How to choose between JPG, PNG and WebP

Start from what the image contains

Continuous-tone photographs — faces, landscapes, product shots — survive JPG well, because neighbouring pixels are similar and small errors are hard to see.

Flat graphics, screenshots, diagrams and text do not. Sharp edges turn into visible smudges around letters and lines, which is why a screenshot saved as JPG often looks worse than the original and takes more space than it needs to.

• Photos: JPG or WebP
• Screenshots, interface mockups, diagrams and text: PNG, or WebP where the destination accepts it
• Anything that has to stay pixel for pixel: PNG

Transparency sometimes decides for you

JPG has no transparency at all. A logo with a cut-out background has to become PNG or WebP, or be flattened onto a solid colour first. That is exactly why the convert tool asks for a background colour when the output is JPG.

If a marketplace only accepts JPG and your artwork is transparent, choose the colour the page or card will sit on. Picking white by habit is how logos end up with a visible pale rectangle on a coloured background.

File size, honestly

For photographs, a moderate-quality JPG is usually far smaller than a PNG, and WebP is often smaller again at a comparable look — but how much depends entirely on the picture. Grainy or detailed photos compress worse than smooth ones.

For flat graphics the order reverses: PNG is frequently the smallest lossless option, while JPG can be both larger and visibly worse.

So the question "which format is smaller" has no answer without the image. Export both from the same source and compare the reported file sizes and the previews.

Compatibility is the last word

JPG and PNG are accepted everywhere. WebP is supported by all current major browsers, but older desktop software, print shops and some upload forms still reject it outright.

Before converting a whole catalogue to WebP, check the rules of the place you are publishing to. Converting back afterwards always costs quality.

A short checklist

• Photo for a website: JPG, or WebP when you control the audience
• Screenshot, diagram or text: PNG
• Logo that must stay transparent: PNG, never JPG
• Platform that only takes JPG: convert, and choose the background colour deliberately
• Mixed batch: convert in one pass and check the before and after previews before you publish

Try it here

• Compress images — Reduce JPG, PNG and WebP file sizes in your browser.
• Convert images — Convert JPG, PNG and WebP images without uploading them, with a background color for JPG results.