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JPG vs PNG vs WebP: which image format should you use?

JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF and HEIC compared on quality, transparency, size and compatibility, with a quick table for photos, logos and screenshots.

Images2 min readUpdated

Key takeaways

  • Use JPG for photos you need to open anywhere, PNG for screenshots, logos and transparency.
  • WebP does both jobs in smaller files and works in every current browser.
  • Google's own figures: lossy WebP is 25 to 34% smaller than comparable JPEG; lossless WebP is 26% smaller than PNG.
  • Converting a JPG to PNG does not restore lost quality; it only makes the file bigger.
On this page
  1. Quick decision table
  2. The formats in one paragraph each
  3. Myths worth dropping
  4. Convert and shrink

Quick decision table

You have…Best choiceWhy
A photo for email, print or an old systemJPGOpens everywhere, small for photos
A photo for a websiteWebP (or AVIF)Same look in a smaller file
A screenshot, chart or text imagePNG or lossless WebPSharp edges and text stay crisp
A logo or icon with a transparent backgroundPNG, WebP or SVGJPG cannot be transparent
An iPhone photo (HEIC) to share with Windows usersJPGHEIC does not open everywhere

The formats in one paragraph each

JPG (JPEG) uses lossy compression tuned for photographs: it throws away detail the eye barely notices. It has no transparency, and text or sharp lines get blurry "halos" at strong compression. Every device and program opens it.

PNG is lossless, so it keeps every pixel exactly. It supports full transparency. It is ideal for screenshots, diagrams and logos, but photos saved as PNG are often five to ten times larger than JPG.

WebP, developed by Google, has both a lossy mode (for photos) and a lossless mode (for graphics), and supports transparency in both. Google reports lossy WebP files 25 to 34% smaller than comparable JPEGs and lossless WebP 26% smaller than PNG. Every current major browser displays it; some older desktop software still does not.

AVIF is newer and often smaller again than WebP for photos, but encoding is slower and support in older software is thinner. HEIC is what iPhones save by default; it is efficient but not universally supported, so convert it with HEIC to JPG before sharing widely.

Myths worth dropping

  • "PNG is higher quality, so convert my JPG to PNG." Detail lost in a JPG is gone. Saving it as PNG keeps the damage exactly and makes the file bigger.
  • "WebP looks worse." At the same quality setting it looks comparable; problems usually come from setting quality too low.
  • "DPI changes file size." The pixel count does. A 300 DPI and a 72 DPI version of the same 2000 × 1500 image are identical on screen.

Convert and shrink

Convert image format switches between JPG, PNG and WebP in your browser, in batches, without uploading. Then Compress images brings the size down further. For a website, aim for photos under about 200 KB each; our guide to making images smaller for websites explains the steps.

Sources

  1. MDN: Image file type and format guidedeveloper.mozilla.org
  2. Google for Developers: An image format for the web (WebP)developers.google.com
  3. web.dev: Use WebP imagesweb.dev
Written by the Toolkeel team at Sole Digital Media

Fact-checked against the sources above. We test every tool we mention. Editorial policy.

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