10 Best Smush Alternatives in 2026
Updated September 7, 2026 · Ranked by how closely each plugin matches, from WordPress.org data · How this works
Smush sits at #4 in the WordPress.org Image Optimization Plugins ranking. These 10 plugins share its category or its tags on WordPress.org, are actively maintained, and each has at least 100 active installs. They are ordered by how closely they match, not by our opinion.
The 10 closest alternatives to Smush
- 1
Optimole
Closest matchOptimole – Optimize Images | Convert WebP & AVIF | CDN & Lazy Load | Image Optimization
4.7 (638) 200,000+ active installsAutomatically optimize images with bulk compression, lazy loading, WebP/AVIF conversion & CloudFront image CDN. Boost Core Web Vitals & conversions.
#6 in the WordPress.org Image Optimization Plugins ranking. About a quarter of the installs, rated 4.7 against 4.8, last updated 12 days ago.
- 2
ShortPixel Image Optimizer – Optimize Images, Convert WebP & AVIF
4.5 (819) 300,000+ active installsOptimize images & PDFs smartly. Create and compress next-gen WebP and AVIF formats. Smart crop and resize.
#8 in the WordPress.org Image Optimization Plugins ranking. About a third of the installs, rated 4.5 against 4.8, last updated 18 days ago.
- 3
Converter for Media – Optimize images | Convert WebP & AVIF
4.9 (1,099) 500,000+ active installsSpeed up your website by using our WebP & AVIF Converter. Optimize images and serve WebP and AVIF images instead of standard formats!
#5 in the WordPress.org Image Optimization Plugins ranking. About half the installs, rated 4.9 against 4.8, last updated 19 days ago.
- 4
Robin Image Optimizer – Unlimited Image Optimization, WebP & AVIF
4.4 (129) 100,000+ active installsUnlimited automatic image optimization for WordPress. Compress images, convert to WebP, and improve site speed without losing image quality.
#7 in the WordPress.org Image Optimization Plugins ranking. 100,000+ installs against 1 million+, rated 4.4 against 4.8, last updated 17 days ago.
- 5
Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF
4.3 (1,653) 1 million+ active installsImage optimization in 1‑click: compress, resize & convert to WebP/AVIF – free up to 20MB/month. Enjoy the easiest WordPress image optimizer to set up.
#2 in the WordPress.org Image Optimization Plugins ranking. A similar number of installs, rated 4.3 against 4.8, last updated 19 days ago.
- 6
reSmush.it : The original free image compressor and optimizer plugin
4.3 (165) 100,000+ active installsreSmush.it is the FREE image compressor and optimizer plugin - use it to optimize your images and improve the SEO and performance of your website.
#9 in the WordPress.org Image Optimization Plugins ranking. 100,000+ installs against 1 million+, rated 4.3 against 4.8, last updated 18 days ago.
- 7
Image Optimization – Compress Images and Convert to WebP or AVIF
1.7 (77) 1 million+ active installsAutomatically resize, optimize, and convert images to WebP and AVIF. Compress images in bulk or on upload to boost your WordPress site performance.
#1 in the WordPress.org Image Optimization Plugins ranking. A similar number of installs, rated 1.7 against 4.8, last updated July 7, 2026.
- 8
EWWW Image Optimizer
Paid version available4.8 (1,838) 1 million+ active installsComprehensive image optimization with WebP, AVIF, Lazy Load, and more. Optimize images automatically for Faster Sites and Happy Visitors.
#3 in the WordPress.org Image Optimization Plugins ranking. A similar number of installs, last updated 6 days ago.
- 9
Compress, Resize & Lazy Load Images – WPvivid Image Optimization
4.3 (7) 10,000+ active installsOptimize, compress and resize images in WordPress in bulk. Lazy load images. Auto resize and optimize images upon upload.
#10 in the WordPress.org Image Optimization Plugins ranking. 10,000+ installs against 1 million+, last updated June 1, 2026.
- 10
Kraken.io Image Optimizer – Compress, Convert to WebP & AVIF, Resize & Bulk Optimize
4.5 (119) 10,000+ active installsOptimize images automatically — compress, resize and convert to WebP, AVIF & more with Kraken.io. Faster pages, smaller files, same quality.
Shares the compress images, convert webp, image optimization tags on WordPress.org. 10,000+ installs against 1 million+, rated 4.5 against 4.8, last updated June 22, 2026.
Smush against each of them
Head to head on installs, ratings, reviews and updates. Each measure names its own leader; there is no overall winner.
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Smush vs Optimole1 million+ vs 200,000+ installs · 4.8 vs 4.7
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Smush vs ShortPixel Image Optimizer1 million+ vs 300,000+ installs · 4.8 vs 4.5
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Smush vs Converter for Media1 million+ vs 500,000+ installs · 4.8 vs 4.9
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Smush vs Robin Image Optimizer1 million+ vs 100,000+ installs · 4.8 vs 4.4
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Smush vs Imagify1 million+ vs 1 million+ installs · 4.8 vs 4.3
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Smush vs reSmush.it1 million+ vs 100,000+ installs · 4.8 vs 4.3
Switching from Smush: common questions
What is the best alternative to Smush?
Optimole is the closest match: it shares the Image Optimization Plugins top 10 with Smush and has 200,000+ active installs with a 4.7 out of 5 rating.
Which Smush alternative has the most users?
Imagify, with 1 million+ active installs reported by WordPress.org.
Which Smush alternative is rated highest?
Converter for Media, rated 4.9 out of 5 by 1,099 reviewers. Only plugins with at least 50 reviews are counted.
Are these Smush alternatives free?
Every plugin listed here is free to install from WordPress.org. Where WordPress.org marks a plugin as commercial, the developer also sells a paid version or add-ons, and that is shown on each plugin.
How are alternatives chosen?
Automatically, from WordPress.org data: plugins that share a category top 10 with Smush score highest, then plugins that appear in the same WordPress.org rankings, then plugins with the same tags, weighted so rare tags count more than common ones. Plugins by the same author and plugins rated under 4.0 are left out.
How we choose these alternatives
Nothing on this page is picked by hand. Every day we walk the whole WordPress.org directory, then score every plugin against Smush on three signals: sharing a category top 10 counts most, then appearing in the same WordPress.org rankings, then carrying the same tags, with rare tags counting for more than common ones like "wordpress". Plugins by the same author are excluded, so an author's own add-ons cannot fill the list, and so is anything rated below 4.0 or with fewer than 100 active installs. The ten highest scores are what you see, in that order. Full methodology.
The bottom line
Optimole is the closest match to Smush by the data we track, and Imagify has the widest reach with 1 million+ active installs. EWWW Image Optimizer shipped the most recent release, on September 1, 2026. The list is rebuilt every day from WordPress.org, so a plugin that stops being maintained drops out on its own.
Weekly · free
What moved this week
One email a week, built from the same daily snapshots these rankings come from: the plugins that climbed, what launched, and one ranking worth a look.