') · Historical description; output not attached · Check watermark record No native output is attached; check the evidence for specification and watermark claims. |
| Historical specification note · not an official maximum | 2048×2048 (unlimited dimensions, local WebAssembly zero-watermark export) | Free tier capped strictly at 1 MB per file (rejects our 4.24 MB benchmark PNG; requires PRO for 32 MB) |
| Watermark observation | Watermark-free | Watermark-free (only for tiny ≤1 MB files) |
| Batch & API | Focused on single-image interactive codec tuning | Supports multi-file and ZIP upload (all subject to the 1 MB/file free cap); full REST API on PRO |
| Recorded free-tier dimensions | 2048 × 2048 | Not verified |
| Attached file dimensions | Not verified | Not verified |
| Speed & reliability | ||
| Timing observation | Recorded local processing time: 0.85s · End-to-end reference: 0.85s | Network-observed server wait: 0.2s · End-to-end reference: 0.2s |
| Date & fixture | 2026-10-18 · 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 | Account required in this test |
| Sign-in methods | 100% No Login Required (no account system, pure client-side browser utility) | No login required for ≤1 MB; lifting the 1 MB cap requires a paid Kraken.io PRO subscription |
| Manual adjustment | Not verified | Not verified |
| Interaction observations | Zero sign-up, zero popups, and zero ad trackers—opens directly into a millisecond-responsive split-screen comparison workspace. | No fake download ads, but steps 1, 3, and 4 (URL Paster, Image Resizing, Image Conversion) are locked behind 'available in Kraken.io PRO' and any file over 1 MB fails with a PRO upgrade prompt (03_download.png). |
| Background & reputation | ||
| Service lifecycle notice | Not verified | Not verified |
| Operator | Google Chrome Labs | Nekkra UG (Kraken.io) |
| Recorded origin | Mountain View, California, USA | Germany |
| Domain history record | 2018–Present (maintained by Google Chrome DevRel) | 2013–Present (13-year image optimization service) |
| Background & reputation assessment | Created and open-sourced by the Google Chrome Web DevRel team as the reference WebAssembly image codec playground. | Operated by Germany-based Nekkra UG (founded in 2013), well-known in legacy WordPress/Magento optimization workflows. |
| 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 | CDP network capture confirms 100% client-side WebAssembly execution (MozJPEG / OxiPNG / WebP / AVIF) with 0 bytes uploaded to any remote server; works offline as a PWA. | Clearly states that optimized files remain available for 12 hours before automatic deletion. |
| Retention statement | This flow runs locally; post-close deletion not independently verified | Claims deletion within 12 hours; deletion not independently verified |
| Evaluation basis | ||
| Pricing transparency | 35 / 35 100% open-source and free with zero paywalls, zero in-app purchases, zero resolution caps, and zero ads. Dragging in the 4.24 MB (2048×2048) anchor image immediately enables real-time split-slider comparison and one-click export (01_landing.png, 02_workspace.png, 03_download.png). | 21 / 35 Discloses 'Free Web Interface has a file size limit of 1MB' in small gray footer text below the dropzone (01_landing.png); however, capping a 'Free Online Image Optimizer and Compressor' at 1 MB blocks almost every real-world high-res PNG/JPG that actually needs compression, immediately prompting 'File size too large. Upgrade to PRO and get 32MB max file size.' (02_workspace.png, 03_download.png). |
| Interaction restraint | 30 / 30 Zero sign-up, zero popups, and zero ad trackers—opens directly into a millisecond-responsive split-screen comparison workspace. | 21 / 30 No fake download ads, but steps 1, 3, and 4 (URL Paster, Image Resizing, Image Conversion) are locked behind 'available in Kraken.io PRO' and any file over 1 MB fails with a PRO upgrade prompt (03_download.png). |
| Background & reputation | 19.5 / 20 Created and open-sourced by the Google Chrome Web DevRel team as the reference WebAssembly image codec playground. | 16 / 20 Operated by Germany-based Nekkra UG (founded in 2013), well-known in legacy WordPress/Magento optimization workflows. |
| Engineering & privacy | 14.5 / 15 CDP network capture confirms 100% client-side WebAssembly execution (MozJPEG / OxiPNG / WebP / AVIF) with 0 bytes uploaded to any remote server; works offline as a PWA. | 10 / 15 Clearly states that optimized files remain available for 12 hours before automatic deletion. |
| Task quality | 61.6 / 65 Reduces file size by 93.26% (4,137.9 KB → 278.8 KB, 14.84× compression ratio) while preserving PSNR = 37.13 dB and SSIM = 0.9973, with full control over OxiPNG, MozJPEG, WebP, and AVIF encoders (61.6/65) | 20 / 65 Rejects our 4,137.9 KB (4.24 MB) standard 2048×2048 PNG benchmark anchor due to its strict 1 MB free file size cap (20.0/65) |
| Deliverable specifications | 20 / 20 Preserves exact 2048×2048 dimensions (unless Resize is toggled by the user) with unrestricted local PNG/JPEG/WebP/AVIF download (20.0/20) | 7.7 / 20 Free tier is restricted to files ≤1 MB, preventing free export of standard high-resolution PNG/JPG images (7.7/20) |
| Processing speed | 14 / 15 100% local multi-threaded WebAssembly encoding with 0.0s network upload latency; re-encodes the 2048×2048 anchor in ~0.85s (14.0/15) | 10 / 15 Client-side size check rejects >1 MB files in 0.2s with a PRO upgrade notice (10.0/15) |
