Choosing between WebP, JPG, and PNG affects how large your files are, how sharp images look, and whether they display correctly everywhere. Use the wrong format and you get either unnecessarily large files or visible quality problems. This guide explains the differences clearly so you can pick the right format every time.
JPG — Best for Photographs
JPG (also written JPEG) is a lossy format — it discards some image data to achieve smaller file sizes. For photographs, this trade-off is excellent. A high-quality photo saved at 85% quality looks virtually identical to the original but is 60–80% smaller.
- Use JPG for: photos, product images, lifestyle shots, food photography, portraits, any real-world photograph.
- Do not use JPG for: logos, text overlays, screenshots, or graphics with flat colours — compression artifacts become visible on sharp edges and solid backgrounds.
- Best quality setting: 80–85% for web use, 92–95% for print.
PNG — Best for Graphics and Transparency
PNG is a lossless format — it preserves every pixel exactly. This makes it ideal for graphics with crisp edges: logos, icons, UI screenshots, diagrams, and anything with text on top.
PNG also supports transparency. If you need an image with a transparent background — a logo to place on any colour, or a product photo without its background — PNG is the only option among these three.
- Use PNG for: logos, icons, UI screenshots, diagrams, images with transparent backgrounds.
- Do not use PNG for: photographs — a PNG photo is 3–5× larger than an equivalent JPG with no visible quality benefit.
Tip: Quick rule: if the image was taken with a camera, use JPG. If it was created in software (Figma, Illustrator, Canva), use PNG.
WebP — Best of Both Worlds for Websites
WebP was developed by Google specifically for the web. It achieves 25–35% smaller files than equivalent JPGs and 60–80% smaller than equivalent PNGs — at the same visual quality. It also supports transparency like PNG.
Browser support is now universal: Chrome, Firefox, Safari (since 2020), and Edge all support WebP. For any image displayed on a website, WebP is the best format in most situations.
- Use WebP for: any image displayed on a website where file size matters.
- Do not use WebP when: users will download and edit the image in older software, or when sending to someone on a system that may not support WebP.
File Size Comparison — Real Numbers
To make this concrete, here is how a typical 4MB uncompressed photograph compares across formats:
- PNG (lossless): ~3.8MB — no quality loss, same file size class.
- JPG at 85% quality: ~600KB — 85% smaller, looks identical at normal viewing sizes.
- WebP at 85% quality: ~400KB — 90% smaller than original, same quality as JPG 85%.
- WebP at 90% quality: ~500KB — better quality than JPG 85%, still 87% smaller than original.
Quick Reference — Which Format to Use
- Photographs for web → WebP (first choice), JPG (fallback for older systems).
- Photographs for print → JPG at 95%+ quality.
- Logos and icons → PNG with transparency, or WebP with transparency.
- Screenshots and UI → PNG or WebP.
- Images with text overlay → PNG or WebP (JPG artifacts become visible around text).
- Transparent backgrounds → PNG or WebP only (JPG does not support transparency).
- Animated images → Animated WebP (smaller than GIF), or GIF for maximum compatibility.
- Images for email → JPG (many email clients do not support WebP).
Convert Between Formats for Free
Use the free tools on this site to convert between any format instantly in your browser. Convert PNG to JPG, JPG to WebP, WebP to PNG — all without uploading your files to any server.