PNG vs JPG vs WebP: Which Image Format Should You Use?
Choosing the wrong image format is one of the most common reasons web pages load slowly, or a logo looks blurry when it should not. Here is how the three most common formats actually differ, and when to use each one.
The short answer
- Use JPG for photos and anything with lots of color gradients and no sharp edges.
- Use PNG for logos, screenshots, icons, and anything that needs a transparent background.
- Use WebP when you want smaller files than JPG or PNG with similar quality, and your audience uses modern browsers (which is nearly everyone today).
Why they are different
JPG uses lossy compression: it throws away some detail your eyes are unlikely to notice, especially in areas with smooth color transitions like skies or skin tones. This makes photo files much smaller, but the same trick makes JPG a poor choice for text, line art or screenshots — compression artifacts show up as blurry edges and color blotches around sharp lines.
PNG is lossless: nothing is thrown away, so quality never degrades no matter how many times you re-save it. It also supports transparency, which JPG does not. The tradeoff is file size — a PNG photo is often several times larger than the same photo saved as JPG.
WebP is a newer format (from Google) that supports both lossy and lossless compression, plus transparency, in a single format. In most real-world comparisons, a WebP photo at the same visual quality is noticeably smaller than the equivalent JPG. Nearly every modern browser supports it, including on mobile.
A practical decision guide
| What you have | Best format |
|---|---|
| A photo for a blog post or product page | WebP, fall back to JPG if you need broad compatibility with old software |
| A logo or icon with transparency | PNG, or WebP if file size matters |
| A screenshot with text | PNG — JPG compression blurs text edges |
| An image you’ll print at high quality | PNG or a high-quality JPG, not a heavily compressed WebP |
| An old file format like BMP or TIFF for the web | Convert to WebP or JPG — these formats are much too large for websites |
Converting between formats
Converting only changes the container format — it does not add back detail that was never there. A JPG converted to PNG will not suddenly gain crisp edges around text, and a PNG converted to JPG will lose any transparency (it gets filled with a solid background instead).
You can convert between PNG, JPG and WebP here directly in your browser — nothing is uploaded, so it works even for images you’d rather not send anywhere. If your real goal is a smaller file rather than a different format, try the image compressor instead, which keeps the same format but reduces file size using a quality slider.
Ready to try it? Open Convert Image →