The short answer. HEIC Converter is the one everybody eventually needs, because a phone produces HEIC and half the web does not accept it. TinyPNG4Mac and ImageAlpha compress PNGs, with different approaches: one uses a service-quality encoder, the other reduces colour depth and removes transparency. Resize Master does batch resizing and watermarks. ExifCleaner strips metadata, which is the privacy job and also the reason a photo loses its capture date. APNGB assembles and disassembles animated PNGs. Upscayl is the odd one: it does not convert, it enlarges with a model, which is a different promise and a different failure mode. The dividing question is what the file has to become: a different format, a smaller file, or a larger one.
This guide covers 7 image conversion and cleanup tools for macOS. Every fact below is drawn from the same verified records that back each app’s own page. The recommendations are our editorial judgment, not payment.
Quick comparison
| App | What it is | Pricing | Licence | Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| APNGb | image utility | Open source | not published | 2.0.1 |
| ExifCleaner | design tool | Open source | not published | — |
| HEIC Converter | design tool | Free | not published | 3.6.0 |
| ImageAlpha | design tool | Open source | GPL-2.0 | 1.5.1 |
| Resize Master | design tool | not published | not published | — |
| TinyPNG4Mac | design tool | Open source | MIT | 2.2.1 |
| Upscayl | Mac utility | Open source | AGPL-3.0 | 2.15.0 |
What actually decides this
- Format, size or resolution. Converting changes the container, compressing changes the bytes, upscaling invents pixels. These are three operations with three quality costs, and a tool that claims all three is usually good at one.
- Whether metadata survives. Stripping EXIF is a privacy feature and a data loss. A tool that removes it by default has made a decision for you that matters for archives and stock photography.
- What happens to transparency. A PNG with an alpha channel converted to JPEG loses it silently, usually against white. A tool that warns you is doing its job; one that does not produces a file that looked fine in the preview.
- Whether the batch is the unit. One file is a drag and drop. Two hundred files need a queue, a naming rule and a destination. The tool that handles the second is the one you use after a shoot.
- What an upscaler actually does. A model that enlarges an image is guessing detail. It looks impressive on a clean product shot and produces artefacts on a face. Treating it as a conversion is the mistake.
Our picks
- HEIC Converter — Its record describes converting HEIC images to JPEG or PNG, which is the format case. Choose it when the files came from a phone and need to be JPEG or PNG.
- TinyPNG4Mac — Its record describes compressing images, which is the compression case. Choose it when the PNGs are too large and the quality has to hold.
- ImageAlpha — Its record describes compressing PNGs and removing transparency, which is the palette case. Choose it when you want smaller PNGs by reducing colour depth.
- Resize Master — Its record describes batch resizing and watermarking, which is the batch case. Choose it when a batch needs resizing and a watermark.
- ExifCleaner — Its record describes removing EXIF metadata from images and videos by drag and drop, which is the privacy case. Choose it when the metadata has to go before the file is shared.
- Upscayl — Its record describes AI image upscaling, which is the enlargement case. Choose it when the image is too small and has to be larger.
The apps
APNGb
APNGb is an image utility for macOS. PNG image assembler/disassembler app. It is open source.
What it does. macOS app which assembles and disassembles animated png files - shgodoroja/APNGb.
APNGb is listed with current version 2.0.1.
Full profile and verified facts for APNGb →
ExifCleaner
ExifCleaner is a design tool for macOS. Remove exif metadata from images and videos with drag and drop. It is open source.
What it does. Fast, private, free. Strip EXIF metadata from photos, videos, and PDFs.
Full profile and verified facts for ExifCleaner →
HEIC Converter
HEIC Converter is a design tool for macOS. Convert HEIC images to JPEG or PNG. It is free.
What it does. Convert HEIC images to JPEG or PNG. HEIC Converter is a macOS app that makes it easy to quickly convert images in the HEIC format to JPEG or PNG. HEIC is….
HEIC Converter is listed with current version 3.6.0.
Full profile and verified facts for HEIC Converter →
ImageAlpha
ImageAlpha is a design tool for macOS. Compress images with PNG format and remove transparency. It is released under GPL-2.0.
