WebP vs PNG vs JPG for the web
Updated October 12, 2026
Images are usually the heaviest part of a web page, so the format you choose has a direct effect on how fast your site loads. Here's how WebP compares with the two classics, PNG and JPG.
At a glance
| WebP | PNG | JPG | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossy or lossless | Lossless | Lossy |
| Transparency | Yes | Yes | No |
| Animation | Yes | No (APNG aside) | No |
| Size vs. JPG (photos) | Typically 25–34% smaller* | Much larger | — |
| Size vs. PNG (graphics) | Typically about 26% smaller* | — | Not suitable |
| Browser support | All current major browsers | Universal | Universal |
| Support outside browsers | Good in current systems; patchy in older apps | Universal | Universal |
*Figures reported by Google, which developed WebP. Your savings depend on the image.
Which to use on a website
- Photos: WebP, at a quality that looks right to you. It's smaller than JPG at similar quality.
- Logos, icons and graphics with transparency: WebP (lossless), or SVG if you have a vector version.
- Screenshots and diagrams: lossless WebP or PNG.
- When you can't control the format (a CMS that rejects WebP, an email newsletter, an image others will download and reuse): JPG for photos, PNG for graphics.
Newer still is AVIF, which often makes even smaller files and is also supported by current browsers. It's slower to create, so WebP remains the easy default.
Which to use outside the web
For files people will download, email, print or upload elsewhere, JPG and PNG are still the safe choice, because every app opens them. Convert a WebP to JPG or PNG before sending it on.
Convert your images
Our WebP converters currently use lossy compression. Choose PNG output when you need lossless encoding.
- JPG to WebP and PNG to WebP to make site images smaller
- WebP to PNG and WebP to JPG for compatibility
- Compress image to shrink JPG, PNG and WebP files without changing format
All of them run in your browser, so your images aren't uploaded.