AVIF vs WebP vs PNG vs JPEG: Which Format Should You Use?
A practical comparison of AVIF, WebP, PNG, and JPEG — file size, quality, transparency, and browser support — to help you pick the right image format.
There are four image formats you'll meet constantly on the modern web: AVIF, WebP, PNG, and JPEG. They overlap enough to be confusing and differ enough that the wrong choice means bloated pages or broken compatibility. This guide breaks down how they compare and when to use each — without the jargon.
The short answer
- JPEG — the safe default for photographs when you need maximum compatibility.
- PNG — the choice for graphics, screenshots, and anything needing transparency or lossless quality.
- WebP — a strong modern all-rounder that's smaller than both, with near universal support.
- AVIF — the smallest files at the best quality, but the newest and least universally supported.
If you're building a website, serve AVIF or WebP with a JPEG or PNG fallback. If you're saving a file to share or edit, PNG and JPEG remain the most foolproof.
Comparison at a glance
| Format | Compression | Transparency | Animation | Typical size vs JPEG | Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AVIF | Lossy + lossless | Yes | Yes | ~50% smaller | Modern browsers |
| WebP | Lossy + lossless | Yes | Yes | ~25–35% smaller | Near universal |
| PNG | Lossless | Yes | No | Often larger | Universal |
| JPEG | Lossy | No | No | Baseline | Universal |
AVIF: smallest files, newest format
AVIF uses the AV1 video codec to compress still images, and it's remarkably efficient — often around 50% smaller than a JPEG at similar visual quality. It also supports transparency, wide color gamuts, and HDR, which older formats handle poorly or not at all.
The trade-off is maturity. All current major browsers can display AVIF, but
plenty of desktop apps, older operating systems, and image viewers still can't
open a .avif file. That's why people so often need to convert it. If you've
ended up with an AVIF you can't open, our
AVIF to PNG converter turns it into a universal PNG right in your browser.
To understand the format itself in more depth, see
what an AVIF file is.
WebP: the practical modern choice
WebP predates AVIF and hits a sweet spot: noticeably smaller than JPEG and PNG, with both lossy and lossless modes, transparency, and animation. Its biggest advantage today is support — WebP works almost everywhere, including in contexts where AVIF still falls short.
For most websites, WebP is the pragmatic pick: you get real size savings without worrying much about compatibility. AVIF wins on pure efficiency, but WebP wins on "it just works."
PNG: lossless and universal
PNG is a lossless format, meaning it preserves every pixel exactly. That makes it ideal for screenshots, logos, illustrations, UI graphics, and any image with sharp edges or text. It also supports full alpha transparency.
The downside is file size: for photographs, PNG files are usually much larger than JPEG, WebP, or AVIF. Use PNG when quality and transparency matter more than bytes — or when you need a format guaranteed to open in any program. When you convert an AVIF to PNG, you're trading small size for that universal compatibility.
JPEG: the enduring default
JPEG has been the standard for photographs for decades. It uses lossy compression, produces reasonably small files, and is supported by literally everything — every browser, camera, phone, and editor. It has no transparency and shows compression artifacts if pushed too hard, but for ordinary photos it remains a dependable, universally accepted choice.
How to choose
Ask two questions:
- Do I control where the image is displayed? On your own website, you can serve AVIF or WebP with fallbacks and reap the size savings. If you're handing a file to someone else — an upload form, a client, an old app — favor PNG or JPEG so it opens without friction.
- Do I need transparency or perfect quality? If yes, choose PNG (or a lossless AVIF/WebP if support allows). If it's a photo and size matters, JPEG, WebP, or AVIF all work.
Bottom line
AVIF and WebP are the future of web images: much smaller, feature-rich, and increasingly well supported. PNG and JPEG remain the universal formats you reach for when compatibility is non-negotiable. In practice you'll use all four — and when a format like AVIF gets in your way, converting it is quick. You can convert AVIF to PNG here without uploading anything.