EW
EWWW Image Optimizer
by Exactly WWW
Local or cloud compression with no per-image credit counting.
81 · Moderate4.5FreemiumMedium impact
This link may earn us a commission. It does not affect the score. Last tested 26 August 2026.
Measured result
EWWW Image Optimizer on bench-01
81
Performance score
Measured on a 2 vCPU reference host
- LCP
- 1.66 s
- CLS
- 0.02
- TTFB
- 228 ms
- Page
- 512 KB
- Requests
- 30
- Impact
- Medium
Median of 3 cold-cache runs, 26 August 2026.
How we tested
A clean WordPress 6.8 install on a 2 vCPU / 4 GB London host, PHP 8.3, 20 posts and one page builder template. We record a baseline, activate EWWW Image Optimizer with its default settings, and re-run three cold-cache tests. The published figure is the median.
Pros & cons
- Unlimited local compression at no cost
- No external service required for the free mode
- Handles non-media-library folders
- Local mode consumes your own CPU
- Shared hosts often lack the required binaries
The full review
EWWW is the pragmatic answer when the media library is enormous and credits would be expensive. The trade-off is CPU: on a shared 2 vCPU host, a bulk run pushed our TTFB above 600 ms while it worked.
Schedule bulk optimisation outside traffic hours, or switch the same plugin to its cloud mode for the initial pass.
Compared with close alternatives
| Plugin | Score | LCP | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| EWWW Image Optimizer | 81 | 1.66 s | Freemium |
| ShortPixel | 92 | 1.38 s | Freemium |
| Imagify | 89 | 1.44 s | Freemium |
Frequently asked
Does local mode work everywhere?
No. It needs executable image binaries, which many shared hosts block. Test on staging before committing.
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