JPG vs PNG vs WebP vs AVIF: Which Image Format Should You Use?
Published: 2026-10-06
JPG, PNG, WebP and AVIF are all image files, but they store pictures in very different ways. Choosing the wrong one can make files needlessly large, or leave the person you send them to unable to open them.
Quick comparison
- JPG: lossy, no transparency, works everywhere. Best for photos.
- PNG: lossless, supports transparency, large files. Best for screenshots, logos and graphics.
- WebP: lossy or lossless, transparency and animation, smaller than JPG. Built for websites.
- AVIF: the best compression, supports transparency, limited app support so far. For modern websites.
JPG: the safe choice for photos
JPG shrinks files with lossy compression, discarding detail the eye barely notices. It suits photos with smooth color gradients, and saving at 80–90% quality looks almost identical to the original at a fraction of the size.
The downsides: no transparency, and quality drops slightly each time you edit and re-save. After many saves, text and sharp edges can start to look blurry.
PNG: for images that must stay crisp
PNG is lossless, so nothing is thrown away. It is ideal for screenshots, images with text, and logos with sharp lines, and it supports transparent backgrounds.
Saving a photo as PNG, however, often makes it several times larger than a JPG. A simple rule: photos as JPG, screenshots and graphics as PNG.
WebP: the website favorite
Created by Google, WebP is reported to be about 25–35% smaller than JPG at similar quality. It also supports transparency and animation, so many websites serve their images as WebP.
That is why images you save from the web often end up as .webp files. Modern browsers and Windows apps usually open them, but older programs and some upload forms do not accept WebP, so you may need to convert to JPG or PNG.
AVIF: newest and smallest
AVIF applies video compression technology (AV1) to still images and can be even smaller than WebP at similar quality. Most modern browsers support it, but many image editors, office apps and upload forms do not yet.
Recommendations
- Sharing or uploading photos: JPG
- Screenshots, diagrams, logos: PNG
- Need a transparent background: PNG (or WebP for the web)
- Images for your own website: WebP or AVIF
- A WebP or AVIF file won't open: convert it to JPG or PNG