What it does. Mac GUI for pngquant, pngnq and posterizer.
ImageAlpha is listed with current version 1.5.1.
Full profile and verified facts for ImageAlpha →
Resize Master
Resize Master is a design tool for macOS. Batch resize and watermark your images fast and easy. Its pricing is not published.
What it does. Resize Master.
Full profile and verified facts for Resize Master →
TinyPNG4Mac
TinyPNG4Mac is a design tool for macOS. Open-source tool to compress images. It is released under MIT.
What it does. Native client of TinyPNG on macOS.
TinyPNG4Mac is listed with current version 2.2.1.
Full profile and verified facts for TinyPNG4Mac →
Upscayl
Upscayl is a Mac utility for macOS. Free and open-source AI image upscaling tool. It is released under AGPL-3.0.
What it does. Upscayl - #1 Free and Open Source AI Image Upscaler for Linux, MacOS and Windows.
Upscayl is listed with current version 2.15.0.
Full profile and verified facts for Upscayl →
How to choose
- Free of charge. HEIC Converter — no payment is required.
- No licence fee, source available. APNGb, ExifCleaner, ImageAlpha, TinyPNG4Mac and Upscayl — the source can be read and, under the terms of each licence, reused.
- Pricing not published in our data. Resize Master — check the developer’s own site before assuming anything about cost.
Open source: APNGb, ExifCleaner, ImageAlpha, TinyPNG4Mac and Upscayl (5 of 7).
Common mistakes
- Converting a transparent PNG to JPEG and discovering the black background later.
- Stripping metadata from an archive that needed its capture dates.
- Using an upscaler on a photograph of a person and calling the result a restoration.
- Compressing an already-compressed file and losing more than expected.
How this guide was put together
Each app’s facts come from its own record: the developer’s own pages and repository, the App Store listing where one exists, and the documentation, each with a source grade and an access date. Where a fact rests on the developer’s own statement rather than on something we verified independently, the sentence says so. Where our data has no value for something, the guide says “not published” instead of guessing.
A price appears here only where the record carries one from a stated source; the guide never estimates one, and it records the pricing model alongside so the two can be read together. Prices change and vary by region, so each app links to its own page for the current detail.
The facts and the recommendations are kept apart on purpose. Everything in the app entries, the comparison table and the answers above is composed from the records. The short answer, the criteria and the picks are our editorial judgment: they reflect what we would choose and why, and they are not paid for. Where we make a recommendation we name the condition it applies under, because we do not call anything “the best” without explaining the criteria.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose between these image conversion and cleanup tools?
There is no single answer — it depends on what you need. This guide covers 7 image conversion and cleanup tools: APNGb, ExifCleaner, HEIC Converter, ImageAlpha, Resize Master, TinyPNG4Mac and Upscayl. They differ mainly in pricing model, licence and the trade-offs each one carries. Pick by the trade-off you care about rather than by rank.
Are these image conversion and cleanup tools free?
Pricing across this group: open source (APNGb, ExifCleaner, ImageAlpha, TinyPNG4Mac and Upscayl), free (HEIC Converter) and not published (Resize Master). Where we list pricing as not published, the developer does not state a model we could verify — check their own site before assuming anything about cost. We quote a price only where the record carries one from a stated source, and we never estimate one. Prices change and vary by region and by store, so always check the developer’s own page for the current figure.
Which of these image conversion and cleanup tools are open source?
APNGb (not published), ExifCleaner (not published), ImageAlpha (GPL-2.0), TinyPNG4Mac (MIT) and Upscayl (AGPL-3.0) are open source.
Do these image conversion and cleanup tools support Apple Silicon?
Our data does not carry an explicit Apple Silicon statement for any app in this group, so we do not claim one. The absence of a statement is not the same as the absence of support.
How do I choose between them?
Start with how you pay: the guide groups these apps by pricing model, because the budget is the constraint most people actually have. Then check the trade-offs listed for each app: the limitations are the part that decides most people’s choice, because they describe what the app will not do for you.
