Comparison
Apolo vs Squoosh.
Both compress with the same engines and show the before and after. The difference is in everything else.
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In short
Squoosh is Google Chrome Labs' image compression web app: it runs in the browser, uploads nothing, and shows the original and the result with a slider. It's excellent for a single image.
Apolo does the same in a native app, and adds what Squoosh doesn't have: whole folders, a quality score you can ask for, a command line and a server for AI agents.
Side by side
| What | Apolo | Squoosh |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| License | GPL-3.0 (open source) | Apache-2.0 (open source) |
| Where it runs | macOS, Windows and Linux, on x64 and ARM | In the browser, nothing to install |
| Your images | Never leave your computer | Never leave your computer: the browser processes them |
| Formats it writes | WebP, AVIF, JPEG XL, JPEG (MozJPEG), PNG (OxiPNG) and QOI | WebP, AVIF, JPEG XL, MozJPEG, OxiPNG, QOI and others |
| Whole folders | Yes, in parallel and with subfolders | No: one image at a time |
| Command line | Yes, with the options of cwebp, cjpeg, oxipng, avifenc and cjxl | No |
| AI agents (MCP) | Yes, eleven tools | No |
| Measures the loss | Yes: SSIMULACRA 2, PSNR and SSIM, and quality by score | No: you compare by eye |
What each one does better
What Squoosh does better
- Nothing to install: it opens in any browser, even on a computer that isn't yours.
- It has an extra experimental codec or two, like WebP 2.
What Apolo does better
- Whole folders, in parallel and with subfolders, without overwriting anything.
- It measures the loss with SSIMULACRA 2 and finds the lowest quality that reaches the score you ask for.
- It gives the same file, byte for byte, as cwebp, cjpeg, oxipng, avifenc and cjxl, with the equivalent command to copy.
- It opens iPhone HEIC, ships a command line and an MCP server, and updates itself. Squoosh's code hasn't changed since August 2024.
Which to choose
Squoosh
An image now and then, on any computer.
Apolo
Many images, folders, a workflow or an AI agent.
Keep reading
- Apolo vs TinyPNGTinyPNG on its servers and with limits; Apolo on your computer, free and unlimited.
- Apolo vs ImageOptimImageOptim makes images lighter without changing format, on Mac only; Apolo converts to WebP, AVIF and JPEG XL on all three systems.
- Apolo vs CaesiumTwo free desktop compressors: Caesium with JPG, PNG, WebP and TIFF; Apolo with AVIF, JPEG XL and loss measurement.