JPEG, PNG, WebP or AVIF: which image format should you use?
Most image problems people bring to a converter come down to one question: was this picture saved in the right format? A logo saved as a JPEG gets fuzzy edges. A holiday photo saved as a PNG is five times larger than it needs to be. Picking the format first saves a lot of fiddling later.
The short answer
| You have… | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A photo (camera, phone, scanned picture) | JPEG, or WebP for a website | Lossy compression is designed for smooth, natural detail. |
| A screenshot, chart or diagram | PNG, or WebP for a website | Sharp edges and flat colour survive lossless compression. |
| A logo or icon with a transparent background | PNG, or SVG if you have the original vector | JPEG cannot store transparency. |
| An image for a modern website where size matters most | WebP (or AVIF if your tooling can make it) | Smaller files at similar quality. |
| An image for an old system or a strict upload form | JPEG or PNG | They open everywhere. |
JPEG: the photo format
JPEG (also written JPG) is lossy. When a JPEG is saved, the encoder throws away detail your eye is unlikely to miss, mostly fine colour variation and high-frequency texture. That is why a 12-megapixel phone photo can fit in a few megabytes.
- Good for: photos and anything with smooth gradients.
- Weak at: text, thin lines and flat colour, which pick up blurry “halos” and blocky patches.
- No transparency: transparent areas have to be filled with a colour. HandyTechHelper’s converters fill them with white.
- Every re-save loses a little more. Keep an original and export copies from it.
PNG: the exact-copy format
PNG is lossless: the pixels you save are exactly the pixels you get back. It also stores an alpha channel, so parts of the image can be fully or partly transparent.
- Good for: screenshots, user-interface images, diagrams, logos and anything you will edit again.
- Weak at: photos. Lossless compression cannot discard detail, so a photo saved as PNG is usually several times larger than the same photo as a good-quality JPEG.
- Converting a JPEG to PNG does not restore detail the JPEG already lost; it only stops further loss.
WebP: one format, both jobs
WebP was created by Google for the web. It has a lossy mode for photos and a lossless mode for graphics, and both support transparency. Google’s own comparison reports lossy WebP files about 25–34% smaller than JPEG at the same measured quality, and lossless WebP about 26% smaller than PNG. Results vary with the image, so check your own files rather than relying on an average.
Every current major browser displays WebP. The catch is outside the browser: some older desktop software, printing services and upload forms still only accept JPEG or PNG.
AVIF: the newest option
AVIF is based on the AV1 video codec. It often produces even smaller files than WebP and supports transparency and high dynamic range. Current versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari can display it. Creating AVIF files is slower and needs dedicated software. HandyTechHelper’s converters do not export AVIF, because they rely on the image encoder built into your browser, and browsers do not reliably offer AVIF there.
What about GIF and SVG?
- GIF is limited to 256 colours per frame. It survives mainly for short animations. Use the GIF maker to make one from a few images.
- SVG is not made of pixels at all. It describes shapes, so it stays sharp at any size. It is ideal for logos and icons. When something only accepts pixel images, convert it with SVG to PNG.
A three-question checklist
- Does it need a transparent background? If yes, use PNG or WebP.
- Is it a photo, or mostly flat colour, text and lines? Photos suit JPEG or lossy WebP; graphics suit PNG or lossless WebP.
- Where is it going? For an email or an older system, stick to JPEG or PNG. For your own website, WebP is usually the better trade.
Tools for this guide
Sources
Written with AI assistance, then checked against how HandyTechHelper’s tools actually behave. Figures from other companies link to their source. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.