A TinyPNG Alternative: A 50 KB Target and Where Your File Goes

TinyPNG: 20 images at a time, kept for up to 48 hours

TinyPNG and TinyJPG are one service. Its terms say they “govern the use of the TinyPNG and TinyJPG websites” and name Tinify B.V. as the owner. On November 3, 2026, the home page said: “Up to 20 images, max 5 MB each.” Its FAQ added: “Free users have the flexibility to upload up to 20 images at once, each with a maximum size of 5MB.” and “you can freely convert up to 3 images”. The formats it listed: “JPEG XL (JXL), AVIF, WebP, JPG, PNG and APNG (animated PNG)”.

Its pricing page listed two paid web plans. The cheaper one: “$3.25”, “Per month | Billed annually”, “75 MB Per image”, “Unlimited Compressions”. The other: “$12.42”, “Per month | Billed annually”, “150 MB per image”, “Unlimited conversions”. The terms say: “Listed prices are in U.S. dollars (USD)”. The row “Ad free” appeared in the table for the paid plans and not for the free one. We did not look at how the free page shows ads.

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The question people ask: a JPEG under 50 KB

A visa or exam form that takes only 50 KB is a common reason to search for a compressor. TinyPNG describes its method as a search for the best result per picture: “Our compression engine employs a smart algorithm to determine the best optimization levels tailored to each image's unique content”. On the 11 TinyPNG pages we read on November 3, 2026, we found no setting for a size in KB and no promise of a file under a given size. That is what those pages say, not proof that no such option exists. One customer quote repeated on several of its pages mentions 50 KB: “a half MB image can be reduced to just 50KB”. It describes one person's result, not a setting.

We did not run TinyPNG's compression, on a photo or anything else, so we cannot say what it gives for 50 KB. What we can report is what our own tool did when asked.

What To a size did on November 3, 2026

Compress Image has a level called To a size: you type a target in KB or MB. In our check on November 3, 2026, we gave it three JPEGs in a desktop browser, with the output format on JPEG and “Allow resizing if needed” on, which is the default.

The first was a 4000 × 3000 photo of 4.4 MB. Asked for 200 KB, it gave 191 kB at 2000 × 1500, after about 16 to 18 seconds. Asked for 50 KB, it stopped and said: “We could not reach 50 KB without destroying this image”. The row for the finished file read “not met”, the download button stayed off, and the verdict held for the 42 seconds we watched.

The second was a photo already at 800 × 600 and 309 kB. Asked for 50 KB, it gave 48,319 bytes at the same 800 × 600, and the page said the target was met. Asked for 200 KB, it gave 193,939 bytes. Asked for 20 KB, it gave about 19 kB at 640 × 480.

The third was a smooth gradient of 4000 × 3000. Asked for 50 KB, it gave 45,666 bytes at full size. This is a synthetic picture, so treat it as a sign that the verdict depends on what is in the image, not as a promise for your photo.

The ordinary levels do not aim at a number. On the first photo, Balanced took 4.4 MB to 1.5 MB, 65 percent smaller, in about 2.4 seconds. For a cap, use To a size. Pages that open with the target already set: 50 KB, 100 KB and 200 KB.

When the page says no

A refusal means this image, at this pixel size, would look badly damaged at the target. It is not a crash, and it is better than a file that is technically 50 KB and unreadable. A picture with fewer pixels leaves more room for quality at the same weight. That is what our 800 × 600 photo showed. We did not test shrinking the 12-megapixel photo first, so we cannot say it would have reached 50 KB.

Some forms also fix the width and height, or the format. Cut the picture to the shape the form asks for first, with Crop Image or Resize Image, then ask for the size. For one specific form, see the US visa photo guide. We cannot tell you whether a given portal will accept the picture.

What TinyPNG does better

It lists two formats we do not take: JPEG XL and animated PNG. Compress Image here takes JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF and GIF, and a GIF comes back as a PNG of its first frame.

It reaches further than a web page. Its menu lists a Developer API, an Image CDN, a WordPress plugin, a Figma plugin and a “Website image Analyzer”. The API page said: “500 free compressions each month”, then “$0.009 Per compression” for the next 9,500 and “$0.002” for the next 10,000. We have none of these. If you compress images on a site you run, that is a real gap.

Its paid plans take 75 MB and 150 MB per image. Here the limit is 100 MB per file, up to 100 files and 500 MB in one batch, which is more than its free page allows and less than its largest plan.

Its FAQ says its API can keep some metadata: “copyright, location, and creation date”. Here, “Keep EXIF metadata” works for JPEG only. Whether its compression looks better or lands smaller than ours on the same file, we did not test.

Where your file goes

TinyPNG's menu describes its tool as one that compresses “instantly in your browser”. Its FAQ says: “We retain them for a maximum of 48 hours, after which they are permanently deleted.” The terms say: “Images uploaded to the Service are temporarily stored, optimized and deleted within 48 hours.” We did not watch its network traffic, so we can repeat these sentences and no more.

Compress Image here runs in your browser with WebAssembly codecs. Nothing is uploaded, and there is no queue on a server. Ours can be checked too: see how to check that an online tool keeps your file on your device. To continue in another tool, PulsarKit may store a local copy of your input or result in this browser. It can remain after you close the tab or restart the browser. Clear PulsarKit’s site data to delete it.

Which one fits

For a site you run, with a plugin, an API or a CDN, TinyPNG is built for that and we are not. For a single photo that must land under a number, such as 50 KB, Compress Image takes the number as the goal, tells you when it cannot reach it, and works without an account, takes files up to 100 MB each and does not wait on a server.