PNG vs JPG vs WebP: which image format should you use?
JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, SVG: what each image format is good at, file size and quality compared, and why downloads come out as WebP — and how to fix it.
Convert PNG to JPGFree · No sign-up · No watermark Try it nowEvery image you save forces a choice — JPG, PNG, WebP, sometimes AVIF, HEIC or SVG — and the wrong one gives you blurry text, a 12 MB screenshot or a file a website refuses to accept. The rules are simpler than they look. This guide explains what each format does, compares them side by side, and gives you a quick decision table, plus the fix for the “why does everything download as WebP” problem.
The short answer
- Photo to share, email or print → JPG.
- Screenshot, logo, text, transparency → PNG.
- Images for a website → WebP (or AVIF), SVG for logos and icons.
- iPhone photos → HEIC on the phone, JPG when they leave it.
Lossy vs lossless: the key difference
Lossy formats (JPG, and WebP/AVIF in their usual mode) throw away detail the eye barely notices — subtle colour variations, fine texture — to make files much smaller. The quality setting decides how much is discarded. Each time you edit and re-save, a bit more is lost.
Lossless formats (PNG, and WebP in lossless mode) keep every pixel exactly. Nothing is lost, even after many saves, but photos become very large.
Photos tolerate lossy compression well because they are full of noise and gradients. Text, lines and flat colours don’t: lossy compression creates fuzzy halos (“artefacts”) around sharp edges. That’s the whole reason for the JPG/PNG split.
Side-by-side comparison
| JPG | PNG | WebP | AVIF | SVG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossy | Lossless | Lossy or lossless | Lossy or lossless | Vector (no pixels) |
| Typical photo size | Reference | 3–10× larger | ~25–35% smaller | Smaller still | Not suitable |
| Transparency | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Animation | No | No (APNG aside) | Yes | Yes | Via code |
| Sharp text and lines | Fair | Excellent | Good | Good | Perfect at any size |
| Opens everywhere | Yes | Yes | Modern apps and browsers | Recent browsers | Browsers, design apps |
| Best for | Photos | Graphics, screenshots | Websites | Websites | Logos, icons |
JPG: the universal photo format
JPG (or JPEG — same thing) has been the standard for photos since the early 1990s. Every camera, phone, printer, email client, website and photo lab handles it.
Use it for: photos you share, print, attach or upload to forms. Avoid it for: logos, diagrams, screenshots with text, and anything that needs a transparent background — JPG has no transparency. Tip: 80–90% quality is visually identical to the original for photos.
To convert a heavy PNG photo, use PNG to JPG — transparent areas are filled with white.
PNG: sharp graphics and transparency
PNG stores images losslessly and supports transparency. Text stays crisp and flat colours stay flat.
Use it for: screenshots, logos, icons, charts, illustrations, images you’ll keep editing, anything with a transparent background. Avoid it for: photos you need to send — a phone photo saved as PNG can easily exceed 10 MB.
Converting a JPG to PNG with JPG to PNG makes sense before editing, to avoid further losses each time you save — but it won’t make the image sharper.
WebP: the web’s everyday format
Google created WebP to make websites faster. It can be lossy or lossless, supports transparency and animation, and is typically 25–35% smaller than JPG at similar quality. All current major browsers support it, and most recent operating systems open it.
Use it for: images on your website or online store — smaller pages load faster, which visitors and search engines appreciate. Convert with JPG to WebP or PNG to WebP. Avoid it for: email attachments, printing and older software, where support is patchy.
AVIF, HEIC and SVG in a nutshell
- AVIF squeezes images even smaller than WebP and supports HDR. Browser support is now broad, but encoding is slow and some software still can’t open it. Need a JPG from an AVIF? Use AVIF to JPG.
- HEIC is the iPhone’s photo format: about half the size of JPG, but poorly supported outside Apple devices. See HEIC vs JPG.
- SVG isn’t made of pixels but of shapes described in code, so it stays sharp at any size and weighs very little. Perfect for logos and icons — and you can export it as a bitmap with SVG to PNG when an app doesn’t accept SVG.
Why do images download as WebP — and how to get a JPG
You right-click a picture, choose Save image as, and get a .webp file that your photo editor or the form you’re filling won’t accept. That’s because the website served WebP to save bandwidth, and your browser saves exactly what it received.
Ways to get a JPG:
- Convert it: WebP to JPG converts one file or a whole batch in your browser, without uploading them. Use WebP to PNG if the image has transparency.
- Windows: open the WebP in Paint and choose File > Save as > JPEG picture. (Paint on recent Windows versions opens WebP.)
- Mac: open it in Preview and choose File > Export, format JPEG.
- Phone: take a screenshot only as a last resort — you lose resolution and capture whatever is around the image.
Don’t rename the file from .webp to .jpg: the data inside remains WebP, and many apps will refuse it.
Decision table
| What you’re saving | Format |
|---|---|
| Holiday photos to email or print | JPG |
| Photo for an online form or job application | JPG |
| Screenshot of an error message or a document | PNG |
| Logo with transparent background | PNG (or SVG) |
| Product photos for an online shop | WebP (keep a JPG original) |
| Blog images | WebP |
| Icon or logo for a website | SVG |
| Favicon | ICO — make one with PNG to ICO |
| An image you’ll edit many times | PNG while editing, JPG or WebP to publish |
Common mistakes
Saving photos as PNG “for quality”. You get files 3–10 times larger with no visible benefit. Use JPG at 85–90%.
Saving screenshots as JPG. Text gets fuzzy halos. Use PNG.
Re-saving the same JPG over and over. Each save loses a bit more. Keep an original and export copies.
Converting a small, blurry JPG to PNG to “fix” it. Conversion can’t add detail that isn’t there.
Using huge images on a website. Format matters less than dimensions. A 4000-pixel photo displayed at 800 pixels wastes bandwidth whatever the format — resize it first. Our guide on reducing image size without losing quality covers the settings.
Bottom line
JPG for photos people will open anywhere, PNG for anything with sharp edges or transparency, WebP for the web. Keep originals in the best quality you have, and convert copies for each use — that way you never have to choose between quality and compatibility.