PNG vs JPG vs WebP: Complete Image Format Guide

Why Format Choice Matters

Selecting the wrong image format is one of the most common — and most easily fixed — mistakes in web development and content creation. Use JPEG for a logo with text, and you get fuzzy artifacts. Use PNG for a large photograph, and your file is 5-10x larger than it needs to be. Use an unsupported format, and some users see nothing at all.

This guide breaks down the three most important web image formats — PNG, JPEG (JPG), and WebP — so you can make informed decisions for every project. We will also touch on newer formats like AVIF and legacy formats like GIF.

JPEG (JPG): The Photography Standard

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) has been the default format for photographs since the early 1990s. It uses lossy compression based on Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), which is specifically designed to exploit the human visual system's lower sensitivity to high-frequency color detail.

JPEG Strengths

Excellent for photographs: Achieves 10:1 to 20:1 compression ratios on photographic content with minimal visible quality loss.
Universal support: Every browser, image viewer, and operating system supports JPEG. No compatibility concerns.
Progressive loading: Progressive JPEGs render a low-quality preview immediately, then refine as more data loads — great for perceived performance.
Adjustable quality: You can fine-tune the quality-vs-size tradeoff for each image.
Small file sizes: Photographic JPEGs are typically 100-500 KB for web-sized images, compared to 1-5 MB for equivalent PNGs.

JPEG Weaknesses

No transparency support: JPEG cannot represent transparent pixels. You must use a solid background color.
Lossy only: Every save introduces artifacts. Repeated editing and saving degrades quality cumulatively.
Poor for sharp edges: Text, logos, line art, and UI screenshots show visible "ringing" artifacts around high-contrast edges.
No animation support: JPEG is a static format.

When to Use JPEG

Use JPEG for photographs, nature scenes, portraits, food photography, travel images, and any content where smooth color gradients dominate. It is the safe default for any photographic image where transparency is not needed.

PNG: The Lossless Choice

PNG (Portable Network Graphics) was created in the mid-1990s as a patent-free replacement for GIF. It uses lossless DEFLATE compression, meaning the decompressed image is bit-for-bit identical to the original.

PNG Strengths

Lossless quality: No compression artifacts, ever. The image quality is always perfect.
Full transparency support: PNG supports a full 8-bit alpha channel, enabling smooth transparency with anti-aliased edges. This is critical for logos, icons, and overlay graphics.
Sharp edges: Text, line art, screenshots, and UI elements remain pixel-perfect.
Universal support: Like JPEG, PNG works everywhere.
Metadata support: Can embed ICC color profiles for accurate color reproduction.

PNG Weaknesses

Large file sizes: Lossless compression cannot match lossy ratios. A photographic PNG is typically 5-10x larger than an equivalent-quality JPEG.
No animation (in standard PNG): While APNG exists, it has limited support compared to GIF or WebP.
Slow to optimize: Advanced PNG optimization (Zopfli, etc.) can be computationally expensive.

When to Use PNG

Use PNG for screenshots, logos, icons, diagrams, text-heavy images, UI elements, and any image that requires transparency. It is also the right choice when you need pixel-perfect reproduction and file size is not the primary concern.

WebP: The Modern All-Rounder

WebP was developed by Google and released in 2010. It supports both lossy and lossless compression, transparency, and animation — essentially combining the best features of JPEG, PNG, and GIF into a single format with better compression ratios.

WebP Strengths

Superior compression: WebP lossy produces 25-35% smaller files than JPEG at equivalent quality. WebP lossless produces 20-26% smaller files than PNG.
Transparency + lossy: Unlike JPEG, WebP can combine lossy compression with transparency. This means transparent product images at JPEG-like file sizes.
Animation support: WebP supports animation with much better compression than GIF (typically 30-50% smaller).
Excellent browser support: Over 97% global browser support as of 2026, including all major browsers.

WebP Weaknesses

Not universal outside browsers: Some desktop software, email clients, and older tools do not support WebP natively. This is improving but can cause friction in workflows.
Lossy WebP has a quality ceiling: At very high quality settings, WebP lossy can produce slightly different artifacts than JPEG, which some photographers find less natural.
Maximum dimension limit: WebP has a 16383x16383 pixel limit, which can be a constraint for very large images like panoramas.

When to Use WebP

Use WebP as your default web format in 2026. It outperforms JPEG and PNG in almost every scenario. The only reasons to avoid it are non-browser contexts where compatibility is not guaranteed, or edge cases where JPEG quality at high settings is preferred.

Format Comparison Table

Here is a quick reference comparing the three formats across key dimensions:

Compression type: JPEG (lossy only) | PNG (lossless only) | WebP (both lossy and lossless)
Transparency: JPEG (no) | PNG (yes, full alpha) | WebP (yes, full alpha)
Animation: JPEG (no) | PNG (limited APNG) | WebP (yes)
Best for photos: JPEG (good) | PNG (poor — too large) | WebP (excellent)
Best for graphics: JPEG (poor — artifacts) | PNG (excellent) | WebP (excellent)
Browser support: JPEG (100%) | PNG (100%) | WebP (97%+)
File size (photo): JPEG (small) | PNG (very large) | WebP (smallest)
File size (graphic): JPEG (medium, lossy) | PNG (medium) | WebP (small)

What About AVIF?

AVIF is the newest contender, offering 30-50% better compression than WebP. Browser support reached ~93% in early 2026, making it increasingly viable. However, encoding is significantly slower than WebP, which can be a concern for real-time processing. Consider AVIF for static assets that are pre-generated during build time.

What About GIF?

GIF is a legacy format with severe limitations: 256-color palette, binary transparency (no anti-aliasing), and poor compression ratios. For animations, use WebP or MP4 video. For static images, use PNG or WebP. There is no modern use case where GIF is the optimal choice, though it remains popular for short animations on social media. Our GIF Maker can help you create optimized GIFs from image sequences.

Practical Format Decision Flowchart

Follow this decision process for any image:

Does the image need transparency? If yes → Use WebP (lossy) for photos with transparency, or PNG/WebP (lossless) for graphics with transparency.
Is it a photograph or photographic content? If yes → Use WebP (lossy) as primary, JPEG as fallback.
Is it a screenshot, diagram, logo, or text-heavy image? If yes → Use WebP (lossless) as primary, PNG as fallback.
Does it need animation? If yes → Use WebP or MP4 video. Avoid GIF if possible.
Is it for print or professional editing? If yes → Use PNG (lossless) or TIFF. Never use lossy formats for master files.

How to Convert Between Formats

You can convert images between any of these formats using our Format Converter. It runs entirely in your browser — your files are never uploaded to any server. Simply drag and drop your image, select the target format, and download.

For bulk conversions, combine our converter with the Bulk Resize tool to resize and convert multiple images simultaneously. If you need to compress a JPEG further, use our dedicated Image Compressor with quality adjustment.

Key Takeaways

Use WebP as your default web format in 2026 — it beats both JPEG and PNG in almost every scenario.
Use JPEG as a fallback for photographs when WebP is not supported.
Use PNG for pixel-perfect graphics, screenshots, and archival/master files.
Always resize before converting — do not convert a 4000px image when you need a 800px one.
Consider AVIF for cutting-edge optimization if your browser support requirements allow it.