JPEG vs PNG vs WebP: Which Image Format Should You Use?
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A plain-English comparison of the three most common web image formats: compression, transparency, quality, compatibility and when to use each.
| JPEG | PNG | WebP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossy | Lossless (palette mode is lossy) | Lossy or lossless |
| Transparency | No | Yes | Yes |
| Animation | No | APNG only | Yes |
| Best for | Photos | Graphics, screenshots, text | Both, on the web |
| Support | Universal | Universal | All current major browsers |
JPEG
JPEG has been the default for photographs since the early 1990s. It discards detail the eye is less sensitive to, which makes photos small. It handles sharp edges and text poorly — they get fuzzy “ringing” artifacts — and it has no transparency.
PNG
PNG preserves every pixel exactly, which is ideal for logos, UI screenshots and anything with text or hard edges. For photos, though, PNG files are usually many times larger than JPEG at similar visual quality.
WebP
WebP, developed by Google, supports both lossy and lossless compression plus transparency and animation. Google’s published comparisons found lossy WebP files about 25–34% smaller than comparable JPEGs. Every current major browser displays WebP; some older desktop software and email clients still don’t.
What about AVIF?
AVIF can compress even further than WebP, and current browsers display it, but encoding is slow and many tools — including most browsers’ built-in encoders — can’t create it yet.
Quick rules
- Photo for a website → WebP (or JPEG for maximum compatibility).
- Screenshot, logo or diagram → PNG, or lossless WebP.
- Need transparency → PNG or WebP.
- Sending to someone with old software → JPEG or PNG.
Convert between them with the Image Format Converter.
