WebP vs PNG vs JPG: which one should you use?

Choosing an image format is a trade-off between file size, quality and transparency. Three formats cover almost every case on the web.

Quick rules

Photos: WebP, or JPG when an old system only accepts JPG. Logos, icons, UI and screenshots: PNG or lossless WebP, because they keep sharp edges and transparency. Favicons: ICO plus a PNG. AVIF is usually smaller still, but it takes longer to encode.

The cheat sheet

Format  Best for                       Transparency  Compression
JPG     photos, maximum compatibility  no            lossy
PNG     screenshots, logos, text       yes           lossless
WebP    photos and graphics on the web yes           lossy or lossless
AVIF    the smallest photos            yes           lossy or lossless
GIF     simple animations only         1-bit         lossless, 256 colors
SVG     logos and icons (vector)       yes           not pixel-based

Why the same photo comes out smaller as WebP

JPG and lossy WebP both throw away detail the eye barely notices; WebP does it more efficiently, so a photo at similar quality is typically noticeably smaller. PNG is lossless — perfect for screenshots, wasteful for photos.

Quality settings that make sense

For lossy formats a quality of 75 to 85 is the usual sweet spot for photos on websites: files shrink a lot while the image still looks clean. Go higher for photography portfolios or images people will zoom into, and lower for small thumbnails. Resizing matters even more than quality: a 4000-pixel-wide photo shown in a 800-pixel column wastes most of its bytes.

Transparency

JPG has no transparency, so a logo with a see-through background gets a solid white or black box when saved as JPG. Use PNG or WebP for anything that has to sit on different backgrounds. GIF supports only fully transparent or fully opaque pixels, so soft edges look jagged.

Compatibility in 2026

WebP and AVIF are supported by all current major browsers. The problems are elsewhere: some older desktop software, email clients, print shops and upload forms still accept only JPG or PNG. When a file is going somewhere outside the web, JPG for photos and PNG for graphics remain the safest choice.

Keep the original

Converting between lossy formats loses quality each time, so always convert from the best original you have, not from a copy that was already compressed. Converting a JPG to PNG doesn’t bring back lost detail; it only makes the file bigger.

A quick decision path

• Is it a logo or an icon that must stay sharp at any size? SVG if you have it, otherwise PNG.
• Does it need a transparent background? PNG, WebP or AVIF, never JPG.
• Is it a photo for a website? WebP, or AVIF if you want the smallest file.
• Is it going to a print shop, an old program or an upload form? JPG for photos, PNG for graphics.
• Is it an animation? A short video file is usually much smaller than a GIF.

Why local conversion matters

The 4Dev image converter runs entirely in your browser: the picture is decoded and re-encoded on your device and never uploaded. It reads PNG, JPG, WebP, GIF, HEIC, AVIF, TIFF and more, and it can resize while it converts.

Open the image converter