Name: Smol
Price: 29 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: Smol

Question 1

How do I compress images on Mac without losing quality?

Accepted Answer

Drop any image into Smol — JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, HEIC, or RAW. Smol compresses using professional-grade encoders that reduce file size by 50–90% while preserving visual quality. You can adjust the quality slider for full control. Everything runs locally on your Mac — no uploads, no accounts.

Question 2

What is the best image compression app for Mac?

Accepted Answer

Smol is the world's best image compressor. Neural compression uses ML-guided detail retention to preserve the parts of an image people actually notice, while Classic compression handles everyday images, PDFs, and videos locally. For developers and designers who need smaller website images without ugly artifacts, Smol is built to beat normal online compressors.

Question 3

What is Neural compression in Smol?

Accepted Answer

Neural compression studies the image before encoding. Smol maps faces, text, edges, depth, and fine detail, then protects important regions while compressing less important regions harder. The result is dramatically smaller AVIF images that keep the visual detail people notice.

Question 4

How does Smol decide which image details to preserve?

Accepted Answer

Smol builds an importance map before compression. Warm areas mark faces, text, key subjects, object edges, and unique detail that should stay crisp. Cool areas mark low-detail backgrounds, smooth surfaces, sky, and shadows that can be compressed more aggressively.

Question 5

Does Neural compression upload my images?

Accepted Answer

No. Smol downloads the local Neural engine once, then Neural compression runs on your Mac. Your images are not uploaded to Smol, a cloud service, or an API.

Question 6

Does Smol upload my files to the cloud?

Accepted Answer

No. Every file is processed 100% locally on your Mac using Apple Silicon. Your images, PDFs, and videos never leave your device. There are no accounts, no servers, no upload queue. Smol uses bundled encoders that run entirely on your machine — the same tools that run on cloud services, just on your Mac.

Question 7

How do I reduce PDF file size on Mac?

Accepted Answer

Drop your PDF into Smol and choose a quality preset: Tiny (72 DPI, email-ready), Small (150 DPI, sharing), Medium (300 DPI, everyday), Large (300 DPI, print quality), or Original. A 50 MB InDesign export can become 3–5 MB without visible quality loss. All compression runs locally — your PDF never leaves your Mac.

Question 8

Can I compress videos on Mac without HandBrake?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Smol compresses MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, and WebM files using H.265 (HEVC) encoding — the same standard HandBrake uses, but with a simple drag-and-drop interface. No presets to configure, no command-line flags. Drop a video, choose High or Web quality, done. H.265 is roughly 50% more efficient than H.264 at equal visual quality.

Question 9

Can Smol convert files locally on Mac?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Smol converts images, PDFs, Office files, video, audio, tables, and fonts locally on your Mac. Use it for everyday conversions like HEIC to JPEG, PDF exports, spreadsheet formats, audio formats, and web-ready image outputs without uploading files.

Question 10

Can Smol compress and convert audio files?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Smol supports local audio compression and conversion across common formats including MP3, AAC, WAV, FLAC, OGG, and ALAC. Choose the output format and quality, then process files locally without a cloud converter.

Question 11

What is AVIF and should I use it instead of JPEG?

Accepted Answer

AVIF is the best image format available today — typically 30–50% smaller than JPEG at equivalent quality, with wide browser support. Smol converts any image to AVIF with a single drop. If you're building for the web or optimising assets for performance, AVIF is the right choice. For compatibility with older software, JPEG or WebP are safer.

Question 12

How do I convert HEIC to JPEG on Mac?

Accepted Answer

Drop your HEIC file (or folder of files) into Smol, set the output format to JPEG in settings, and compress. Smol batch-converts HEIC to JPEG, WebP, AVIF, or PNG. HEIC is the default format for iPhone photos — Smol converts them locally without uploading to any web service.

Question 13

Is Smol a one-time purchase or subscription?

Accepted Answer

One-time purchase of $29. No subscription, no renewal, no recurring fees. Pay once and own Smol forever, including all future updates. Compare that to Smallpdf at $108/year or Acrobat Pro at $240/year — tools that charge you annually for features you use every day.

