ImagePipe, an alternative to EWWW Image Optimizer.
Indicative comparison, always check current rates on ewww.io, grids change regularly.
| Criteria | You, with ImagePipe | EWWW |
|---|---|---|
| Price model | Licence: free (Lite) or paid for 1 year, no meter of use | Monthly subscription, from ~$8 to ~$32/month depending on the number of sites and bandwidth |
| Hosting | On your own server | Also on your own server, the only other self-hosted engine on the market |
| Image processing | Generated on request, at first request of the browser | Compressed in batch at upload into the media library |
| Format negotiation | Automatic, based on the visitor's browser | Fixed format chosen at conversion time, identical for every visitor |
| Platforms | WordPress/WooCommerce & PrestaShop 8/9 today; Magento soon | WordPress |
"Self-hosted" doesn't mean "on demand"
EWWW is the only other genuinely self-hosted image optimization engine on the market, no third-party API, processing happens on your own server, like ImagePipe. The difference is in when that processing happens: EWWW compresses each image once, at the moment it's uploaded into the media library, with a format and size fixed at that instant. ImagePipe waits for the browser's first real request to generate the exact variant asked for, size, format and resize mode, then caches it forever.
In practice, an image uploaded before a theme change stays optimized for the old spot with EWWW; with ImagePipe, it's simply regenerated at the right size on the next request. And EWWW doesn't negotiate format per browser: WebP/AVIF conversion is decided once and for all at upload, not adapted to each visitor.