At CanadaCreate, we regularly publish articles and have been running our blog for over 16 years. Since we strive to include numerous engaging images in our posts, our media library has accumulated a significant number of files.manyfiles in our media library.
We have prioritized image optimization for a long time, and we understand that the best approach is through compression. With thousands of images on our site, our pages continue to load quickly and efficiently, thanks to the compression of all those images.
If you’re dealing with a large volume of images, manually compressing each one can be extremely time-consuming. Fortunately, image compression plugins enable you to automatically optimize images in WordPress with ease.
In this article, we will review the top image compression plugins available for WordPress.
When Should You Use a WordPress Image Compression Plugin?
Images are larger in size compared to plain text, which means they take longer to load and can slow down your website.
However, you may have heard the phrase, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ Images enhance your content, making it more engaging and interactive.
To boost the speed of your WordPress website, it’s essential to optimize your images for the web.
Optimizing your images can significantly speed up your website, enhance your WordPress SEO, and increase your traffic.
The most effective method for image optimization is to use Photoshop or similar image editing software before uploading images to WordPress. This allows for greater control over the quality of the images on your site.
However, not everyone feels comfortable using image editing software. For some, the thought of optimizing each image they upload can seem overwhelming.
Fortunately, there are numerous WordPress image compression plugins available that can assist you. These plugins automatically compress your images and display the smaller versions on your website.
With that in mind, let’s explore the top WordPress image compression plugins and evaluate their effectiveness in terms of image optimization, performance, and quality.
1. EWWW Image Optimizer
EWWW Image Optimizer is the leading WordPress image compression plugin. It is user-friendly and can automatically optimize images as you upload them.
Additionally, it can bulk compress and optimize images that you have previously uploaded.
Even with compression, the difference in quality between compressed and uncompressed images is often imperceptible.
Additionally, the entire image compression and optimization process is automated. This includes resizing images to fit the appropriate dimensions for different pages and devices, implementing lazy loading, and converting images to the modern WebP format.
This plugin can also optimize images created by other WordPress plugins and stored outside of your media library. It supports optimization for JPG, PNG, GIF, and even PDF files.
A free version of the plugin is available, allowing you to optimize images directly on your own server. This is ideal for WordPress site owners who prioritize privacy.
However, websites with numerous images or high traffic should consider the paid plan, which includes an image-optimizing CDN that automatically compresses and converts images as they are accessed.
EWWW Image Optimizer is very affordable, with plans starting at just $7 per month and offering unlimited image support. If you manage multiple sites, you will need to choose a higher-tier plan.
Your plan also includes a caching engine, CSS/JS optimization, and Google Font optimization to enhance your site’s loading speed.
For more details, check out our comprehensive review of EWWW Image Optimizer.
2. Optimole
Optimole is another fantastic choice for a WordPress image compression plugin.
To use this plugin, you’ll need to create a quick account and set up an API key. Once that’s done, it’s easy to navigate and offers full control over your image optimization process.
Optimole utilizes an image CDN, ensuring your images load swiftly regardless of your visitors’ locations. With this CDN, images are optimized in real-time and delivered to users in the ideal size.
You can manage all your optimized images from a single dashboard, allowing you to easily customize compression settings for each image.
The plugin enables you to modify various settings, including compression quality, resizing of large images, lazy loading, and more.
It features a special setting that automatically adds watermarks to your images, making it an excellent choice for photographers looking to safeguard their work.
Pricing is determined by the number of monthly visitors. The free version accommodates up to 5,000 visitors per month, while paid plans begin at $19.08 per month when billed annually and support up to 25,000 visitors.
For additional information, check out our comprehensive review of Optimole.
3. ShortPixel Image Optimizer
ShortPixel Image Optimizer is another excellent plugin for compressing images on WordPress.
This plugin is equipped with advanced features, allowing you to select different compression formats. It begins compressing images immediately upon activation and keeps your original images in a separate folder.
To use the free version of the plugin, you will need to obtain an API key by providing your email address.
The free basic account lets you compress up to 100 images each month, and you can upgrade to a paid plan to increase this limit.
With just a click, you can easily convert PNG images to JPEG and vice versa.
This plugin is compatible with WooCommerce, NextGEN Gallery, and WPML translation plugins.
If you are using Cloudflare as your WordPress CDN, you can integrate this service so that your images are automatically updated to the latest version.
ShortPixel is also very budget-friendly, with plans starting at $4.99 per month for up to 5,000 images.
4. reSmush.it
reSmush.it is an excellent option for a WordPress image compression plugin. It enables automatic optimization of images upon upload and provides a bulk optimization feature for older images.
You have complete control over image quality and compression using a user-friendly slider.
This plugin utilizes the reSmush API to enhance image quality and gives you the option to select the level of optimization for your uploads.
