29 head-to-heads
Smol, compared fairly.
Each page puts Smol next to a tool you may already use, checks the claims against the vendor’s own pages or our public benchmark, and says plainly where the other app is the better choice.
Image compressors
11JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF and HEIC: apps, web tools and upscalers.
Caesium Alternatives for Mac: Free, Good, and Deliberately Narrow
Caesium is free, open source and still shipping: its engine released v1.5.0 on 16 Sep 2026. The honest Caesium alternative comparison for Mac users.
9 min read
iLoveIMG Alternative for Mac: Compress Photos Without Uploading Them
Looking for an iLoveIMG alternative on Mac? Compare its free web tools and $4 Premium with a $29 app that never uploads your files. Honest verdict.
8 min read
JPEGmini Alternatives for Mac: When One Format Is Not Enough
JPEGmini is $59 and brilliant at JPEG. It writes only JPEG. The honest JPEGmini alternative comparison for Mac: formats, price, trials and where it still wins.
10 min read
Optimage Alternatives for Mac: Intel-Only Since 2021
Optimage's last release was 26 Nov 2021 and its binaries are Intel-only. Apple ends Rosetta after macOS 27. The Optimage alternatives that run natively.
9 min read
ShortPixel Alternative for Mac: When Local Beats the Cloud
A ShortPixel alternative for Mac that compresses locally, with no credits or uploads. See where ShortPixel wins, such as WordPress, and where Smol fits.
9 min read
Smol vs TinyPNG: Local Mac App or Online Compressor? (2026)
TinyPNG compresses images in the cloud with a 5 MB free limit. Smol runs unlimited compression locally on your Mac for a one-time $29. Full comparison.
7 min read
Squash Alternative for Mac: Batch Photo Editor or Compressor?
Looking for a Squash alternative on Mac? Squash 3 is a batch photo editor with filters. Smol compresses images, PDFs, video and audio for $29 once.
8 min read
Squoosh Alternatives for Mac: Google Stopped Maintaining It
Squoosh still works, but no maintainer has shipped code since August 2024 and it has never had a batch mode. The Squoosh alternatives worth using on a Mac.
11 min read
Topaz Gigapixel Alternatives After the Subscription Switch
Topaz ended perpetual licenses in 2025 and Adobe closed its acquisition in September 2026. The Topaz Gigapixel alternatives worth using on a Mac.
10 min read
XnConvert Alternative for Mac: Free and Broad, Images Only
XnConvert is free and reads 500+ image formats. Looking for an XnConvert alternative on Mac that also handles PDF, video and audio? Compare honestly.
8 min read
Zipic Alternatives for Mac: Where the Free Tier Runs Out
Zipic is free for 25 images a day, $19.99 for Pro. An honest Zipic alternative comparison: formats, automation, the MCP server, and what it will not touch.
11 min read
PDF tools
06Editors and online services, measured on the one job of making PDFs smaller.
Adobe Acrobat Alternatives for Mac
Adobe lists Acrobat Pro at US$239.88/yr. If you only need smaller PDFs, $29 once does it. The honest Acrobat alternative for Mac, and when to buy Adobe.
12 min read
iLovePDF Alternatives for Mac
iLovePDF's free Compress tool takes 2 files per task, 200 MB max, and Premium is $48/yr. Is iLovePDF free enough, or is a $29 one-time Mac app better?
9 min read
PDF Expert Alternative for Mac: Editor or Compressor?
Looking for a PDF Expert alternative on Mac? See what PDF Expert costs, how its Reduce File Size works, and when a $29 compressor is the better pick.
8 min read
PDF Squeezer Alternatives: Deeper on PDF, or Wider on Everything
PDF Squeezer is $19.99, on v4.9, and has more PDF controls than we do. The honest PDF Squeezer alternative comparison for Mac, including where it wins.
9 min read
PDFelement Alternative for Mac: When You Only Need Compression
Looking for a PDFelement alternative on Mac? Smol compresses PDFs, images, video and audio offline for $29 once. See what PDFelement does that Smol cannot.
8 min read
Smallpdf Alternatives That Don't Need a Subscription
Smallpdf Pro is $108/yr and its Mac desktop app has been unsupported since 2021. The Smallpdf alternatives that run locally on a Mac, with real prices.
10 min read
Video & audio
05Encoders and converters, from free to pro, for smaller video and audio files.
Adobe Media Encoder Alternative for Mac: When You Just Need Smaller Video
Adobe Media Encoder alternative for Mac: Smol compresses video locally for $29 once, no Creative Cloud. See what you give up and where Adobe wins.
8 min read
Apple Compressor Alternative for Mac: When $49.99 Is More Than You Need
Looking for an Apple Compressor alternative on Mac? See where Apple’s $49.99 encoder wins, and when a $29 compressor for video, PDFs and images is enough.
8 min read
HandBrake Alternatives for Mac (Without the Settings Maze)
HandBrake is free, actively maintained, and hard to configure. The HandBrake alternatives for Mac worth using when you just want a smaller video file.
12 min read
Permute Alternative for Mac: An Honest Comparison With Smol
A fair Permute alternative comparison: Permute 4 costs $14.99 and needs macOS 26. Where it beats Smol, where Smol fits better, and who should buy which.
9 min read
ShrinkIt Alternative for Mac: When a Video Squeezer Is Not Enough
ShrinkIt is a free Mac video compressor with a $14.99 Pro. See what it does well and what to use if you also need to compress images, PDFs or audio.
8 min read
All-in-one & converters
07Apps and services that cover several file types at once, like Smol does.
Clop Alternatives for Mac: A Fair Look at a Very Good App
Clop is €15, free to try and updated constantly. An honest Clop alternative comparison for Mac: where its free tier and feature list stop, and when to stay put.
10 min read
CloudConvert Alternatives That Work Offline
CloudConvert handles 212 formats and needs no Mac. It also meters you and needs the upload. The honest CloudConvert alternative comparison for local work.
10 min read
Compresto Alternatives for Mac: An Honest Head-to-Head
Compresto is $49 for one Mac and genuinely good at video. The honest Compresto alternative comparison: AVIF, audio, Ghostscript, and what each app refuses.
11 min read
FreeConvert Alternative for Mac: Convert and Compress Offline
Looking for a FreeConvert alternative on Mac? Smol converts and compresses images, PDFs, video and audio on your Mac for $29 once, with no uploads.
8 min read
Picmal Alternatives: Two $29 Mac Apps, Compared Honestly
Picmal and Smol are both $29 once. An honest Picmal alternative comparison: macOS 15, format breadth, Office files, upscaling, and who should buy which.
10 min read
Smol vs Dinky: We Fact-Checked Their Comparison Table
Dinky is free, MIT-licensed and 35 MB. Smol is $29 and 403 MB. An honest Smol vs Dinky comparison, including the four rows their table gets wrong.
11 min read
Smolr vs Smol: Two Different Mac Apps, One Letter Apart
Smolr is a free open-source image compressor. Smol is a $29 Mac app for images, PDFs, video and audio. Two different apps; here is which one you want.
9 min read