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Free Plugin by Kraken.io v3.0.3

Kraken.io Image Optimizer

Optimize images automatically — compress, resize and convert to WebP, AVIF & more with Kraken.io. Faster pages, smaller files, same quality.

Kraken.io Image Optimizer

The facts

Rating
4.5★ from 119
Active installs
10k+
Price
Free
Last updated
22 Jun 2026
Added
Feb 2014
Requires WP
4.9
Tested up to
WP 7.0.4
Requires PHP
5.6
Downloads
416,890

Our analysis

AI-assisted

Kraken.io Image Optimizer is a WordPress plugin designed to compress, convert, and resize images automatically. It optimises images as they are uploaded to your site, reducing file sizes while maintaining visual quality, which can enhance page loading speeds. The plugin is suitable for a variety of users, from personal bloggers to e-commerce sites with large image libraries.

The plugin connects to Kraken.io's cloud-based image optimisation API, handling image processing without requiring server adjustments. It supports multiple image formats, including JPEG, PNG, WebP, and AVIF, and can also compress PDF files. Users can manage their settings through a control panel that provides insights into image savings and connection status.

Best for: This plugin is best for WordPress users looking to improve site performance through image optimisation.

What it does well

  • Automatically compresses and resizes images
  • Supports multiple formats including WebP and AVIF
  • Can optimise PDFs in addition to images
  • User-friendly control panel with progress tracking
  • Works with multisite and various page builders

Where it falls short

  • No specific limitations mentioned

Verdict

Kraken.io Image Optimizer offers a straightforward solution for automating image compression and resizing, making it a practical choice for those wanting to enhance their site's speed without manual intervention.

From the developer

Kraken.io's own description of Kraken.io Image Optimizer, lightly tidied.

⚡ Compress, resize and convert your WordPress images to WebP, AVIF and more — automatically. Faster pages, smaller files, same quality.

Slow pages cost you visitors, search rankings and sales — and over-sized images are almost always the culprit. Kraken.io Image Optimizer fixes that on autopilot: it compresses, resizes and converts every image you upload — and every thumbnail WordPress generates — so your whole site loads lighter and faster, without you lifting a finger.

Every upload is sent to Kraken.io, one of the most advanced image-optimization APIs on the web, optimized in the cloud, and pulled straight back into your Media Library. No binaries, no command line, no server tweaks — install it, add your API key, and stop worrying about heavy images.

At its heart is Kraken.io’s intelligent lossy engine: for every single image it finds the exact point where the file is as small as possible while staying visually indistinguishable from the original. Expect to cut 60% or more off your image weight — exactly the win Google PageSpeed and Core Web Vitals reward.

From a personal blog to a busy WooCommerce store with tens of thousands of products, it’s an install-and-forget solution that just works.

✨ Why Kraken.io

  • Intelligent lossy & lossless — pick maximum savings with no visible quality loss, or pixel-perfect lossless. Per-image JPEG quality and chroma subsampling control for power users.
  • Convert between formats — turn uploads into WebP, AVIF, JPEG, PNG or GIF. Reach for next-gen WebP or AVIF for the biggest savings (and to clear Google’s “Serve images in next-gen formats” audit), or switch between the classics — whatever fits your site.
  • Optimizes everything WordPress serves — the full-size image and every thumbnail size (thumbnail, medium, large, …) that actually reaches your visitors through responsive srcset.
  • PDFs too, not just images — PDF files in your Media Library are compressed through the same Kraken.io engine, so documents download and embed faster.
  • Smart resizing — cap oversized uploads to a maximum width/height; resized images are enhanced to stay sharp and avoid haloing.
  • Bulk “Krak ’em all” — optimize your entire existing library from a dedicated Bulk Optimize screen or the Media Library bulk action, with live progress.
  • A control panel that tells you everything — a Kraken.io summary panel on the Media Library, Add Media and Plugins screens (plus a Dashboard widget) shows your connection status, plan, quota usage, active settings and supported formats at a glance.
  • Per-image savings & error badges — see exactly how much each image saved, right in the Media grid and list.
  • Plays nice with your stack — works with multisite, page builders, CDNs and local/dev sites. Detects other optimizer plugins and offers one-click deactivation so they don’t fight over your images.

🖼️ Supported formats

JPEG, PNG, animated GIF, WebP, AVIF, HEIC/HEIF and PDF. (For security, raw SVG upload is intentionally not enabled — see the FAQ.)

⚡ Built for Core Web Vitals

Heavy images are the number-one cause of slow pages. By compressing every size, converting to WebP/AVIF and right-sizing oversized uploads, Kraken.io directly targets the audits that move your score: Properly size images, Efficiently encode images, Serve images in next-gen formats and Largest Contentful Paint.

🎛️ Your images, your control

  • Choose intelligent lossy or lossless, globally.
  • Convert uploads to WebP/AVIF/JPEG/PNG/GIF on the fly — synced live between the panel and settings.
  • Preserve selected EXIF tags (Date, Copyright, Geotag, Orientation, Profile) or strip them for the smallest files.
  • Auto-orient photos from phones and cameras by their EXIF orientation.
  • Decide who can optimize — all logged-in users, authors and up, or administrators only.
  • Pick exactly which image sizes to optimize (the large 1536×1536 and 2048×2048 retina sizes are off by default to save quota — turn them on if your theme serves them).
  • Optimize on upload automatically, or defer and bulk-optimize later.

🔒 Private & secure by design

Your API credentials are stored write-only and masked — they are never pre-filled into the page or exposed in your site’s source, so other users on the dashboard can’t read them. Every action is protected by nonces and capability checks, uploads are content-verified, and all optimization happens server-to-server with Kraken.io. No secrets ever reach the browser.

🚀 Get started for free

Read the full description on the official page →

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