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WebP vs JPG vs PNG: Which Image Format to Use

Guide ยท about 5 minutes to read

Three formats cover almost every image you'll work with: JPG, PNG and WebP. Each one is good at different things. Choosing the right one keeps files small and pictures looking right.

JPG: the standard for photos

JPG is the most widely supported format for photographs. It's lossy, so it makes files small by discarding some detail, and it does this well for natural scenes with many colours. It can't store transparency, so a transparent background turns white or black when saved as JPG.

Use JPG for: photos, email attachments, and any image that needs to open everywhere.

PNG: sharp graphics and transparency

PNG is lossless, so every pixel is kept exactly. It supports transparency. The trade-off is file size, since photos saved as PNG are usually much larger than JPGs.

Use PNG for: logos, screenshots, text-heavy images, icons and anything that needs a transparent background.

WebP: smaller files for the web

WebP is a newer format from Google. It can be lossy or lossless and supports transparency. At a similar visual quality, WebP files are often smaller than JPG or PNG, which helps pages load faster.

Use WebP for: images on websites, where small file size matters most. Check that the software you're sending the file to can open WebP. Most browsers and modern apps can, but some older programs can't.

A quick decision guide

Converting between formats

You can change a file's format at any time, but converting a lossy format such as JPG to another lossy format loses a little more detail each time. Keep the original when you can. The Convert & Compress tool converts JPG, PNG and WebP, and shows the size before and after so you can compare.