Cleanor: Image Compressor & Converter

Most WordPress image optimizers make you create an account, paste an API key, or buy per-image credits. Cleanor Tools doesn’t. It shrinks the images in your Media Library and converts them to modern formats (WebP / AVIF) using the free Cleanor Labs endpoint — no signup, no key, no credits. Lighter images mean faster page loads, higher PageSpeed / Core Web Vitals scores, and less storage used.

Point-and-forget: turn it on and every new upload is optimized automatically, thumbnails included. Already have thousands of images? Run the one-click bulk optimizer.

What makes it different

• Non-destructive by default. Cleanor keeps your original files and URLs exactly as they are and stores a WebP/AVIF copy alongside them, served automatically through a <picture> tag. Nothing breaks, and any image reverts in one click. Prefer the classic approach? Switch to «Replace files» mode any time.
• Optimizes on your own server. With the default Auto engine, images are re-encoded locally with Imagick or GD and never leave your site; the free Cleanor API is only a fallback (for example AVIF on a host that cannot do it). Prefer total isolation? Choose «On this server only».
• No account, no API key, no credits. The default endpoint is free and key-free — you’re optimizing within a minute of activating, with nothing to sign up for.
• AVIF, not just WebP. Convert to AVIF (the smallest mainstream format) as easily as WebP, straight from the Media Library.
• Backed by open data. Our savings figures come from published, reproducible benchmarks (open dataset with a citable DOI), not marketing claims.
• Full-library bulk mode. Optimize every existing image with a progress bar you can leave running, or use the native Media Library Bulk Actions dropdown to optimize (or restore) a hand-picked selection.
• Resize on the way in. Set a maximum width and oversized uploads are downscaled before they are stored, so a 6000px phone photo does not ship at full resolution. Thumbnails are untouched.
• Strip metadata. Remove EXIF, GPS and camera data on every conversion for smaller files and better privacy (on by default).
• Keeps your originals. A .bak of every source file is stored by default so you can revert any image, or the whole library, with one click.
• Transparent. A «Cleanor» column in the Media Library shows exactly how much each image shrank, plus a running total on the settings screen. Filter the library by optimized, not-optimized or restorable in one click.
• Faster LCP for free. Optionally preloads your featured image (in its modern format) so the hero starts loading sooner and your Largest Contentful Paint score improves, with no extra requests.
• CleanUp tools. Reclaim disk space by deleting kept .bak originals and orphaned WebP/AVIF copies whose source image is gone. Sibling copies are also removed automatically when you delete an image.
• Clear in-plugin help. A «How it works» screen explains, in plain language, how images are optimized and served, what happens to old images, and how to reclaim space.
• Lightweight. No giant framework, no tracking, no ads in your dashboard.

What it does

1. On upload (or on demand), the full-size image and every generated thumbnail are sent to the Cleanor endpoint.
2. Each is re-encoded to your chosen format and quality.
3. In the default Keep originals, serve modern mode, the optimized copies are stored next to your originals and served to supporting browsers via a <picture> tag. Your files, URLs and MIME types never change. (In Replace files mode, the optimized versions replace the originals and WordPress serves the smaller files everywhere instead.)
4. Images that would not get smaller are left untouched.

Formats

• WebP: best browser support; a safe default for almost every site.
• AVIF: smallest files; supported by all current major browsers.
• Recompress (keep format): re-encode JPEGs smaller without changing the format or URL.

Privacy

By default the Engine setting is Auto, which re-encodes images on your own server (using Imagick or GD) whenever it can. In that case your images never leave your site. The free Cleanor API is used only as a fallback, for example to produce AVIF on a host that cannot do it locally, or if the server has no image library. You can also force «On this server only» to guarantee nothing is ever sent externally, or «Cleanor API only».

When the API is used, images are transmitted to the endpoint you configure (by default https://mcp.cleanor.app) purely to be re-encoded, and only the optimized bytes are returned. Cleanor does not require an account and does not retain your images. You can also point the plugin at your own self-hosted endpoint. See our privacy policy at https://cleanor.app/privacy.