Tinyfile vs TinyPNG: Which Image Compressor Should You Use in 2026?

If you’ve searched for a way to shrink your image files, you’ve almost certainly encountered two names: TinyPNG and Tinyfile. Both do an impressive job of reducing file sizes without visible quality loss — but they are fundamentally different products built on different assumptions about how you work.

This guide breaks down every meaningful difference so you can make the right choice for your workflow.

What Is TinyPNG?

TinyPNG (tinypng.com) is a web-based image compression service launched in 2012. It runs entirely in your browser: you drag images onto the page, they are uploaded to TinyPNG’s servers, compressed using their proprietary algorithm, and then made available for download.

Supported formats: AVIF, WebP, PNG and JPEG (animated PNG).

Key products under the TinyPNG umbrella:

Web compressor (free + paid Web Pro / Web Ultra tiers)
Developer API for programmatic compression
WordPress plugin for automatic optimisation on publish
TinyPNG CDN for image delivery at scale

TinyPNG’s free tier allows up to 20 images per session, each no larger than 5 MB, and up to 3 format conversions per session. Paid plans remove compression limits and raise the per-file cap to 75 MB.

What Is Tinyfile?

Tinyfile is a native app for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Android that compresses images and videos entirely on your device. Nothing is ever uploaded to the internet — compression happens locally using the hardware you already own.

Key capabilities:

JPEG, PNG image compression
MP4 and MOV video compression
Batch processing of unlimited image files
No file size limits
Adjustable compression levels (Mac and iPad)
One-time purchase option in addition to subscriptions

Privacy: The Most Important Difference

This is where the two tools diverge most dramatically.

When you compress a file with TinyPNG, it leaves your device. It travels over the internet to TinyPNG’s servers, is processed there, and is stored for up to 48 hours before being deleted. Tinify states in their terms that only you have access to uploaded images — but the fundamental fact remains: your data is on someone else’s server.

For most people compressing stock photos or product shots, this is a non-issue. But consider what happens when you’re compressing:

Personal family photos — birthdays, holidays, children
Medical or legal documents scanned as images
Client work under NDA — design files, unreleased product mockups
Sensitive business materials — financial charts, internal screenshots

In these scenarios, uploading to a third-party server is a real risk, even if that server is reputable.

Tinyfile compresses everything on-device. Your files never touch the internet. There is no server, no 48-hour retention window, and no upload at all. You get the same dramatic size reductions with complete data sovereignty.

Video Compression: Tinyfile Wins Outright

TinyPNG handles images only. It does not support video compression in any form — not through the web tool, not through the API.

Tinyfile compresses images and videos in the same app. This matters because images and videos are increasingly captured together. When you shoot a product video alongside product photos on your iPhone, or when a client sends you a folder containing both, you don’t want to use two different tools.

With Tinyfile you can:

Compress a 4K iPhone video from 500 MB down to under 100 MB
Batch compress an entire camera roll of JPEG photos
Do both in a single workflow, entirely offline

If video compression is part of your work — even occasionally — TinyPNG cannot help you. Tinyfile covers both.

Format Support

This is an area where TinyPNG genuinely excels. It supports AVIF, WebP, PNG and JPEG, and can convert between formats — useful if you need to produce WebP versions of all your JPEG images for web performance.

Tinyfile currently focuses on JPEG and PNG for images and MP4 and MOV for video, with format conversion on the roadmap. If your primary need is converting images to modern web formats like AVIF or WebP at scale, TinyPNG’s web tool or API is the better choice for that specific use case.

Speed: Offline vs. Upload/Download

With TinyPNG, compression speed is governed by three factors: your upload speed, server processing time, and your download speed. For a single 2 MB image on a fast connection this is nearly instant. For a batch of 50 images totalling 200 MB on a slow hotel Wi-Fi, it becomes frustratingly slow.

Tinyfile is bounded only by your device’s CPU and storage speed. On a modern iPhone or Mac, hundreds of images compress in seconds — no waiting for uploads, no download queue, no throttling on slow connections. You can compress a 1,000-image library on a plane with airplane mode on.

Pricing Comparison

Plan	Tinyfile	TinyPNG
Free	No free tier — compression can be tested in-app	20 images/session, 5 MB, 3 conversions
Monthly	$14.99/mo · ₹999/mo (Mac)	—
Yearly	$39.99/yr · ₹3,499/yr (Mac)	$39/yr (Web Pro) · $149/yr (Web Ultra)
One-time	$49.99 · ₹3,999 (Mac)	✗ Not available

The biggest pricing difference is Tinyfile’s one-time purchase option. Pay once ($49.99 · ₹3,999), use the app forever, with at least 1 year of guaranteed free upgrades. TinyPNG offers yearly subscriptions only — there is no way to own it permanently.

For users who want to compress images and videos without an ongoing bill, Tinyfile’s one-time plan is uniquely attractive.

Developer Tools

This is TinyPNG’s strongest card. The Tinify API is a mature, well-documented REST API with official client libraries for Ruby, PHP, Node.js, Python, Java, .NET, and more. If you’re building an image pipeline — automating compression on image upload, optimising assets in a build system, or running bulk jobs on a server — TinyPNG’s API is the right tool.

Tinyfile is a consumer and prosumer app. It does not have a developer API. If you’re building software that needs programmatic image compression, TinyPNG’s API is the better fit.

Who Should Use Each Tool

Use Tinyfile if you:

Care about privacy and cannot upload files to an external server
Need video compression alongside image compression
Work with large files that exceed TinyPNG’s limits
Work offline — traveling, in the field, or on unreliable connections
Prefer a one-time purchase and want to avoid subscriptions
Work primarily on Mac

Use TinyPNG if you:

Need a quick web tool without installing anything
Are a developer integrating compression into a pipeline via the API
Run a WordPress site and want automatic optimisation on publish
Need advanced format conversion to AVIF or WebP for web projects
Require a CDN for image delivery at scale

Verdict

TinyPNG is an excellent, battle-tested web tool with a powerful developer ecosystem. If you’re a developer building image pipelines, a WordPress site owner who wants set-and-forget optimisation, or someone who occasionally needs to compress a few images without installing an app, TinyPNG is a solid choice.

Tinyfile is the better option if privacy, video support, offline capability, or large file sizes are part of your workflow. The fact that files never leave your device is not a marketing claim — it’s an architectural guarantee. And unlike TinyPNG, Tinyfile lets you pay once and own it forever.

For most individual users, creators, and small teams compressing a mix of images and videos on Apple or Android devices, Tinyfile offers more value, better privacy, and lower long-term cost.

Try Tinyfile

Download Tinyfile and compress your first images and videos on-device — no account required, no uploads, no limits on what you can try.

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