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JPEG vs PNG vs WebP: Which Image Format Should You Use?

  • Photos
  • Formats
  • Guide

Save the same picture as JPEG, PNG and WebP and you can end up with three files of very different sizes and quality. None of the formats is simply best. Each is built for a particular kind of image, and picking the right one is the easiest way to make files smaller without making them look worse.

This guide explains what each format does well, where it falls short, and a few rules of thumb for choosing.

JPEG: the standard for photographs

JPEG (or JPG) uses lossy compression: it discards fine detail that the eye is unlikely to miss, which is why it shrinks photographs so well. Almost every device, website and upload form accepts it.

  • Best for: photographs and images with smooth gradients.
  • Weak at: sharp text, line art and screenshots, which can pick up fuzzy artefacts around edges.
  • Cannot do: transparency.
  • Watch out for: repeated saving, which loses a little more detail every time.

PNG: sharp edges and transparency

PNG uses lossless compression: nothing is thrown away, so edges stay crisp and the image can have transparent areas.

  • Best for: screenshots, logos, icons, diagrams and anything with text or transparency.
  • Weak at: photographs, which usually come out far larger than the same photo as a JPEG.
  • Tip: if a portal wants a small photo and yours is a PNG, converting it to JPEG is often the biggest single saving.

WebP: smaller files, newer format

WebP can do lossy and lossless compression and supports transparency, so it can stand in for both of the formats above. At comparable quality its files are often smaller.

  • Best for: images on websites and in apps where file size matters.
  • Weak at: compatibility. Some older software, email clients and upload forms still reject it.
  • Tip: if something will not accept a WebP image, convert it to JPEG or PNG.

What about HEIC?

Some phones save photos as HEIC/HEIF, a very efficient format that many websites and forms do not accept. If an upload fails or the file will not open on another device, converting it to JPEG almost always solves it.

Quick rules for choosing

  1. Photograph, and it has to work everywhere? JPEG.
  2. Screenshot, logo, text or transparency? PNG.
  3. Image for your own website or app, and file size matters? WebP, if your platform supports it.
  4. Upload rejected? Convert to JPEG, the most widely accepted option.
  5. Need a smaller file? Resize first, then compress — see our guide to resizing and compressing photos.

Converting between formats takes seconds on a phone with ResizeKit, our Android app for resizing, compressing, converting and cropping images — processed on your device, with no account and no uploads.

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