couic or Smush: next-gen formats without a Pro plan
Smush, by WPMU DEV, compresses for free and locally, but WebP, AVIF and the CDN are reserved for the Pro plan. couic delivers WebP and AVIF from the first euro, at a flat price, with no upgrade.
Smush is one of the most installed compression plugins on WordPress. Its free version does honest work on JPEG and PNG, locally, without sending your images anywhere. A great starting point, until you need next-gen formats.
Because that's where the line is drawn: WebP, AVIF and CDN run through Smush Pro. couic takes the problem the other way around, modern formats are included from the start, and the price doesn't hinge on them.
| Criterion | couic | Smush |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | €4.99/month | Free, Pro for WebP/AVIF/CDN |
| Model | Unlimited (fair-use) | Free (base) + Pro |
| WebP | Included | Pro only |
| AVIF | Included | Pro only |
| Where your images live | None, stateless, never kept | Local (CDN on Pro) |
| Shared hosting | Yes (no exec() needed) | Yes (local) |
| WordPress plugin | Yes, dedicated plugin | Yes (WPMU DEV) |
| API / automation | Yes, REST + MCP | No |
Why pick couic
- WebP and AVIF included from the start, with Smush, that's the Pro plan.
- A clear flat price, with no tiers and no forced CDN.
- The work is offloaded: your shared host doesn't take on AVIF encoding.
- REST API and MCP server, on top of the plugin.
- Original recompression and variants, with reversible restore.
The Pro wall
With Smush, base compression is free, but WebP, today essential to a good performance score, needs the Pro plan, as do AVIF and the CDN. The free version eventually shows its limits the moment you aim for a decent PageSpeed.
couic has no crippled tier: WebP and AVIF are generated for every image from the start, at €4.99/month, with no feature held behind a paywall.
Local vs stateless
Smush compresses locally, which is reassuring but taxes your hosting, a sore point on a modest shared plan. couic offloads the work to its API and keeps nothing: your server only receives the lightened files, without taking on the cost of AVIF encoding.
On shared hosting without exec(), where heavy local optimization isn't possible anyway, that division of labor changes things.
What couic adds
Beyond formats, couic recompresses the original and generates its variants, all reversible: no image is overwritten if the optimized version isn't smaller. Add a REST API and an MCP server, absent from Smush, to automate optimization outside the WordPress interface.
No forced CDN
Smush's CDN, Pro-only, offloads the delivery of your images. couic doesn't force it on you: the optimized files stay on your hosting and are served from your own domain, via <picture> or .htaccess.
Why WebP weighs so much in PageSpeed
On a PageSpeed or Lighthouse audit, "serve images in next-gen formats" comes up almost every time. WebP and AVIF are 25 to 50% lighter than an equivalent JPEG: often the fastest win on LCP.
With Smush, those formats need Pro. couic generates them for every image from the start, so the optimization that actually moves the score isn't behind a tier.
Resize oversized images without thinking about it
An image shown at 800px but uploaded at 4000px is wasted weight. couic can cap the maximum width along the way, while never enlarging an image already smaller than the target.
Combined with recompression and WebP/AVIF variants, that resize clears most "properly size images" warnings in one pass.
Frequently asked questions
Does Smush generate WebP for free?+
No: WebP, AVIF and CDN are reserved for Smush Pro. couic includes them from the start, at a flat price.
Does Smush process images locally?+
Yes, base compression is local. couic offloads the work to its API but never keeps your files.
A Smush alternative for WebP and AVIF?+
couic generates WebP and AVIF with no forced CDN and no move to Pro, at €4.99/month.
Will couic overload my shared hosting?+
No, it's the opposite: encoding runs on couic's API, your server only receives the lightened files.
Does WordPress optimize images on its own?+
It resizes them into a few sizes, but it doesn't generate WebP or AVIF and doesn't aim for minimal weight. That's exactly what couic adds, with no Pro plan.
How do I generate WebP without a Pro plugin?+
couic produces WebP, and AVIF, for every image from the base plan, where Smush reserves those formats for its Pro tier.