JPG vs PNG vs WebP: Which Image Format to Use
Updated 3 November 2026 · 4 min read
JPG, PNG and WebP all store pictures, but each one is good at different things. Picking the wrong one gives you a file that is too big, a blurry logo or a form that refuses your upload. Here is when to use which, and what happens when you convert between them.
Free toolImage to JPG ConverterOpenThe short answer
| JPG (JPEG) | PNG | WebP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Photos | Screenshots, logos, text, drawings | Pictures on websites |
| Detail | Some lost to save space | Every pixel kept exactly | Either, depending on how it was saved |
| Transparent background | No | Yes | Yes |
| File size for a photo | Small | Large | Small |
| Accepted by forms and old programs | Almost everywhere | Most places | Often not |
JPG: the format for photos
JPG (also written JPEG, the same thing) saves space by throwing away detail the eye hardly notices, such as tiny changes of colour in skin or sky. That makes photos much smaller than in PNG. The cost is that sharp edges, such as text and thin lines, can get faint smudges around them, and every time a JPG is saved again a little more detail is lost.
JPG is what almost every upload form, phone and computer accepts. If a form asks for a photo or signature, it nearly always wants JPG.
PNG: exact pixels and transparency
PNG keeps every pixel exactly as it was. Screenshots, logos, charts and scanned text stay crisp, with no smudges. PNG can also store transparency, so a logo can sit on any background. The downside is size: a PNG of a phone photo is often several MB, far bigger than the same photo as a JPG.
WebP: made for websites
WebP was designed to make web pages load faster. It can save a picture with some loss, like JPG, or without loss, like PNG, and it supports transparency. Websites use it a lot, which is why a picture you save from a site often turns out to be WebP. The trouble is outside the browser: some older programs, photo apps and upload forms will not open or accept it. Converting it to JPG solves that.
What happens to a transparent background in JPG
JPG has no way to store “see-through”, so something has to fill those areas. When you convert a PNG or WebP with transparency using the Image to JPG Converter, the picture is drawn on a white background first. A logo on a transparent background comes out as the logo on white.
That is usually what you want for a form or a document. If you need the transparency, choose PNG as the output instead, which keeps it.
The quality setting
When the output is JPG, you choose how much detail to keep. The browser saves the JPG at a quality value from 0 to 1. The tool offers three:
| Setting | JPG quality value | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| High | 0.92 | Most uses. The difference from the original is very hard to see |
| Medium | 0.80 | Email and sharing, a lighter file |
| Small file | 0.65 | When size matters more than fine detail |
The picture is always kept at its full size in pixels. Only the amount of detail per pixel changes. If you change the setting after adding pictures, they are made again with the new one. PNG output has no quality setting, because PNG keeps every pixel.
How to convert a picture to JPG
- Open the Image to JPG Converter.
- Keep JPG selected and pick High, Medium or Small file.
- Select your pictures: PNG, WebP, HEIC, GIF, BMP or AVIF, up to 50 at a time and 50 MB each.
- Each picture is converted as soon as it is added. The list shows its size in pixels and the old and new file size.
- Download them one by one, or all together as a ZIP.
- A file that is already a JPG is skipped with a note, since there is nothing to convert. To make a JPG smaller, use Resize & Compress Image to 100KB.
- An animated GIF becomes a still JPG of its first frame.
- Camera details and the GPS location in the original are not copied into the new file.
- TIFF and camera RAW files cannot be opened in a browser, so they are not supported.
- The tool saves JPG or PNG. It does not save WebP.
The pictures are converted in your browser and are not uploaded.
Converting does not bring detail back
Turning a JPG into a PNG does not restore the detail the JPG threw away. You just get the same picture in a bigger file. Each time a picture goes through JPG again, a little more is lost. So keep the original, and convert from it each time rather than from a copy of a copy.
For an online form, convert to JPG first, then bring it to the form's KB limit with Resize & Compress Image to 100KB. iPhone photos in HEIC can go through the same converter, or the HEIC to JPG Converter made for them.
Try it now: Image to JPG Converter
Change any picture to JPG in a second: PNG, WebP, HEIC, GIF, BMP or AVIF. Many files at once, and nothing is uploaded.