JPG vs PNG vs WebP vs AVIF - Which Image Format Is Best?

There's no single best image format. Use JPG for photos you share or print, PNG for screenshots, logos, and anything that needs lossless quality or transparency, WebP as the everyday format for images on your own website, and AVIF when you want the smallest web files and your tools can produce it. To switch between JPG, PNG, and WebP, use the free Image Converter, which also reads AVIF files when your browser can.

The four formats compared

Support details change over time. Check caniuse.com/webp and caniuse.com/avif for current numbers. web.dev's guide to choosing the right image format is a good deeper read.

Lossy vs lossless in one minute

Lossy formats (JPG, and WebP or AVIF in lossy mode) throw away detail your eye is unlikely to notice. The quality setting controls how much. They're the right choice for photos. Lossless formats (PNG, and WebP or AVIF in lossless mode) keep every pixel exactly. They're the right choice for text, line art, and files you'll keep editing. Converting from lossy to lossless doesn't bring back lost detail. It only gives you a bigger file of the same image.

JPG: the universal photo format

JPEG has been the standard for photos for decades, and everything opens it: browsers, email, phones, printers, and upload forms.

• Strengths: universal compatibility, small files for photos, and fast encoding.
• Weaknesses: no transparency or animation. Low quality settings produce visible blocks and halos around sharp edges, and every re-save loses a little more.
• Use it for: email attachments, client deliverables, print orders, forms that say "JPG only," and photo archives.

To shrink JPGs without visible damage, see how to compress images without losing quality.

PNG: lossless and transparent

PNG keeps every pixel exactly, which is ideal for graphics and wasteful for photos.

• Strengths: pixel-perfect quality, full transparency, crisp text and edges, and universal support.
• Weaknesses: photos saved as PNG are often several times larger than the same photo as JPG or WebP.
• Use it for: screenshots, diagrams, logos, UI assets, and any image you'll edit and re-save repeatedly.

A common mistake is exporting photos as PNG "for quality." If a PNG is a photo, converting it to JPG or WebP usually shrinks it dramatically with no visible change.

WebP: the practical web default

Google designed WebP for the web. It covers both JPG's and PNG's jobs, with lossy and lossless modes, transparency, and animation.

• Strengths: Google's WebP documentation reports typically smaller files than comparable JPEG and PNG images, and every current major browser displays it.
• Weaknesses: inconsistent support in email clients, older desktop software, and upload portals.
• Use it for: images on websites and web apps you control.

Choosing between just these two? Our WebP vs JPEG comparison goes deeper into that decision.

AVIF: smallest files, more effort

AVIF is based on the AV1 video codec and is the newest format here.

• Strengths: often smaller still than WebP at similar quality, especially at low file sizes. It also supports HDR and wide color gamuts.
• Weaknesses: slow to encode, fewer editors and tools create it, and older browser versions can't display it.
• Use it for: performance-critical websites, ideally served with a WebP or JPG fallback via the HTML picture element, or through a CDN that negotiates formats automatically.

What Toolstik can do with AVIF: the Image Converter reads AVIF input when your browser can decode it. It can turn AVIF into JPG, PNG, or WebP, but it doesn't create AVIF files. For AVIF output, Squoosh is a free browser-based option.

What about HEIC?

HEIC is the default photo format on iPhones. It's efficient, but it isn't a web format, and many Windows apps and websites reject it. Convert it with HEIC to JPG before doing anything else. Our guides for Mac and Windows cover the built-in options too.

Which format for which job?

Toolstik workflows by format

• iPhone photo to website: HEIC to JPG, then the Image Resizer (4032×3024 at width 1600 becomes 1600×1200), then the Image Converter set to WebP.
• PNG photo that's too large: the Image Compressor tries JPG, WebP, and PNG and keeps the smallest. It fills transparency with white, so don't use it on transparent logos.
• WebP download a colleague can't open: the Image Converter set to JPG.
• AVIF file you need to edit: the Image Converter set to PNG for a lossless working copy.

Step-by-step instructions are in our guide on how to convert images to WebP.

Common pitfalls

• Lossy-to-lossy chains. JPG to WebP to JPG compounds quality loss. Convert from the best original.
• Expecting conversion to restore quality. Turning a compressed JPG into PNG makes it bigger, not better.
• Losing transparency. JPG has no alpha channel, and Toolstik's converter flattens transparency to white for JPG and WebP output. Choose PNG when the background must stay transparent.

Privacy

All Toolstik image tools process files in your browser, with nothing uploaded. For an overview of every tool and how they fit together, see the best free image tools.