The CloudConvert alternative that never uploads your files

CloudConvert is a good web service. It also means every file you convert goes to someone else's server, 10 a day for free and credits after that. Picmal does images, video, audio, and PDFs on your Mac for $29 once.

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$29 once, updates included. No account, no subscription, works offline. Need 2, 5 or 10 Macs?

TL;DR Picmal vs CloudConvert

CloudConvert converts almost anything, including documents and formats no Mac app touches, and has a genuinely good API. The trade is that your files leave your machine, you get 10 free conversions a day, and past that you're buying credits. Picmal ($29, pay once) covers images, video, audio, and PDFs entirely offline, with no limits to count.

Pick Picmal if: Your files are images, video, audio, or PDFs, you convert them often, and you'd rather not upload client work or personal photos to a server to do it.
Pick CloudConvert if: You need document, ebook, or CAD conversions, you're automating from a server via API, or you convert so rarely that 10 a day free is plenty.

Picmal vs CloudConvert at a glance

CloudConvert is a website that converts nearly any file type. Picmal is a Mac app that converts and compresses media without an internet connection. The right one depends on what you're converting and how often.

Feature	Picmal	CloudConvert
Price	$29 one-time	Free tier, then credits
Where files are processed	On your Mac	Uploaded to their servers
Works offline	Yes	No
Free usage limit	No limits, it's a paid app	10 conversions a day
File size limit	Your disk	1GB free, 5 min max
Images	Convert & compress	Convert
Video & audio	Convert & compress	Convert
PDF	Compress, merge, split, images to PDF	Convert
Documents & ebooks	No	Yes
Batch processing	Hundreds at once	Yes, uses credits per file
API	No, but has a CLI	Yes
Shortcuts integration	Yes	No
Finder right-click	Yes	No
Account required	No	Yes, beyond the free tier
Platform	macOS 15+	Any browser

Which one is right for you?

Here's where each one makes more sense.

Choose Picmal

You convert media often, on your own machine

You handle client work or personal files you'd rather not upload
You keep hitting the 10 a day limit or buying credits
Your files are big, and uploading a 4GB video is the slow part
You want it in Finder, Shortcuts, and Raycast rather than a tab

Stay with CloudConvert

You need breadth, or you barely convert anything

You convert documents, spreadsheets, ebooks, or CAD files
You're automating conversions from a server through the API
You convert a handful of files a year, so free is genuinely free
You're not on a Mac, or you move between machines

Everything else Picmal does

One app for images, video, audio, and PDFs. Convert, compress, and edit, all on your Mac. These are the essentials, and there's plenty more in the docs.

Convert between formats

Over 100 formats across images, video, audio, RAW, and PDF. HEIC to JPG, MOV to MP4, FLAC to ALAC. Drop it in, pick the output, done.

Compress and save space

Get under an email limit or a slow upload, without the quality drop you'd actually notice. No browser, no waiting.

Split, combine and organize PDFs

Break a PDF apart, merge a stack into one, drag pages to reorder, or turn a folder of photos into a PDF. Your documents never leave your Mac.

Combine, download and watermark videos

Stitch clips into one video, paste a link to fetch a clip, or stamp a logo over a preview while it converts.

Merge and split audio

Join tracks into one file, or split a long recording by its chapters. Podcasts and audiobooks, sorted.

Crop, cut out and trace images

Trim margins, lift a subject onto a transparent PNG with on-device Vision, trace a logo to real SVG paths, or build a full icon set from one image.

Watch a folder

Point Picmal at a folder and whatever lands in it gets converted, compressed, or built into a PDF on its own. Set it once.

Strip metadata

Take GPS coordinates, camera model and timestamps out of a photo before you send it. Or keep them, and add your own copyright.

Fits your workflow

Finder, Shortcuts, Raycast, a command line tool, and a clipboard that compresses screenshots as you copy them. A conversion is never more than a right-click away.

What people are
saying about Picmal

"Clean and easy to use. Perfect for quickly converting images without unnecessary extras."

Marynes

"Everything works as expected - great app!"

Anthony Nguyen

"Great app! Simple and easy to use."

Beckett R

"It works perfectly now! Thanks and good work. It's really the kind of utility that I find very useful. I know that there are tons of free online tools doing the same thing but it's so much faster that way."

7107Labs

"Wonderfully simple app! I struggled with converting my images from one format to another constantly with online free tools. Picmal makes it effortless. Worth the money to avoid the hassle for sure!"

River Sloane

"You did a great job here! I like how easy Picmal is to use, and the frequent upgrades show that you are very committed to improving this beautiful software."

Gianluca Savini

"It's a Mac-assed Mac App. Focused, customizable, flexible, well designed and super fast. 10+ times a day I need to convert a file for use on a website. Picmal makes that process a joy. My favorite conversion is taking a multipage PDF and converting each page to an individual image with one click (something even Preview can't do)."

Rob H

"I really like these kinds of tools: simple interface, focused functions, one-time purchase, and continuous updates."

limboy

"Been enjoying the app! Thanks for the very handy utility."

