Help & Documentation

PixCrunch works in all modern browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, and Brave. It uses the standard HTML5 Canvas API which is supported universally. For best performance, use a Chromium-based browser (Chrome, Edge, Brave). Internet Explorer is not supported.

Free tier: no account needed. Just open the app and start compressing. The daily limit is tracked locally in your browser. Pro subscribers will log in once via Stripe's customer portal to manage their subscription.

Absolutely not. All compression happens entirely inside your browser using the HTML5 Canvas API. Your images never leave your device — not even a thumbnail or metadata. We have no servers capable of receiving image data. You can verify this by opening your browser's Network tab while compressing; you'll see zero image-related requests.

We collect only what's necessary: basic analytics (page views, browser type — no PII) via a privacy-respecting tool, and billing information handled entirely by Stripe for Pro subscribers. We never see your actual payment details. Image data is never collected in any form.

PixCrunch supports: JPEG / JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP, and TIFF as input. For output you can keep the original format or convert to JPEG, PNG, or WebP. Note: animated GIFs are compressed as static images (first frame).

It depends on the use case:

Web/social media: 70–80% — great balance of quality and size.
Email attachments: 60–70% — significant size reduction, still looks good.
Print/archival: 85–95% — maximum quality preserved.
Thumbnails: 50–65% — small files, fine for small display sizes.

PNG doesn't support quality settings (it's lossless). Drag the slider only affects JPEG and WebP outputs.

Yes. Use the Output Format dropdown and select WebP. WebP typically produces 25–35% smaller files than equivalent JPEG at the same visual quality, making it ideal for web use. All modern browsers support WebP natively.

The free tier applies a small, semi-transparent "pixcrunch.net" label in the bottom-right corner of compressed images. It's subtle enough not to ruin photos and helps us grow. Upgrade to Pro ($4.99/mo) to remove it entirely — all Pro outputs are completely clean.

The 20-image daily limit resets at midnight in your local timezone. The counter is stored in your browser's local storage — clearing your browser data will also reset it. Pro subscribers have no limit of any kind.

Pro subscribers can click "Download All as ZIP" after compressing a batch. It packages all compressed images into a single .zip file with sensible naming (filename_compressed.jpg). Free users can still download individual files one at a time.

The Windows desktop app works 100% offline — no internet connection required after installation. It uses all your CPU cores for parallel batch processing, which is significantly faster on large batches than the web app. No ads, no watermarks, no limits. It's a one-time purchase with lifetime updates included.

Purchase the desktop app on Gumroad ↗. After purchase, Gumroad emails you a license key. Open PixCrunch on Windows and click "Activate" — paste your key and hit Activate. The key is tied to your machine and activates instantly.

PixCrunch desktop requires Windows 10 or Windows 11 (64-bit). No additional dependencies or installs needed — it's a standalone .exe. macOS and Linux versions are not currently available.

You can cancel anytime from your Stripe customer portal — no questions asked. After cancellation you retain Pro access until the end of your current billing period, then roll back to the free tier. Email [email protected] if you need help.

Web Pro subscriptions are handled by Stripe, which accepts all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, AmEx), Apple Pay, Google Pay, and more. The desktop app is sold via Gumroad, which accepts cards and PayPal.

Common causes:

Unsupported format: Check the file is JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP, or TIFF.
File too large: Very large images (>50MB) may exceed browser memory. Use the desktop app for huge files.
Corrupted file: Try opening the file in another app to verify it's valid.
Old browser: Update to the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, or Edge.

This can happen when:

PNG images: PNG is lossless. If the original PNG is already highly optimised, re-encoding may not help. Try converting to WebP or JPEG instead.
Quality set too high: At 90–100%, JPEG encoding sometimes produces larger files than a well-optimised source. Try 75–85%.
Already compressed: If the source was already compressed by another tool, you may see minimal gains.

Email us at [email protected]. We typically respond within 24 hours. For desktop app license issues, include your order number from Gumroad.