JPG vs PNG vs WebP vs AVIF: Which Image Format Should You Use?
Choosing the right image format affects page load speed, visual quality and compatibility. This guide compares JPG, PNG, WebP and AVIF with practical recommendations.
ProfitTool Team
Design & Media
Quick Reference
| Format | Compression | Transparency | Animation | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPG | Lossy | No | No | Photos, complex images |
| PNG | Lossless | Yes | No | Screenshots, logos, text, UI |
| WebP | Lossy + Lossless | Yes | Yes | Web images (replace JPG/PNG) |
| AVIF | Lossy + Lossless | Yes | Yes | Best compression, modern |
| SVG | Vector | Yes | Yes | Icons, logos, illustrations |
| GIF | Lossless (8-bit) | Limited | Yes | Simple animations (replaced by WebP/AVIF) |
JPG (JPEG)
The standard for photographs and complex images since 1992. Lossy compression discards imperceptible detail to achieve small file sizes. Supports 16.7 million colours. No transparency.
Use for: photos, product images, hero images Avoid for: text overlays, logos, screenshots (compression artefacts visible)
PNG
Lossless compression preserves every pixel exactly. Supports full transparency (alpha channel). File sizes are larger than JPG for photographs.
Use for: logos, icons, screenshots, images with text, images needing transparency Avoid for: photographs on the web (too large)
WebP
Google's format (2010) supports both lossy and lossless modes, full transparency and animation. Typically 25–34% smaller than JPG at equivalent quality.
Browser support: 97%+ of users globally as of 2026. Use for: all web images where you want smaller file sizes than JPG/PNG Consideration: not supported by all email clients
AVIF
Based on AV1 video codec. Offers 40–55% better compression than JPG at equivalent quality. Supports HDR, wide colour gamut, and alpha transparency.
Browser support: 90%+ as of 2026 (Chrome, Firefox, Safari 16+) Use for: where maximum compression matters (LCP images, hero images) Consideration: encoding is slower than WebP
Practical Recommendations for Web
- Use WebP for most images — broad support, 30% smaller than JPG
- Use AVIF for critical LCP images where supported
- Use PNG only when transparency or lossless reproduction is needed
- Use SVG for all icons, logos and illustrations
- Use
<picture>element to serve AVIF → WebP → JPG as fallback
Use our Image Compressor to convert and optimise images directly in your browser.
ProfitTool Team
Design & MediaWritten and maintained by the ProfitTool team. Where an article references a ProfitTool utility, the behaviour described is the behaviour of the tool on this site — you can open it and check the output yourself.
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