Both are offline Mac converters. Permute is the cheaper one and adds timeline video editing. Picmal adds compression for images, video, audio, and PDFs, plus Shortcuts and folder monitoring. It comes down to what you need.
Picmal ($39) and Permute (~$14.99, also on Setapp) are both offline Mac converters, with Permute the cheaper of the two. Picmal compresses images, video, audio, and PDFs, with Shortcuts, folder monitoring, and Finder right-click. Permute adds timeline editing (trim, crop, merge) and audio normalization.
Permute is good at video editing. But sometimes you just want one app to convert and compress a file without thinking about it.
| Feature | Picmal | Permute |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $39 one-time | $14.99 one-time |
| Also available via | Not available | Setapp ($9.99/mo) |
| Privacy | 100% offline | 100% offline |
| Interface | One window, no hunting through menus | Groups + presets |
| Design quality | Native macOS, polished UI | Traditional |
| Image formats | 20+ | 15+ |
| Video editing | No | Trim, crop, stitch |
| Metadata removal | Yes, strip location data before sharing | No |
| Finder right-click | Yes, convert without opening the app | No |
| macOS | 15+ | 11+ |
Here's where each one makes more sense.
Convert, compress, and automate, no video editing
Trim, crop, and merge videos, normalize audio
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.
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.
Get under an email limit or a slow upload, without the quality drop you'd actually notice. No browser, no waiting.
Break a PDF apart, or drag pages around to reorder, rotate, and delete. Your documents never leave your Mac.
Stitch a pile of clips into one video. Drag to reorder, pick the format, export in a single pass.
Join tracks into one file, or split a long recording by its chapters. Podcasts and audiobooks, sorted.
Turn a folder of photos into a multi-page PDF. A4, Letter, or custom, with a password if you want one.
Merge a stack of PDFs into one file. Put the pages in the right order, set the size, and save it out.
Finder, Shortcuts, and Raycast. A conversion is never more than a right-click away.
Script it, drop it in a cron job, or hand it to a coding agent. The same engine as the app, right from your terminal.
"Clean and easy to use. Perfect for quickly converting images without unnecessary extras."
"Everything works as expected - great app!"
"Great app! Simple and easy to use."
"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."
"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!"
"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."
"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)."
"I really like these kinds of tools: simple interface, focused functions, one-time purchase, and continuous updates."
"Been enjoying the app! Thanks for the very handy utility."
"I f* love this app. Just so you know. Keep building!"
"Clean and easy to use. Perfect for quickly converting images without unnecessary extras."
"Everything works as expected - great app!"
"Great app! Simple and easy to use."
"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."
"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!"
"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."
"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)."
"I really like these kinds of tools: simple interface, focused functions, one-time purchase, and continuous updates."
"Been enjoying the app! Thanks for the very handy utility."
"I f* love this app. Just so you know. Keep building!"
One purchase includes all updates. If you change your mind, you can ask for a refund within 14 days.
Every feature, no add-ons
Free updates forever
Use on 2 Macs
Command line tool, Raycast extension and watched folders
Updates land the day I ship them, with no App Store review wait
Everything in Picmal
Use on 5 Macs
One license for a studio, a family, or a desk and a laptop
All conversion and compression features, same engines, same quality
Free updates forever
Purchases, updates and refunds handled by Apple
Family Sharing, no license key
No command line tool, Raycast extension or watched folders. Compare the two builds
Prices in USD. Any tax is added at checkout. Secure payment via Stripe.
You pay once and keep it. No renewals, no subscriptions. Picmal activates on 2 Macs, Picmal Pro on 5, and you can move a license to another Mac whenever you want.
The app is identical, and so is the support: one person answers every email, and that person is me. Pro covers 5 Macs instead of 2.
Yes, and you only pay the difference: $30 takes Picmal to Pro, and older 1-Mac licenses have their own prices. Enter your license key here and the same key covers more Macs. The offer never expires, so starting with the cheaper plan is never the wrong call.
Same price, same engines, same quality. Apple handles the purchase, updates and refunds, and you get Family Sharing with no license key. Buying direct adds the command line tool, the Raycast extension, watched folders, camera EXIF on RAW conversions, and up to 5 Macs on one license. Here is the full comparison of the two builds.
Open Picmal on your old Mac, go to Picmal → Register license to deactivate, then activate on the new one. Takes about ten seconds.
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.
14 days, no questions asked. Email support@picmal.app. App Store purchases go through Apple instead.
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
Can't find what you're looking for? Email support@picmal.app
If you don't need to trim, crop, or merge video, then yes. Picmal converts, compresses, and handles images, video, audio, and PDFs in one window. Permute adds a video editing layer. Picmal skips it.
Yes. Everything runs locally on your Mac. Nothing gets uploaded anywhere.
Yes. Picmal converts video (MP4, MOV, MKV, and more) and audio (MP3, WAV, FLAC, and more). It compresses all of them, images, video, audio, and PDFs, and the output is never larger than the input. No timeline editing though. No trimming, cropping, or merging.
No, Permute is cheaper. It's $14.99 for up to three activations, and it's on Setapp if you pay for that. Picmal is $39 for two Macs. What you get for the difference is PDF tools, folder monitoring, Finder right-click, and metadata removal, none of which Permute has.
Full refund within 14 days, no questions asked. Just email support@picmal.app.
