JPG vs PNG vs WEBP: Which Image Format Should You Use?
A clear comparison of the three dominant image formats - how each one compresses, when to use it, and how to convert between them. Includes a practical decision list for websites, photos, screenshots, and transparency.
Almost every image you save or upload uses one of three formats: JPG, PNG, or WebP. Picking the wrong one either bloats your files or visibly degrades your images. This comparison explains how each format works, what it is genuinely best at, and how to decide in a few seconds.
The short answer
- Photographs for the web or email: JPG, or WebP if you control where it is displayed.
- Screenshots, UI captures, logos, images with sharp text or edges: PNG.
- Anything that needs transparency: PNG or WebP - JPG cannot store it.
- Modern websites where you manage the markup: WebP usually wins on size for both photos and graphics.
- Archival masters and images you will edit again later: PNG or the camera's original format - avoid re-saving lossy JPGs repeatedly.
JPG (JPEG): the photograph workhorse
JPG is a lossy format designed in the early 1990s specifically for photographs. It compresses smooth color transitions extremely well, which is why a 12-megapixel phone photo fits in a few megabytes. Its weaknesses follow from the same design: it cannot store transparency, it degrades a little every time you re-save it, and it produces visible artifacts around sharp edges and text - which is why screenshots and logos look smeared as JPG. There is no animation support.
PNG: pixel-perfect and transparent
PNG is a lossless format: every pixel comes back exactly as it was saved. It handles sharp edges, flat colors, and text crisply, supports full alpha transparency, and is the safe universal choice for screenshots and graphics. The price is file size - a photograph saved as PNG is often 5 to 10 times larger than the same photo as JPG at visually equal quality. PNG also supports simple 1-bit animation (APNG) that only some browsers show consistently.
WebP: the modern default
WebP, from Google, supports both lossy and lossless compression, alpha transparency, and animation in a single format. Lossy WebP files are typically 25-35% smaller than JPG at comparable visual quality, and lossless WebP beats PNG by around 25% as well. Every current browser - Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge - has supported it for years, so the old compatibility excuse no longer applies. The remaining caveats are outside the browser: some older desktop software, cameras, and workflows still expect JPG or PNG.
Side-by-side: the same image, three ways
For a typical 2000-pixel-wide photograph: JPG at quality 80 lands near 500 KB, lossy WebP at equivalent quality near 350 KB, and PNG near 3 MB - all visually near-identical on screen. For a screenshot of an application window with text: PNG produces the sharpest result at a moderate size, WebP matches it slightly smaller, and JPG shows fuzzy halos around every character at a size barely smaller than PNG. The pattern is consistent: WebP wins on size, PNG wins on guarantees, JPG wins on universality.
Converting between formats
When you need a different format - a WebP download that a client insists must be PNG, or a PNG screenshot that needs to be a compact JPG for email - conversion is a two-click job in the Image Convert tool. It converts between JPG, PNG, and WebP in the browser, handles batches, and, like every tool on ToolsMio, never uploads your images to a server.
Convert your images between JPG, PNG, and WebP now in the Image Convert tool.