PNG vs JPG vs WEBP: Which Image Format to Use?
When to use PNG, JPG or WEBP: quality, file size, transparency and compatibility compared, with simple rules for photos, logos and websites.
· 5 min read
You save an image and your app asks: PNG, JPG or WEBP? The three formats look the same on screen, but they store pictures in very different ways. Pick the wrong one and you get a blurry logo, a screenshot that weighs 5 MB, or a file your client cannot open. Here is how they differ, and a few simple rules to choose in seconds.
The short answer
- A photo to send, print or post: JPG.
- A logo, an icon, a screenshot or anything with a transparent background: PNG.
- An image for your website: WEBP, the lightest of the three.
- Not sure who will open it (an old program, a printer, an administration): JPG or PNG, they open everywhere.
JPG: the format of photos
JPG (or JPEG, it is the same format) uses lossy compression: it throws away details the eye barely sees, which makes photos much lighter. A photo of a few megabytes in PNG often fits in a few hundred kilobytes in JPG, with no visible difference.
The price: every save loses a little quality, and sharp edges suffer. Text, lines and flat colors get small blurry halos around them. JPG also has no transparency: a transparent background becomes white (or black).
Use it for photos, and keep the quality between 80 and 90%: below, artifacts start to show, above, the file grows for nothing.
PNG: sharp and transparent
PNG uses lossless compression: the image you open is exactly the one you saved, pixel for pixel, however many times you save it. It also supports transparency, so a logo can sit on any background.
That makes it the right choice for logos, icons, screenshots, diagrams and anything with text. For photos, it is a poor fit: a PNG photo is often several times heavier than the same photo in JPG.
WEBP: the modern option for the web
WEBP was created by Google to make websites lighter. It can be lossy like JPG or lossless like PNG, and it supports transparency and even animation. According to Google, lossy WEBP files are 25 to 34% smaller than JPG files of similar quality, and lossless WEBP files 26% smaller than PNG. Lighter images mean faster pages, which visitors and search engines both like.
Every modern browser displays WEBP. The catch is outside the browser: some older programs, photo printing services and online forms still refuse it. That is why a WEBP downloaded from a website sometimes will not open on your computer.
Side by side
| Format | Compression | Transparency | Best for | Opens in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPG | Lossy | No | Photos | Everywhere |
| PNG | Lossless | Yes | Logos, screenshots, graphics | Everywhere |
| WEBP | Lossy or lossless | Yes | Websites | All modern browsers, some older apps |
What about GIF, ICO and AVIF?
- GIF is limited to 256 colors: fine for small animations and simple graphics, poor for photos.
- ICO is the format of favicons and Windows icons: one file holds the same icon in several sizes.
- AVIF is newer and often even lighter than WEBP, but fewer programs can open it for now.
How to convert between them
Converting takes a few seconds in your browser, and your images are never uploaded:
- A heavy PNG photo to share: PNG to JPG.
- A WEBP that will not open: WEBP to JPG, or WEBP to PNG to keep the transparency.
- Lighter images for your website: PNG to WEBP.
- A favicon for your site: PNG to ICO.
- Any other pair, or 50 images at once: the image converter.
One rule to remember: converting a JPG to PNG makes the file heavier, but does not bring back the details JPG already removed. Keep your originals, and convert copies.