JPG vs PNG vs WebP: Which Image Format Should You Use?
Picking the wrong format for an image is one of the easiest ways to inflate page load times unnecessarily. A 2 MB PNG that should have been a 150 KB WebP — or a blurry JPEG logo that should have been an SVG — are common, avoidable mistakes. This guide explains exactly when to use each format.
The Short Answer
| Format | Best For | Compression | Transparency |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPEG/JPG | Photographs, complex images | Lossy | No |
| PNG | Graphics, logos, screenshots, transparency | Lossless | Yes |
| WebP | Everything — photos and graphics | Lossy & Lossless | Yes |
| SVG | Icons, logos, illustrations (vector) | N/A (vector) | Yes |
| GIF | Simple animations (legacy) | Lossless | Partial |
JPEG (JPG): The Photographic Standard
JPEG has been the dominant format for photographs since the 1990s. It achieves small file sizes through lossy compression — meaning some image data is permanently discarded during encoding. The amount of data removed is controlled by the quality setting (typically 0–100).
At quality 80–85, a JPEG photograph looks almost identical to the original while being 60–80% smaller. This makes it ideal for web images where bandwidth matters. At quality settings below 60, you'll see visible compression artefacts — blocky areas and colour banding — especially around edges and text.
Use JPEG for:
- Photographs with smooth colour gradients
- Product photos on e-commerce sites
- Blog post hero images
- Any image where transparency is not needed
Avoid JPEG for:
- Logos, icons, or images with flat colours (use PNG or SVG)
- Screenshots with text (compression blurs text edges)
- Images that need transparent backgrounds
PNG: Lossless and Transparent
PNG uses lossless compression — no data is discarded, so the image is pixel-perfect regardless of how many times it's saved. This makes it the right choice for images where visual accuracy is critical: logos, UI elements, screenshots, and graphics with text.
PNG also supports full transparency (an alpha channel), which JPEG does not. This makes it the only raster option for logos and design assets that need to sit on different coloured backgrounds.
The downside: PNG files are much larger than JPEG for photographic content. A 3 MB JPEG photograph could easily be 15–25 MB as a PNG. Never use PNG for photos — use JPEG or WebP instead.
Use PNG for:
- Logos and brand assets needing transparency
- Screenshots and UI mockups
- Graphics with sharp edges, text, or flat colours
- Images that will be edited multiple times
WebP: The Modern Default
WebP was developed by Google and released in 2010. It supports both lossy and lossless compression and full transparency — making it a single format that can replace both JPEG and PNG in most situations.
In head-to-head comparisons, WebP typically produces files 25–35% smaller than JPEG at equivalent visual quality, and 20–40% smaller than PNG for lossless graphics. All modern browsers support WebP (Chrome, Firefox, Safari 14+, Edge).
For any new web project, WebP should be your default format. If you need to support very old browsers (rare today), provide a JPEG/PNG fallback using the HTML <picture> element.
Convert any image to WebP instantly with our free Image Converter.
SVG: The Best Choice for Logos and Icons
SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) is not a raster format — it describes shapes mathematically rather than storing pixels. This means SVG images scale to any size without any quality loss, typically at very small file sizes (1–10 KB for most icons and logos).
If your logo or illustration was created in a vector tool (Adobe Illustrator, Figma, Inkscape), always export it as SVG for use on the web. The same file that looks sharp on a small mobile screen also looks perfect on a 4K display — no separate @2x or @3x variants needed. Need to convert an SVG to a raster format? Use our SVG to PNG converter.
Convert between formats in seconds