JPG vs PNG vs WebP: which image format should you use?

Picking the wrong image format makes files bigger than they need to be, or makes them look blurry. The good news: for almost every situation, the choice comes down to three formats, and the rules are simple.

The short answer

• Photos (people, places, products): JPG, or WebP when the site or app accepts it.
• Screenshots, diagrams and text: PNG, because it keeps sharp edges and small text crisp.
• Logos and graphics with transparency: PNG, or WebP for websites.
• Uploads to forms and portals: JPG, because it is accepted everywhere.

JPG: the universal choice for photos

JPG (also written JPEG) uses lossy compression: it throws away detail your eye is unlikely to notice. That makes photos dramatically smaller. The downside is that sharp edges and text can get fuzzy halos, and JPG has no transparency. Every device, browser and form understands it.

PNG: sharp edges and transparency

PNG is lossless: every pixel is kept exactly. That is perfect for screenshots, interface mockups, charts and logos, and it supports transparent backgrounds. For photos, though, PNG files are often five to ten times larger than a good JPG.

WebP: smaller files for the web

WebP can do both lossy and lossless compression, and supports transparency. At similar quality it is usually noticeably smaller than JPG or PNG, which makes pages load faster. All modern browsers support it. Some older software and many upload forms still do not, so keep a JPG copy for those.

Converting without surprises

• Converting PNG with transparency to JPG fills the transparent areas with white, because JPG has no transparency.
• Converting a JPG to PNG does not bring back lost detail; it only makes the file bigger.
• To make a file smaller without changing its format, use Compress Image.
• If a form demands a size limit like 200 KB, use Compress Image to Size instead of guessing.

Images are converted in memory and sent straight back. DocuTools never stores them.