How to Convert Images Between JPG, PNG, WebP, and Other Formats
Your phone saves photos as HEIC. Your website needs WebP. The form only accepts JPG. The logo is a PNG but needs to be an SVG. Format conversion is one of the most common image tasks — here's how to do it right.
Why Convert Formats?
Different image formats serve different purposes. Converting between them is necessary when:
- Platform requirements: A website form requires JPG; social media platforms may not support WebP; email clients struggle with newer formats
- File size optimization: Converting a 5MB PNG photograph to JPG can reduce it to 500KB with no visible quality difference
- Transparency needs: JPG doesn't support transparency. If you need a transparent background, convert to PNG or WebP
- Compatibility: HEIC (iPhone photos) and AVIF aren't universally supported. JPG and PNG are the safe fallbacks
- Web performance: WebP and AVIF offer 25–50% smaller files than JPG at the same visual quality
Quick Format Reference
Best for photographs. Lossy compression — great file size, but repeated saves degrade quality. No transparency support.
Best for graphics, screenshots, and images with text or sharp edges. Lossless compression. Supports transparency. Larger files for photos.
Best for web. Supports both lossy and lossless compression, transparency, and animation. 25–35% smaller than JPG. Supported by all modern browsers.
Best for simple animations. Limited to 256 colours per frame. For static images, PNG is always better.
Apple's default photo format. Excellent compression but limited support outside Apple devices. Convert to JPG or WebP for sharing.
Newest format. Even smaller than WebP with better quality. Growing browser support but slower to encode.
Common Conversion Scenarios
- PNG → JPG: When you have a photograph saved as PNG (often from screenshots or downloads) and need a smaller file. Set quality to 85–90% for imperceptible loss.
- JPG → PNG: When you need to add transparency or overlay the image on a non-white background. Note: this doesn't magically add transparency — you still need to remove the background.
- JPG/PNG → WebP: For web optimization. WebP gives you smaller files with the same visual quality. Use as the primary format with JPG fallback for older browsers.
- HEIC → JPG: The most common conversion for iPhone users sharing photos with non-Apple devices or uploading to services that don't accept HEIC.
- BMP → PNG: BMP files are uncompressed and huge. Convert to PNG for lossless compression, or JPG for photos.
Quality Settings When Converting
When converting to a lossy format (JPG, WebP lossy), you choose a quality level. Here's a practical guide:
- 90–100%: Visually identical to the original. Use for archival or print.
- 80–90%: Imperceptible difference for most images. The sweet spot for web photos.
- 60–80%: Visible compression on close inspection but fine for thumbnails and previews.
- Below 60%: Noticeable artifacts. Only for very small thumbnails where file size matters more than quality.
What Conversion Cannot Fix
- Low resolution: Converting a 200×200px image to PNG doesn't make it high-res. Pixels aren't created by format conversion.
- JPG artifacts: A heavily compressed JPG already lost data. Converting to PNG preserves the artifacts — it doesn't remove them.
- Raster to vector: Converting a PNG to SVG doesn't create scalable vector graphics. That requires tracing or redrawing.
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JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP, and more. Processed locally in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
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