JPEG, PNG, WebP or AVIF? How to Choose an Image Format
How to choose between JPEG, PNG, WebP and AVIF: transparency, lossy versus lossless, compression and compatibility, typical uses, and conversion quality.
Updated 2026-09-11
Pick an image format by answering two questions: does the picture need transparency or pixel-perfect fidelity, and how wide does compatibility have to be? JPEG is the universal default, PNG handles sharp graphics and transparency, WebP replaces both on the web, and AVIF compresses hardest at the cost of the weakest support.
This guide covers what each format is good at, which format fits common jobs, and whether converting from one format to another costs quality.
Two questions decide almost everything
Format choice looks like taste and is not. Two properties settle most cases: whether the image needs an alpha channel, and whether it can tolerate lossy compression. File size, compatibility and tool support all follow from those two.
- Transparency: logos, icons, cut-out product shots and interface overlays need alpha. JPEG cannot store it; PNG, WebP and AVIF can.
- Fidelity: screenshots, text-heavy images, line art and files you will edit again should stay lossless. Photographs need not.
- Compatibility: if the file must open in an old Windows program, a print shop's workflow or a government form, the answer is JPEG or PNG and nothing newer.
- Size: if the file travels over the network to a browser, newer codecs can be far smaller, with an older format as a fallback.
The common mistake is treating these as one question. Converting a JPEG to PNG does not improve it — the damage happened when it was first saved — and it makes the file bigger. Converting a screenshot to JPEG turns the text fuzzy.
The formats compared
| Format | Transparency | Lossy or lossless | Browser support (broad picture) | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPEG | No | Lossy | Universal: every browser and almost every program | Photographs, web images, email, uploads, printing |
| PNG | Yes, including partial transparency | Lossless; also has a palette mode | Universal | Screenshots, logos, icons, line art, transparency |
| WebP | Yes | Both lossy and lossless; also supports animation | Broad in current browsers, and supported earlier than AVIF | Web images and product photos; replaces JPEG and PNG on a site |
| AVIF | Yes | Both lossy and lossless | Newer and narrower than WebP: recent browsers only, older software often cannot open it | Web images where the smallest file matters, with a fallback |
| GIF | Only fully on or off, with no partial transparency | Lossless within a 256-colour palette | Universal | Short animations and memes |
| BMP | Generally not | Effectively uncompressed | Readable by most systems, but not a web publishing format | Legacy Windows software, intermediate files |
| TIFF | Yes, depending on the variant | Can be lossless or lossy | Most browsers cannot display it directly | Printing, scanning, archiving |
Two of those rows are about trust rather than image quality: PNG is universal because it was standardised in the 1990s, and AVIF is narrow because it arrived late. When a file has to open on someone else's machine, support history matters more than codec quality.
Lossy, lossless, and what they mean
Lossless means the decoder reconstructs exactly the pixels that went in. The file can be opened and re-saved without degrading, because the encoder removed only statistical redundancy. PNG, lossless WebP, lossless AVIF and lossless TIFF variants work this way.
Lossy means the encoder discarded detail it predicted you would not notice, mostly high-frequency information such as fine texture. JPEG, lossy WebP and lossy AVIF do this, and they are far smaller for photographs. Once written, that loss is fixed: nothing brings it back.
- Use lossless for screenshots, interfaces, text, diagrams, logos, scanned documents and any file you will edit again.
- Use lossy for photographs and images with smooth gradients, where the eye is forgiving.
- Lossless does not mean small: a PNG of a photograph is typically much larger than a high-quality JPEG of the same one.
- Lossy does not mean visibly damaged: at sensible settings the artifacts appear only when you zoom in or re-compress repeatedly.
What to use for common jobs
| Task | Best choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Web page photos and hero images | WebP, or AVIF with a WebP or JPEG fallback | Smallest files without giving up reach |
| Screenshots and interface captures | PNG, or lossless WebP on the web | Text and sharp edges stay crisp |
| E-commerce product images | Usually JPEG — check the marketplace's rules | Marketplaces commonly specify JPEG |
| Printing | TIFF or a high-quality JPEG; ask the printer | A near-lossless master survives the press workflow |
| Archiving and masters | TIFF or PNG, and keep the original raw or HEIC too | You want a file you can re-export from for years |
On marketplaces and government forms, the stated requirement usually beats the technically better option. Read the specification: it names the format, the maximum file size and the pixel dimensions. A portal that says JPEG and 100KB is telling you your transparent PNG will not work.
When converting makes sense, and when it does not
Convert when the destination cannot read what you have:
- A portal, printer or older program accepts JPEG or PNG only, and your file is WebP, AVIF, HEIC or TIFF.
- A page ships images that are too large, and you can serve a modern format without breaking older browsers.
