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

October 4, 2026

Three formats, three different jobs

Almost every image you meet online is a JPG, a PNG or a WebP. They can look identical on the screen, but they store pictures in very different ways, and picking the wrong one means a bigger file, a blurrier result or a missing transparent background. Here is how to choose.

JPG: the standard for photographs

JPG (also written JPEG) has been the default photo format since the 1990s. It uses lossy compression, which means it discards some detail to keep files small, and it is very good at that for natural images: portraits, landscapes, food, travel photos. Every phone, camera, website and app understands it.

Strengths: small files for photographs, universal support, adjustable quality.

Weaknesses: no transparency, and repeated saving degrades the picture. At low quality settings, sharp edges and text develop fuzzy artefacts, so it is a poor choice for logos, diagrams and screenshots.

PNG: the standard for graphics and transparency

PNG uses lossless compression, so the pixels you save are exactly the pixels you get back, no matter how many times you open and re-save the file. It also supports transparency, which lets a logo or an icon sit on any background colour without a white box around it.

Strengths: crisp edges and text, transparent backgrounds, no quality loss.

Weaknesses: photographs saved as PNG can be several times larger than the same photo as a JPG, which makes pages slower and uploads heavier. If you have a photo that is mysteriously huge, check whether it is a PNG.

WebP: the modern all-rounder

WebP was created by Google to replace both of the older formats on the web. It can work in lossy mode for photographs or lossless mode for graphics, and it supports transparency in both. At comparable visual quality, a WebP photo is typically around a quarter to a third smaller than the equivalent JPG, which is why many websites now serve it by default.

Strengths: smaller files than JPG and PNG, transparency, one format for most needs.

Weaknesses: support, while now very wide in browsers, is still patchier in older software, some print services, email clients and desktop programs. If you are not sure the person receiving the file can open it, JPG is the safe option.

Quick comparison

What about HEIC?

If your pictures come from an iPhone, they are probably saved as HEIC, an efficient format that many Windows programs and websites cannot open. It is worth converting those to JPG before sharing. We explain the background in our guide to opening iPhone HEIC photos on Windows.

How to convert between formats

  1. Open the image format converter.
  2. Drop in your pictures. JPG, PNG, WebP and HEIC are all accepted.
  3. Choose the output format: JPG, PNG or WebP.
  4. Click convert and download your files.

The conversion runs in your browser, so nothing is uploaded. One practical note: some versions of Safari cannot create WebP files, and in that case the WebP option simply turns itself off. Also remember that converting between lossy formats never improves quality. Turning a JPG into a PNG will not restore detail the JPG already lost, it will only make the file bigger.

Converting changes the file, not the picture

A frequent misunderstanding is that switching format makes an image "better". It does not. Format is about how the pixels are stored, not what they look like. What changes is the file size, whether transparency is kept, and which programs can open the result. After you have the right format, you can still reduce the weight with the image compressor, or adjust the dimensions with the resizer.

The bottom line

Use JPG for photos you want to share anywhere, PNG for graphics, text and transparency, and WebP when you control the website and want the smallest files. When in doubt, keep your original, and convert copies for each purpose.

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