JPG vs PNG vs WebP: Which Image Format Should You Use?
Published · QuickTools team
Every image you save forces a choice between JPG, PNG and WebP, and the wrong one can make a file ten times bigger than it needs to be — or make a logo look smudged. Here is how the three formats differ and a simple rule for choosing.
The short answer
- Photos → JPG (or WebP for websites).
- Screenshots, logos, text, transparency → PNG (or WebP for websites).
- Anything on a website you control → WebP.
- Anything you send to someone else or upload to a form → JPG or PNG, because they open everywhere.
How each format works
JPG (JPEG)
JPG has been the standard photo format since 1992. It uses lossy compression: it divides the image into 8 × 8 pixel blocks and discards fine detail the eye is unlikely to notice. At 80–90% quality the loss is practically invisible in photos, and files are small.
Weaknesses: sharp edges such as text and lines get faint “ringing” artefacts, there is no transparency, and every re-save loses a little more quality.
PNG
PNG is lossless: every pixel is stored exactly. Text, icons and screenshots stay perfectly crisp, and PNG supports full transparency (soft edges and shadows included).
Weakness: photos are huge. A 12-megapixel photo can be 15–25 MB as PNG versus 2–4 MB as JPG.
WebP
WebP was released by Google in 2010 and does both jobs. In lossy mode it beats JPG — typically 25–35% smaller at the same visual quality — and in lossless mode it beats PNG by around 25%. It supports transparency and animation too.
Weakness: compatibility outside browsers. Every modern browser displays WebP, but some older desktop software, print services and upload forms still reject it.
Side-by-side comparison
| JPG | PNG | WebP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossy | Lossless | Lossy or lossless |
| Transparency | No | Yes | Yes |
| Photo file size | Small | Very large | Smallest |
| Text & graphics | Blurry edges | Perfect | Very good |
| Works in browsers | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works in old apps & forms | Yes | Yes | Sometimes not |
Real-world examples
Posting holiday photos to a blog. Use WebP at 75–85% quality, resized to the width of your content column. Convert with JPG to WebP.
Emailing a photo to a relative. JPG. Everyone can open it. If it’s too big, run it through the Image Compressor.
A logo with a transparent background. PNG for documents and slides, WebP for your website (PNG to WebP). Never JPG — the transparency turns into a solid box.
A screenshot of an error message for support. PNG keeps the text razor sharp. If the file is large, try WebP lossless.
A picture downloaded from a website that won’t open in Word. It’s probably WebP. Convert with WebP to PNG or WebP to JPG.
Editing a photo several times. Convert the JPG to PNG first (JPG to PNG) so repeated saves don’t stack up compression damage, then export a final JPG at the end.
Does converting improve quality?
No. Converting a JPG to PNG stops further loss, but it can’t restore detail the JPG already threw away — the PNG will just be bigger. Likewise, converting a blurry image to WebP doesn’t sharpen it. Always start from the best original you have.
What about AVIF and HEIC?
AVIF is newer still and often beats WebP on file size, but encoding is slow and support in non-browser software is limited. HEIC is what iPhones save by default; it’s efficient but poorly supported on Windows and the web. For maximum compatibility today, the safe trio remains JPG, PNG and WebP.
The one rule to remember
If it’s a photo, use JPG — or WebP on your own website. If it has text, sharp lines or transparency, use PNG — or WebP on your own website.