PNG vs JPG vs WebP: Which Image Format Should You Use?

Picking the right image format is one of the easiest ways to make a site faster without making it look worse. Here’s how the three common formats stack up, and a simple rule for choosing.

The short version

Photos: use JPG, or WebP if your visitors are on modern browsers.
Logos, icons, screenshots, anything with transparency: use PNG, or WebP.
Want the smallest files at the same quality: use WebP almost every time.

JPG: good for photos

JPG (also written JPEG) uses lossy compression. It throws away detail your eye probably won’t notice in return for much smaller files. That works well for photos, where smooth gradients hide the loss. It’s a poor pick for sharp text or flat graphics, where you start to see fuzzy edges, and it can’t store transparency.

PNG: good for graphics and transparency

PNG is lossless, so it keeps every pixel exactly and the edges stay sharp. It also supports transparency. That makes it the right choice for logos, icons, screenshots, and illustrations. The catch is file size: a photo saved as PNG can be several times bigger than the same photo as JPG.

WebP: the modern all-rounder

WebP comes from Google. It does both lossy and lossless, it supports transparency, and it makes noticeably smaller files than JPG or PNG at the same quality, often around 25-35% smaller. Every current browser opens it, which is why it’s the usual recommendation now.

The main reason to skip WebP is compatibility with very old software, or a place that simply won’t take it.

A simple workflow

Start from whatever format your image is in now.
If it’s a photo, convert it to WebP. Keep JPG if you need maximum compatibility.
If it’s a logo or screenshot with transparency, convert the PNG to WebP to shrink it.
Finally, compress the image to squeeze out anything left.

All of these run in your browser, so your files never leave your device.