- You need transparency and the file does not have it; the target is then PNG or WebP.
- A platform caps the file size, and switching format gets you under the limit without touching the pixels.
Do not convert when:
- You are hoping to improve quality. Re-encoding never adds detail; a JPEG saved as PNG is the same detail in a bigger file.
- You only want a smaller file and the current format is already efficient. Compression settings matter more than the extension.
- The file is an animation and the target format is static: you get the first frame and lose the motion.
Does converting cost quality?
It depends on the direction of the conversion.
| Conversion | Effect on quality | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Lossless to lossless, such as PNG to lossless WebP | No loss | Identical pixels; only the encoding differs |
| Lossy to lossless, such as JPEG to PNG | No further loss | The file grows for the same picture, so it is rarely worth doing |
| Lossless to lossy, such as PNG to JPEG or WebP | Some loss | Sharp edges and text suffer first; photographs hide it well |
| Lossy to lossy, such as JPEG to WebP or AVIF | A second generation of loss | Usually invisible at high quality, and the file often gets much smaller |
Two details are easy to miss. Every lossy re-encode is additive, so converting the same photo back and forth degrades it a little each time: always start from the best original you have. And these browser-based tools decode into a canvas and re-encode at 8 bits, so higher-bit-depth data such as 10-bit HDR does not survive, and metadata such as capture date, camera and GPS is dropped, because a canvas carries no EXIF.
Doing it in the browser
The four converters on this site — image to WebP, image to AVIF, image to JPEG and image to PNG — share one in-browser implementation, so their behaviour is consistent:
- Nothing is uploaded. Decoding and encoding happen in your browser, and HEIC files are handled by a libheif WebAssembly decoder served from this site and downloaded when first needed.
- Inputs include HEIC, HEIF, PNG, JPEG, WebP, AVIF, BMP, TIFF, ICO and SVG, up to 50MB per file; TIFF and HEIC use bundled decoders.
- Select as many files as you like, then download them individually or all together as a ZIP.
- The quality slider applies to the lossy outputs — JPEG, WebP and AVIF. PNG and BMP ignore it.
- Whether a format can be produced depends on your browser's encoder support. The compression tool falls back to JPEG when WebP encoding is unavailable; AVIF encoding is newer and has no fallback, so it can simply fail on an older browser.
- Converting does not change the pixel dimensions, so resizing for a width and height limit is a separate step.
Choosing a format is a compatibility decision more often than a quality decision: pick the oldest format the destination can open, and the newest it can handle when the file travels to a browser you do not control. When you do need to switch, the image to WebP, AVIF, JPEG and PNG converters here do it locally, in bulk, with no upload.
Frequently asked questions
WebP or AVIF — which should I pick?
AVIF usually produces a smaller file at the same quality, but WebP is supported more widely and by older browsers. If you control both ends, AVIF with a WebP fallback gets you the best of both. If you are sending a file to a person or a service, WebP is the safer modern choice, and JPEG is the safest of all.
Will converting my JPEG to PNG improve the quality?
No. Detail already lost in the JPEG does not come back, and the PNG will typically be several times larger. Choose PNG when you need transparency, or when you want lossless editing from that point onward.
Why can't my colleague open the WebP or AVIF file I sent?
Because their browser or program predates support for it. WebP has been supported for longer and more widely than AVIF, but neither works in genuinely old software. Send JPEG or PNG instead.
Should I just use JPEG for everything?
For photographs that go to other people, often yes, because it opens everywhere. On pages you control, serving WebP or AVIF with a JPEG fallback gives you smaller files without losing reach. For screenshots, transparency and text, JPEG is the wrong tool.
Does converting change the dimensions or the metadata?
Dimensions do not change: the pixels are copied as they are. Metadata does change, because the conversion goes through a canvas that carries no EXIF, so capture date, camera and GPS are dropped. Keep the originals if you need that information.
Tools used in this guide
Image to WebP Converter
Convert HEIC, PNG, JPG, AVIF, BMP, TIFF and ICO to WebP free online. Usually smaller than JPG at similar visual quality, with an adjustable quality slider. 100% private — batch ZIP download.
Image to AVIF Converter
Convert HEIC, PNG, JPG, WebP, BMP, TIFF and ICO to AVIF free online. AVIF usually produces smaller files than JPG at similar visual quality, and the output quality is adjustable. 100% private.
Image to JPG Converter
Convert HEIC, PNG, WebP, AVIF, BMP, TIFF and ICO to JPG free online. Adjustable compression quality and batch ZIP download. 100% private — files stay in your browser.
Image to PNG Converter
Convert HEIC, JPG, WebP, AVIF, BMP, TIFF and ICO to PNG free online. Supports transparency, batch conversion and ZIP download. 100% private — no upload.
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