@imnogeekAJ

"I f* love this app. Just so you know. Keep building!"

Alessandro Bonini

"Clean and easy to use. Perfect for quickly converting images without unnecessary extras."

Marynes

"Everything works as expected - great app!"

Anthony Nguyen

"Great app! Simple and easy to use."

Beckett R

"It works perfectly now! Thanks and good work. It's really the kind of utility that I find very useful. I know that there are tons of free online tools doing the same thing but it's so much faster that way."

7107Labs

"Wonderfully simple app! I struggled with converting my images from one format to another constantly with online free tools. Picmal makes it effortless. Worth the money to avoid the hassle for sure!"

River Sloane

"You did a great job here! I like how easy Picmal is to use, and the frequent upgrades show that you are very committed to improving this beautiful software."

Gianluca Savini

"It's a Mac-assed Mac App. Focused, customizable, flexible, well designed and super fast. 10+ times a day I need to convert a file for use on a website. Picmal makes that process a joy. My favorite conversion is taking a multipage PDF and converting each page to an individual image with one click (something even Preview can't do)."

Rob H

"I really like these kinds of tools: simple interface, focused functions, one-time purchase, and continuous updates."

limboy

"Been enjoying the app! Thanks for the very handy utility."

@imnogeekAJ

"I f* love this app. Just so you know. Keep building!"

Alessandro Bonini

"I like the interface. I like the batch processing. I like the fact in the I can set default conversions. I like your program a lot."

Charles Willson

"I like the quality of the image processing. It also supports all the important image files. But it still needs some work regarding both the UI and the UX design of it."

Yiannis

"I love how Picmal's made compressing videos a frictionless, easy and straightforward."

George

"It's simple to use and does everything I need it to do. Hell, it does much more than I need and the developer keeps adding features :)"

Adam L

"I love the app! I use it 4-5 days a week for audio and image conversion as I tag and add missing album artwork to my library of 70,000 songs. After that is done, I would like to try it out with my Blu-ray collection on Plex. I truly appreciate the hard work that goes into creating and frequently updating an app such as this. All the best!"

Trevor

"The program is very simple and practical, and its options are clear."

Abadi

"I use Picmal to convert images. It works perfectly. I can just leave the Picmal window open on my desktop. Whenever I want to convert an image, I drag the file onto the window and click “convert”—and seconds later, the converted file is in the appropriate folder with the suffix “converted.” It couldn’t be easier or more hassle-free!"

Marie-Theres

"Thoughtful, polished, and constantly improving. Alberto genuinely listens to feedback, and it shows in Picmal. Easy 5 stars."

Daniel Hewitt

"I feel Picmal is one of the apps that I would categorize as essential. There are many features that distinguish the app from other web converters such as Folder Watching and Clipboard Optimization."

Joel

"Picmal is simple and fast but also integrates complex workloads if needed."

Aj

"I like the interface. I like the batch processing. I like the fact in the I can set default conversions. I like your program a lot."

Charles Willson

"I like the quality of the image processing. It also supports all the important image files. But it still needs some work regarding both the UI and the UX design of it."

Yiannis

"I love how Picmal's made compressing videos a frictionless, easy and straightforward."

George

"It's simple to use and does everything I need it to do. Hell, it does much more than I need and the developer keeps adding features :)"

Adam L

"I love the app! I use it 4-5 days a week for audio and image conversion as I tag and add missing album artwork to my library of 70,000 songs. After that is done, I would like to try it out with my Blu-ray collection on Plex. I truly appreciate the hard work that goes into creating and frequently updating an app such as this. All the best!"

Trevor

"The program is very simple and practical, and its options are clear."

Abadi

"I use Picmal to convert images. It works perfectly. I can just leave the Picmal window open on my desktop. Whenever I want to convert an image, I drag the file onto the window and click “convert”—and seconds later, the converted file is in the appropriate folder with the suffix “converted.” It couldn’t be easier or more hassle-free!"

Marie-Theres

"Thoughtful, polished, and constantly improving. Alberto genuinely listens to feedback, and it shows in Picmal. Easy 5 stars."

Daniel Hewitt

"I feel Picmal is one of the apps that I would categorize as essential. There are many features that distinguish the app from other web converters such as Folder Watching and Clipboard Optimization."

Joel

"Picmal is simple and fast but also integrates complex workloads if needed."

Aj

"Picmal is complete. The quality is good, and it does exactly what I need."

Gianfri

"Easy to use, automation & batch processing. AVIF & Webp support"

Sem

"I convert MP4s to MP3s almost every day. Picmal makes it stupidly simple, and I haven't touched a sketchy online converter since."

Rubens Nook YouTube Creator

"keep up the great work! Very cool tool you've built here."

J Koh

"Working on a presentation and had to convert and resize a lot of images. Picmal did them all in a flash."

Henry Halem

"Simple and powerful is a combination that is hard to get right. Picmal nails it! I find image presets particularly useful. Set it up and then just drag and drop to resize and convert."

