There’s something freeing about not having to install yet another image editor just to crop or resize a picture. Lately, I’ve been using the Image Tools suite in OmniTools, a browser-based open-source app that does many of the tasks I used to need multiple apps for. It packs a full set of image editing utilities, from quick fixes like cropping to more advanced functions like background removal and color editing. And everything can be done from a browser.

For average users who need a quick way to take care of a variety of their editing needs, OmniTools is one of the best. Here’s everything I’ve been loving about OmniTools’ Image Tools pack so far…

Background removal

Instant transparent backgrounds

One of the first tools that caught my eye when I started exploring OmniTools is the background removal feature. Most free background removers are subpar at best and often leave you with wonky edges, so I was curious whether this one would deliver. And it did. I uploaded my image that included some hair strands, which are typically more difficult to isolate from the background, and the removal was near-perfect, sans for a tiny bit of lighting that crept through.

Transparent PNG

Selectively removing colors

Color removal is another one of those features that free editors tend to fall short on, so I had to give this one a try because it’s an editing technique I actually use frequently. Transparent PNG works the same as chroma keying, which involves removing a single color to isolate a subject from the background – this is what a green screen is. As you can see, OmniTools did a decent-ish job at removing the green screen, with some pixels still peeking through. To be fair, my color selection was a little off. Overall, this is a great tool to include in a free suite.

Resize

Quick and precise

Now onto some of OmniTools’ more basic offerings. Resizing an image is something everyone needs to do from time to time, regardless of whether they’re an editor. And OmniTools makes this easier than ever. You can resize by pixels, which lets you set the height and width dimensions manually. There’s also a Maintain Aspect Ratio option here, which maintains the proportions and prevents the image from squishing or stretching. You can also resize by percentage, which is much quicker.

Cropping

Accurate framing in seconds

Just like resizing, we all need to crop our images from time to time. OmniTools gives you a little more than just the basics here, however. After uploading your image, you can resize it manually in the editor window using the white dots. There’s also the option to shift the position of the crop (in pixels) and change the size of the crop (also in pixels). I really like that it comes with a circular crop, which is perfect for cropping headshots and social media profile pictures.

Compress image

Shrink the file size without ruining the quality

File compression is another one of those things we all need from time to time. It could be for sending images over email or optimizing them for web use. Smaller files size means faster load times and smoother sharing. OmniTools’ compressor makes this dead simple. It lets you set a max file size in megabytes, and also determine how much quality you’re willing to sacrifice – the higher the quality loss, the smaller the image. Here, it shrunk my 10MB image to 500KB without losing the integrity of the graphic.

Convert to JPG

Instantly convert to a universal format

Converting my images to JPG is another thing I do almost every day. It’s perfect for online sharing since this format loads faster and is universally supported across apps and browsers. So OmniTools’ converter comes in very handy. You can drop in almost any format – WebP, PNG, TIFF – and it spits out a lightweight JPG. You can select the quality, with a lower value resulting in a smaller file size. And for transparent images, you can fill in the background with the color selector.

Image-to-text

An accurate OCR tool

OCR is not a feature I expected to find in OmniTools’ Image suite. The image-to-text feature extracts text, including paragraphs, from images using optical character recognition. It’s ideal for digitizing notes, grabbing quotes, or cleaning up document scans without manually retyping. I also use OCR to pull text from informational and instructional YouTube videos. And as you can see here by the screenshot I took of this article, it’s accurate.

Image Editor

All of my basics are covered

I saved the best for last. OmniTools’ image editor is quite stripped down, but it covers everything I need for basic daily editing outside my creative projects. It has HSL sliders, so you can change the hue and brightness, and also comes with a sizable filter selection. The Watermark feature is a quick way to add my social media handle to images if necessary. My favorite feature is Annotate because it comes with drawing abilities and shapes, which makes OmniTools a bit of a graphics editor, too.

I don’t need much else

The OmniTools Image pack proves you don’t need to install heavy-duty software for images, especially if you’re only doing basic edits every day. You can do everything – resizing, converting, compressing, and even some creative edits – instantly in your browser. Finally, an online editor that actually delivers.