PNG vs JPEG vs WebP: how to choose an image format
Default to WebP for web images: 25-35% smaller than JPEG at the same perceived quality, and it supports transparency. Reserve PNG for genuinely lossless needs — screenshots, icons, interface images containing text. JPEG is your compatibility fallback and still competitive for photos at very low bitrates.
Key differences
| Aspect | PNG | JPEG | WebP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossless | Lossy | Lossy and lossless |
| Alpha channel | Yes | No | Yes |
| Animation | No (except APNG) | No | Yes |
| Photo file size | Large — typically 3-5x JPEG | Medium | 25-35% smaller than equivalent JPEG |
| Browser support | Universal | Universal | All modern browsers (Safari 14+) |
| Repeated editing | Lossless — no generational loss | Degrades on every save | Degrades in lossy mode too |
PNG
Lossless compression with full alpha transparency and no generational loss across saves — the right choice for screenshots, UI elements, icons and images containing text. The cost is size: the same photo is often three to five times larger than JPEG, and dropping that straight onto a page will wreck your load time.
JPEG / WebP
JPEG is the old lossy standard. It trades away high-frequency detail the eye barely notices and does an excellent job on photographs, but it has no transparency and every re-save degrades the image again. WebP comes from Google and supports lossy, lossless, transparency and animation; at equal subjective quality it is another 25-35% smaller than JPEG, and every modern browser supports it — the sensible default for new work.
How to choose
- Photos and banners on a web page → WebP (with a JPEG fallback if needed)
- Screenshots, icons, interface images with text → PNG
- Transparent backgrounds → WebP or PNG — never JPEG
Related tools
FAQ
Is WebP support good enough now
Yes. Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari 14+ all support it, which is over 97% of global traffic. For very old devices, use a <picture> element with a JPEG fallback.
Why is my PNG screenshot so large
Because it is lossless. PNG is very efficient on flat color and text, but wasteful on photographic content — convert those to JPEG or WebP.
What happens if I re-save a JPEG repeatedly
Each save runs lossy compression again and quality keeps dropping. Keep intermediate edits as PNG or the source file and only export JPEG at the very end.