One drawback is that it does not offer multiple compression levels. Additionally, it restricts optimization to images that are under 5MB in size. You can exclude specific images from compression if you wish to keep them at full resolution.
5. Compress JPEG & PNG Images
Compress JPEG & PNG Images is developed by the creators of TinyPNG, and you will need to register for an account to access the plugin. The free account allows you to optimize up to 500 images each month.
It can automatically compress images as you upload them, and you also have the option to bulk-optimize previously uploaded images.
The plugin settings let you specify which image sizes you want to optimize. You can also define a maximum size for your original uploads, and images exceeding that size will be automatically resized by the plugin.
You can choose to retain image metadata such as time and date, copyright details, and GPS location on JPEG files.
6. Envira Gallery
Envira Gallery is the top-rated WordPress gallery plugin that combines power with user-friendliness. It enables you to create stunning and responsive image galleries for your WordPress website.
Envira includes a built-in image compression feature that optimizes your images, reduces their file size, and enhances your page loading speed.
With just a few clicks, you can activate image compression and choose your preferred compression level: lossy, glossy, or lossless. Your gallery images will then be automatically optimized.
Additionally, Envira Gallery provides features such as watermarking, image proofing, printing, protection, zoom capabilities, and much more.
Envira Gallery offers a free version, but to access the image compression feature, you will need to upgrade to the Pro plan, which starts at $99.50 per year.
For more information, check out our comprehensive review of Envira Gallery.
7. WP Rocket
WP Rocket is the top caching plugin for WordPress, designed for beginners and optimized to significantly enhance your site’s speed.
WP Rocket includes image optimization features such as lazy loading, which only loads images when they are visible on the screen.
They also created a plugin called Imagify, which allows you to optimize all your images with a single click. It can resize your images on the fly and enables you to restore them to their original size.
You have complete control over your image optimization and compression settings, ensuring that all your images are tailored to your preferences. For more details, check out our review of Imagify.
Bonus: Jetpack
Jetpack is a comprehensive WordPress plugin suite that integrates essential features into one powerful tool, focusing on security, performance, and marketing.
The image optimization capabilities are part of the performance features. Activating image compression is as simple as toggling a single setting, with no additional configurations required.
It automatically optimizes your images and delivers them to your visitors via a Content Delivery Network (CDN), reducing server load and ensuring faster image loading times.
You can access image optimization features even with the free version of the plugin.
If you appreciate Jetpack but are interested in alternatives that can replace its features, check out our guide on the best alternatives to the WordPress Jetpack plugin.
Comparison Test Scores for Image Compression Plugins
Now that you’re familiar with various WordPress image compression options, let’s examine how they stack up against each other in terms of performance.
To evaluate the effectiveness of these plugins, we conducted a test by uploading the same image with each one.
JPEG Image Compression Testing
For our tests, we utilized the following JPEG image, which has a size of 118.3 KB.
We kept the plugin settings at their default configurations and recorded the compression results. Here are our findings:
| Plugin | Compressed Size | Percentage Saved (%) | Compression Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| EWWW Image Optimizer | 64 KB | 54.24% | Lossless |
| Optimole | 64 KB | 54.24% | Lossless |
| ShortPixel Image Optimizer | 72 KB | 39.30% | Lossless |
| reSmush.it | 78 KB | 20.81% | Lossless |
| Compress JPEG & PNG Images | 118.1 KB | 2% | Lossy |
PNG Image Compression Testing
Next, we aimed to assess how well our selected plugins optimize a PNG image.
We used the following PNG image for this test, which has a size of 99.4 KB.
Here are the results of our testing:
| Plugin | Compressed Size | Percentage Saved (%) | Compression Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| EWWW Image Optimizer | 97 KB | 1.9% | Lossless |
| Optimole | 41 KB | 64% | Lossless |
| ShortPixel Image Optimizer | 36 KB | 56% | Lossy |
| reSmush.it | 36 KB | 56% | Lossless |
| Compress JPEG & PNG Images | 34.3 KB | 54% | Lossy |
Which Image Compression Plugin is the Best for WordPress?
For the best image compression plugin, EWWW Image Optimizer is highly recommended.
It provides excellent compression without compromising image quality and includes an image CDN along with other features to enhance your website’s speed.
Optimole is another excellent choice for websites with lower traffic, as it works seamlessly in the background to optimize images for you, and it is free for up to 5,000 monthly visitors.
If you need an affordable plugin that delivers high compression rates and image conversion, ShortPixel is definitely worth considering.
We trust that this review of the top WordPress image compression plugins has been helpful. For further insights, check out our beginner’s guide to image SEO for optimizing images for search engines, as well as our expert recommendations for the best email marketing services available for businesses.
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