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·9 min read

WebP vs PNG vs JPG — Which Format Should You Use?

Choosing the right image format affects page load speed, visual quality, and user experience. This guide compares WebP, PNG, and JPG with real-world file size data, browser support tables, and practical recommendations.

Quick recommendation

  • Photos → WebP with JPG fallback
  • Screenshots/diagrams → PNG (or WebP lossless)
  • Logos/icons → SVG (or PNG with transparency)
  • Animated images → WebP animated (or MP4 for longer clips)

File size comparison

Same 1920×1080 image encoded in each format:

WebP consistently produces 25-34% smaller files than JPEG and 26% smaller than PNG at equivalent visual quality.

When to use JPG

JPG (JPEG) is the universal format for photographs. Every device, browser, email client, and social platform supports it. Use JPG when you need maximum compatibility and the image is a photograph without transparency. Download sample JPG files in sizes from 100KB to 5MB.

When to use PNG

PNG is essential when you need transparency (alpha channel) or lossless quality. Use it for logos, icons, screenshots, and technical diagrams where text must remain crisp. PNG files are larger than JPG for photos but smaller for simple graphics with flat colors. Get sample PNG files including transparent variants.

When to use WebP

WebP is the modern choice for web images — smaller files, supports both lossy and lossless compression, transparency, and even animation. The only downside is limited support in older Safari versions (pre-14). Test with our sample WebP files.

Serving WebP with fallback

<picture>
  <source srcset="image.webp" type="image/webp">
  <img src="image.jpg" alt="Description" width="800" height="600">
</picture>

Browsers that support WebP load the smaller file. Others fall back to JPG automatically.

Browser support (2025)

  • JPG/PNG — 100% support everywhere
  • WebP — 97%+ support (Chrome, Firefox, Safari 14+, Edge)
  • AVIF — ~90% support (newest, even better compression)

Next.js Image optimization

If you use Next.js, the <Image> component automatically converts to WebP and serves the optimal format. No manual conversion needed. Use our sample images to test your Image component configuration.

Download sample files to compare

Download the same dimensions in all three formats from our collection and compare file sizes yourself: JPG, PNG, WebP, and SVG for vector graphics.