We perform a systematic comparison between the spectrum of the intensity fluctuations and the spectrum of squeezing optimized with respect to the phase of the local oscillator, for the case of a one-photon single-mode optical bistability. In the bad-cavity limit the quantum noise reduction in the intensity fluctuations becomes comparable to the optimum level of squeezing. We consider also the case of a one-photon, single-mode laser with injected signal and show that under appropriate conditions the system can exhibit a meaningful level of squeezing.