Quick Decision Tree
- Photo with no transparency? → JPEG (or WebP for web)
- Graphic with transparency? → PNG
- Web delivery, any content? → WebP
- Animation? → WebP or GIF (WebP is smaller)
- Print? → TIFF or PNG (lossless)
JPEG Strengths
Universal compatibility, excellent for photographs, adjustable quality/size tradeoff. Weakness: no transparency, lossy compression artifacts at low quality.
PNG Strengths
Lossless compression, transparency support, perfect for screenshots, logos, and text-heavy graphics. Weakness: larger file sizes for photographs.
WebP Strengths
25-30% smaller than JPEG at equivalent quality, supports transparency and animation, supported by all modern browsers. Weakness: some older tools don't support it. Use our Format Converter to convert between any format.
AVIF: The Future
AVIF offers 50% smaller files than JPEG with better quality. Browser support is growing fast. Consider offering AVIF with WebP and JPEG fallbacks for maximum performance.