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I usually don’t write about other tools comparable or alternative to Mass Image Compressor as there are ample of articles doing the same. Lately I have noticed that many users compare Mass Image Compressor and IrfanView as if they are interchangeable alternative. Purpose of this post is to clear that up by outlining the real differences between the two. We will answer questions that’s most commonly asked when comparing both software.

Common Questions

1. Need support for animated images?

Choose Mass Image Compressor as first class support for animated images. Animated GIF, PNG, and WebP. While AVIF is still evolving, we provide support via underlying standard libraries.

2. Need bulk image cropping?

Use IrfanView. IrfanView has features related to cropping, rotating, brightness/contrast adjustment.

3. Need to convert raw camera formats to JPEG?

Choose Mass Image Compressor if you want to convert raw camera formats (such as CR2, CR3, NEF, DNG, ARW, NEF and many other) to JPEG/WebP/AVIF. Mass Image Compressor doesn’t allow editing (image adjustment).

4. Need Image viewing and editing for a raw format?

Use IrfanView + appropriate plugin. IrfanView is primarily as a Viewer for Windows.

5. Need to preserve EXIF (image metadata) tags?

Mass Image Compressor to preserve EXIF tag in considered very reliable as it uses ExifTool to copy metadata forward. IrfanView also has metadata preservation support but we haven’t tested that feature in our lab so we cannot give definite answer.

6. Need to visualize EXIF tags of an image?

IrfanView has better EXIF (and IPTC) visualization.

7. Need to strip sensitive EXIF tags but keep rest?

Mass Image Compressor supports copy all metadata but skip sensitive like GPS coordinates, Serial number etc. It automatically decides what to keep vs skip if you select a checkbox in the UI.

8. Want to optimize, resize, convert, watermark entire folder?

Folders are first class workflow in Mass Image compressor. Use Mass Image Compressor as it supports quick drag-and-drop entire folder and it’s sub folders. Then, you can deselect images/folders that you want to skip. Mass Image Compressor also provides option to apply advanced filters based on file name and file size to select the images from selected folders.

9. Any other bulk image editing operation?

Use irfanView for image editing on entire folder/sub-folder. While IrfanView doesn’t have folder as natural input and output like Mass Image Compressor, it is possible via Batch Conversion features with right checkboxes checked (a tutorial can help).

10. Need to watermark bulk images?

User Mass Image Compressor if you want to keep a watermark image at bottom right of your image. Mass Image Compressor has very simple settings to apply watermark and remembers your watermark image for future operations. Use IrfanView if you need very advance watermarking option like Text based watermark, position etc if you use correct checkboxes from deep popups (again, a tutorial can help).

11. Why Mass Image Compressor doesn’t provide crop/adjustment/rotation operations?

Mass Image Compressor is designed around three core principles:

Best-in-class features only: We add a feature only when we can support it at high standard.

Bulk-first workflow: primary use case is processing many images at once.

Ease of use: The workflow should stay simple, fast, predictable.

Operations like cropping and manual adjustment (exposure, color, rotation etc.) are usually image-specific. In a bulk workflow, different image.

12. Which one is bloat free, ads free and privacy friendly?

Both of them are offline software, means it operates within your system. Mass Image Compressor is 100% bloat free, ads free and doesn’t collect or transmit any data out of your system – the source code is public and we do not allow any external plugin – this makes the executable size larger as it is self-containing executable but we do not add any tools other than what’s absolutely required. Also, the software officially allow cloning (without cloning software name) and open-source nature will make the software available even if the author (me) is hit by a bus or if I become greedy in future.

IrfanView also claims that they do not collect or transmit personal data. (note: https://irfanviewlite.com is not an official IrfanView source).

In both the cases, rely only on official download source. Some site may distribute same software with ads wrapped.

13. Which one is free?

Both software are free with one major difference. Mass Image Compressor is free and open-source software on Windows with AGPL license – so it is free for non-commercial and commercial uses. There is a paid version of Mass Image Compressor available on Microsoft Store which is same as free version. Purpose of paid version is to fund the open source project.

While IrfanView is a freeware for non-commercial use, you can get the license if you are using it for commercial purpose or in commercial environment. While it sound alarming, the software developer doesn’t seem greedy as it provide perpetual license merely for ~$18/seat.

14. Which one supports my language?

Mass Image Compressor supports only English as of 2026. IrfanView has support for most many languages including Chinese, Japanese and most European languages.

15. What are IrfanView alternatives?

Mass Image Compressor is NOT an IrfanView alternative. XnView and ACDSee have overlapping functionality with IrfanView. So much so that some users (and IrfanView’s author) have criticized XnView for ‘feature cloning’ from IrfanView and ACDSee.

16. What are Mass Image Compressor alternatives?

Mainstream image compression space is luckily dominated by open-source player with Converseen and Caesium as strong competitors to Mass Image Compressor with many overlapping features. Note that Mass Image Compressor is not available for Linux. Mass Image Compressor for Mac is not yet open source (hosted on Mac App Store, need reliable legal advice to make it open source) and some features are paid (mainly Watermarking images) to fund the project. The other alternatives like Converseen and Caesium are free on all platforms. FastStone is also notable mention (freeware, proprietary) here but the design philosophy is closer to IrfanView which has overlapping functionality with both Mass Image Compressor and IrfanView. Mass Image Compressor was more of an underdog compared to other software before release of Version 4 (early 2025). Version 4 of Mass Image Compressor is a complete rewrite with modern features, formats and UI options. It’s now comparable and, in many areas, even superior.

Conclusion

Mass Image Compressor is,

• Built on a philosophy of providing most common features in simplest UI possible.
• Designed with bulk operation in mind. This is one of the reason why unpredictable operations (such as rotation/adjustment etc.) are not provided. So, you can preview one or more images BEFORE you initiate bulk operation on Mass Image Compressor.
• Has very deep and complete support for feature that it supports i.e. compress, convert and resize. Such as best-in-class and first-class support for metadata preservation, animation.
• Designed for bulk operation.
• Doesn’t need tutorial to use. UI is intuitive and everything is out-of-the-box – no plugin support.

IrfanView is,

• Built on philosophy of providing all features even with limited functionality – still, satisfy most user needs.
• Prefers feature checklist over simplicity.
• It is best to go through a youtube video that explains general features of IrfanView and one another tutorial for the specific operation you need. Plug-in base architecture help it keep smaller download size while you can choose plug-ins later for the feature support.

Both, Mass Image Compressor and IrfanView have stood the test of the time thanks to the community goodwill and continuous improvements. As of 2026, Mass Image Compressor have been evolving for 17+ years and IrvanView’s history of nearly 30 years. Each one has its own strength and limitation resulting from their design philosophy.

For the end-user, advice is to use Mass Image Compressor for bulk image optimization, resize and conversion purpose while use IrfanView for viewing and light image editing purpose.