Question 14

Does Smol work on Intel Macs?

Accepted Answer

No. Smol is built exclusively for Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4 and later). All compression encoders are compiled as native ARM binaries, and AI upscaling uses the Apple Neural Engine. Running on Apple Silicon means faster compression, lower power consumption, and better performance than any Intel-compatible build could offer.

Question 15

How do I remove EXIF data from photos on Mac?

Accepted Answer

Drop any image or PDF into Smol and enable "Strip metadata" in settings. Smol removes all EXIF, GPS, IPTC, and XMP data — camera model, GPS coordinates, author info, timestamps. You can strip metadata without recompressing, so the image content remains pixel-perfect while the identifying information is removed.

Question 16

What is AI image upscaling?

Accepted Answer

AI upscaling uses a machine learning model to enlarge images while reconstructing realistic detail — far sharper than traditional resizing. Smol runs its upscaler entirely on your Apple Silicon GPU. Enlarge images 2× or 4× with no internet connection, no API key, and no cloud upload required.

Question 17

Can I batch compress hundreds of files at once?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Drag a folder of 500+ files into Smol — images, PDFs, and videos mixed together — and Smol processes them all. Virtual scrolling means the interface stays fast even with 1,000+ files. You can watch per-file progress, see individual savings, cancel mid-batch, or re-optimise specific files after the run completes.

Question 18

How much can Smol reduce file sizes?

Accepted Answer

Typical results: JPEG images compress 60–85% smaller. PNG files reduce 30–60% losslessly. PDFs from InDesign or Acrobat often shrink 70–90% for email use. Videos encoded with H.265 are typically 40–60% smaller than the original. Smol always keeps the smaller result — if compression would increase file size, it keeps the original.

Question 19

Is local compression faster than online tools?

Accepted Answer

Yes — significantly. Online tools require uploading your file, waiting for server processing, and downloading the result. With large files or slow connections, that's minutes per file. Smol processes files in seconds using your Mac's CPU and GPU directly. No upload, no download, no queue. A 100 MB video that takes minutes online takes under 30 seconds in Smol.

Question 20

Is there a file size limit or daily limit?

Accepted Answer

No. Smol has no file size limits, no daily caps, and no monthly quotas. Drop a 4 GB video, a 50,000-image folder, or 200 PDFs at once — it all works. Online tools like TinyPNG cap free users at 5 MB per image, Smallpdf at 2 PDFs per day, and iLoveImg at 25 MB. Because Smol runs locally on your Mac, the only limit is your disk space. One $29 purchase covers unlimited compression forever.

Feature	Smol $29 one-time	Clop $15 one-time	ImageOptim Free	Optimage $15 one-time	Squash $29–39/yr
Images
Neural compression
PDFs
Video
AI Upscaling
RAW file support
AVIF output
PDF quality presets
100% local
Menu bar / tray
Smart Clipboard

Feature	TinyPNG $39/yr	Squoosh Free	JPEGmini $59 one-time
Unlimited files (no caps)	5 MB / image	1 at a time
Images (18 formats)	PNG/JPG only	PNG/WebP/AVIF	JPEG/HEIC only
Neural compression
ML-guided detail retention
PDFs
Video
AI Upscaling
AVIF output
100% local
Batch processing

Feature	Smol $29 one-time	PDF Squeezer $19.99 one-time	Smallpdf $108/yr	Acrobat Pro $240/yr
Unlimited files (no caps)			2/day free
PDFs
Images
Video
AI Upscaling
100% local
Batch processing
Menu bar / tray

Feature	Smol $29 one-time	HandBrake Free	Topaz AI $199 one-time	Permute $14.99 one-time
Video
AI Upscaling
Images
PDFs
100% local
Menu bar / tray
Smart Clipboard

The world's best image compressor.

Compression that understands the image first

Smol does not compress every pixel the same way.

Smol studies the image

It builds an importance map

Bits go where humans look

The result is checked visually