#4603·sharp

Is it expected that `mozjpeg: true` uses significantly more cpu?

Author: styfleCreated Sep 11, 2026Updated Sep 13, 2026
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Question about an existing feature

Is it expected that setting mozjpeg: true and processing jpeg as both input and output uses significantly more cpu than the default?

What are you trying to achieve?

Trying to find a good default for Next.js users. I noticed really high CPU for JPEG input and output.

In a previous PR, @lovell set mozjpeg to always be true here:

When you searched for similar issues, what did you find that might be related?

https://github.com/lovell/sharp/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20state%3Aclosed%20mozjpeg

Please provide a minimal, standalone code sample, without other dependencies, that demonstrates this question

TODO

Please provide sample image(s) that help explain this question

2,149 JPEGs tested with MozJPEG on and off at quality 75 with concurrency of 8 on MacBook M3 Pro.

CPU averages use each image’s median of three runs on an M3 Pro, including decode/rotate/resize/encode. Ratios average each image’s input KB ÷ output KB; higher means greater size reduction. Smaller images weren’t enlarged.

Requested width Average CPU (ms) CPU saved Average output KB Average input/output ratio
3840 31.67 → 8.80 72.2% 39.57 → 51.81 4.13 → 3.81
1920 20.96 → 7.72 63.2% 25.90 → 33.52 4.51 → 4.09
1080 14.48 → 5.76 60.2% 17.71 → 22.71 5.62 → 4.93
640 11.01 → 5.02 54.4% 12.76 → 16.31 8.31 → 7.09

Disabling MozJPEG saved 54–72% CPU, with average outputs 28–31% larger.