Ian

"Me ha sosprendido la compresion que realiza el programa y si apreciar la calidad."

Carlos

"The easy going workflow"

Markus

"I just sent a few samples through to check everything, and I am very pleased with the results. Everything worked correctly and above all it was easy and not unduly complicated."

Andy Cockill

"Picmal is complete. The quality is good, and it does exactly what I need."

Gianfri

"Easy to use, automation & batch processing. AVIF & Webp support"

Sem

"I convert MP4s to MP3s almost every day. Picmal makes it stupidly simple, and I haven't touched a sketchy online converter since."

Rubens Nook YouTube Creator

"keep up the great work! Very cool tool you've built here."

J Koh

"Working on a presentation and had to convert and resize a lot of images. Picmal did them all in a flash."

Henry Halem

"Simple and powerful is a combination that is hard to get right. Picmal nails it! I find image presets particularly useful. Set it up and then just drag and drop to resize and convert."

Ian

"Me ha sosprendido la compresion que realiza el programa y si apreciar la calidad."

Carlos

"The easy going workflow"

Markus

"I just sent a few samples through to check everything, and I am very pleased with the results. Everything worked correctly and above all it was easy and not unduly complicated."

Andy Cockill

Pay once and you're all set

Already own Picmal? Add more Macs

How many Macs?

$29

2 Macs is $10 more

Convert, compress and edit images, video, audio and PDFs
Everything runs on your Mac, nothing gets uploaded
Use it on 1 Mac
Command line tool, Raycast extension and watched folders
Free updates forever, no subscription

Get Picmal for $29 Try free for 7 days

14-day refund after you buy, no questions asked. Needs macOS 15 or later.

More than 10 Macs? Email me.

Prices in USD, tax added at checkout, paid securely via Stripe.

How does the license work?

You pay once and keep it. No renewals, no subscriptions. Your license activates on the number of Macs you bought it for, and you can move it to another Mac whenever you want.

I bought Picmal and now I need more Macs. Can I upgrade?

Yes, and you only pay the difference. Going from 1 Mac to 2 is $10, 2 to 5 is $50, 5 to 10 is $60, and every other jump works the same way. Enter your license key here and the same key covers more Macs. The offer never expires, so starting small is never the wrong call.

What happens if I get a new Mac?

Open Picmal on your old Mac, go to Picmal → Register license to deactivate, then activate on the new one. Takes about ten seconds.

Do you offer student or country discounts?

Yes. I want Picmal to be affordable wherever you are. Students and educators get 40% off: verify your school email on the education page and the code lands in your inbox. If the price is steep for your country, checkout already adjusts it for you. If it still doesn't work, email support@picmal.app and tell me where you are, and I'll send a code.

Hello there 👋

I'm Alberto, the developer behind Picmal.

Picmal started because I was tired of opening a browser every time I needed to convert a few files. I figured there had to be a better way, so I built one.

Over time, that simple image converter has grown into something much bigger, mostly thanks to the people who use it.

Along the way, I've tried to stay true to a few simple ideas: your files should stay on your computer, the app should feel at home on your Mac, and you should only have to pay once.

One of my favorite parts of building Picmal is talking to customers. Many of the features in the app today started as conversations with people who needed something that didn't exist yet.

So if there's a feature you've always wished for, or something you haven't found in other tools, I'd love to hear from you. If it fits Picmal, I'll do my best to build it.

Best,

Alberto

Frequently asked questions

Can't find what you're looking for? Email support@picmal.app

Is Picmal a good CloudConvert alternative?

For images, video, audio, and PDFs, yes. Picmal does the same conversions on your own Mac, with no upload, no daily cap, and no credits to buy. CloudConvert covers far more file types than Picmal does, including documents, spreadsheets, ebooks, and CAD, so if you need those it stays useful.

What's CloudConvert's free limit?

10 conversions a day, up to 1GB per file and 5 minutes of processing. Past that you buy credits, either as a one-off package or a monthly subscription, and longer conversions consume more of them. Picmal is $29 once and doesn't count conversions.

Does CloudConvert upload my files?

Yes. It's a web service, so every file goes to their servers to be processed and comes back as a download. They delete files after a period, but the upload happens. Picmal never sends a file anywhere. It converts on your Mac, offline, and works on a plane.

Is Picmal cheaper than CloudConvert?

It depends on volume. CloudConvert's free tier costs nothing if you convert fewer than 10 files a day. Once you're past that regularly, credits add up every month, while Picmal is $29 paid once with updates included.

Can Picmal handle large video files?

Yes, and there's no file size ceiling because nothing is being uploaded. The limit is your Mac's disk and patience. CloudConvert caps free conversions at 1GB and 5 minutes of processing.

Does CloudConvert have an API? Does Picmal?

CloudConvert has a proper REST API, which is its real strength for developers automating conversions on a server. Picmal isn't a server tool, but it does have a command line interface, Apple Shortcuts actions, and a Raycast extension for automating things on your own machine.

What if Picmal doesn't work for me?

Full refund within 14 days, no questions asked. Email support@picmal.app.