JPG vs PNG vs WebP vs AVIF: which image format to use
Four formats cover nearly every image you will handle. Each is the right answer for some jobs and the wrong one for others, and the choice comes down to three questions: is it a photo, does it need transparency, and who has to open it?
Short answer: use JPG for photos you share or upload, PNG for screenshots, logos and anything that needs transparency or sharp text, and WebP or AVIF for images on your own website, where smaller files load faster. If someone else has to open the file, JPG and PNG are the safe choices.
The four formats at a glance
| JPG | PNG | WebP | AVIF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossy | Lossless | Lossy or lossless | Lossy or lossless |
| Best for | Photos | Screenshots, logos, graphics | Web images of any kind | Web photos where size matters most |
| Transparency | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Animation | No | No (APNG is a rare variant) | Yes | Yes |
| File size for a photo | Baseline | Several times larger | Usually smaller than JPG | Often smallest |
| Opens in current browsers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, in current versions |
| Opens in older apps, editors, upload forms | Yes | Yes | Patchy | Patchy |
JPG: the default for photos
JPG (also written JPEG) has been the standard photo format since the 1990s, and that is its biggest strength: every phone, computer, printer, email client and upload form understands it. It compresses photos well by throwing away detail the eye does not notice much.
That lossy compression is also its weakness. Sharp edges, small text and flat areas of colour pick up blurry halos and blocky "artefacts", and every time you edit and re-save a JPG it loses a little more. JPG also has no transparency: transparent areas become a solid colour.
Use it for: photos you email, upload to forms, send to print shops or share with people on unknown devices. A quality setting of around 80–90% is a good balance between size and quality.
PNG: exact pixels and transparency
PNG is lossless: what you save is exactly what you get back, pixel for pixel. It also supports full transparency, which is why logos, icons and stickers are usually PNG.
The catch is size. PNG is efficient for images with flat colours and hard edges, such as screenshots, diagrams and logos, but a photo saved as PNG is typically several times larger than the same photo as JPG, with no visible benefit.
Use it for: screenshots, anything with text, logos, graphics with transparency and images you will edit again. If you have a logo as an SVG and need a PNG at a specific size, the SVG to PNG converter renders it crisply at any resolution.
WebP: the web's all-rounder
WebP was developed by Google for the web. It can do both lossy compression (like JPG) and lossless (like PNG), and it supports transparency and animation. Google's own comparisons found lossy WebP files roughly 25–35% smaller than JPGs of similar quality; your results will vary with the image.
All current major browsers display WebP, so it is a safe choice for images on your own website. Outside the browser it is less dependable: some older photo editors, print services, email clients and website uploaders still refuse it. That is why images saved from websites often turn out to be .webp files that will not open where you need them. The WebP to JPG converter fixes that in a click.
Use it for: photos and graphics on websites and in web apps.
AVIF: smallest files, newest support
AVIF is based on the AV1 video codec. For photos it usually produces even smaller files than WebP at the same visual quality, and it handles smooth gradients and high dynamic range well. Encoding AVIF is slower, which matters if you are converting thousands of images.
Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari all display AVIF in their current versions, but older browsers and devices do not, and support in desktop software is still patchy. If you serve AVIF on a website, offer a fallback (see below).
Use it for: large photos on websites where page speed matters, with a WebP or JPG fallback.
Which format for which job
| What you are doing | Best choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Emailing or uploading a photo to a form | JPG | Accepted everywhere; small enough |
| Sending a photo to a print shop | JPG at high quality (or what they ask for) | Universally supported by print software |
| Screenshot for a document or bug report | PNG | Text stays sharp |
| Logo with a transparent background | PNG (or SVG if the destination accepts it) | Lossless with transparency |
| Photos on your own website | WebP or AVIF, with JPG fallback | Faster page loads |
| Profile picture | JPG or PNG | Every platform accepts them |
| Archiving originals | Keep the original format | Each conversion can lose detail |
Serving modern formats with a fallback
On a website you do not have to choose just one. The HTML picture element lets you list an AVIF version, then a WebP version, then a JPG; each browser downloads the first one it understands. Many content management systems, image CDNs and hosting platforms do this automatically, so check your platform's image settings before converting files by hand.
Mistakes that cost quality or space
- Converting a JPG to PNG to "improve" it. The detail lost by JPG compression does not come back. You just get a bigger file.
- Saving screenshots as JPG. Text gets fuzzy edges. Use PNG.
- Re-saving JPGs over and over. Edit from the original and export once at the end.
- Saving photos as PNG for the web. A 6 MB PNG photo can usually be a JPG or WebP of a few hundred KB with no visible difference.
- Forgetting about transparency. Converting a transparent PNG or WebP to JPG fills the background with a solid colour. Pick the colour deliberately, or keep it as PNG.
- Changing the extension instead of converting. Renaming photo.webp to photo.jpg does not change the data inside, and many apps will refuse it.
What about HEIC, GIF and SVG?
- HEIC is the iPhone camera format: small files, poor support outside Apple devices. See what a HEIC file is and how to open it.
- GIF is limited to 256 colours. It survives for simple animations, but WebP or a short video does the same job in a fraction of the size.
- SVG is not made of pixels at all; it describes shapes, so it stays sharp at any size. It is ideal for logos and icons on websites, but many upload forms and apps need a PNG instead.
If a form rejects your image for being too large rather than the wrong format, PicShrinker compresses it to an exact file size.
Frequently asked questions
Is WebP better than JPG?
For websites, usually: WebP files are smaller at similar quality and support transparency. For files other people need to open, edit or print, JPG is still safer because some software does not accept WebP. You can convert WebP to JPG when you hit one of those.
Should I use AVIF instead of WebP?
AVIF often gives smaller photo files, but it is slower to encode and slightly less widely supported in older devices and desktop software. Many sites serve AVIF with a WebP or JPG fallback.
Does PNG have better quality than JPG?
PNG is lossless, so it never adds compression artefacts. For photos the difference is rarely visible at good JPG quality, while the PNG is several times larger. For text, screenshots and logos, PNG is clearly better.
Which format keeps a transparent background?
PNG, WebP and AVIF all support transparency. JPG does not: transparent areas become a solid colour when you save as JPG.