Image format comparisons
Side-by-side comparisons of the formats people most often have to choose between, with a short answer for each.
| Comparison | Short answer |
|---|---|
| JPG vs PNG | Use JPG for photos and PNG for screenshots, logos, text and anything that needs a transparent background. |
| PNG vs WebP | WebP does almost everything PNG does at a fraction of the size, but PNG still opens in more places. |
| JPG vs WebP | WebP gives the same visual quality as JPG in smaller files and is ideal for websites. JPG remains the safest choice for sharing. |
| HEIC vs JPG | HEIC saves space on your iPhone; JPG works everywhere else. Keep HEIC on the phone and convert to JPG when sharing. |
| HEIC vs PNG | HEIC is a compact photo format; PNG is a large lossless format best kept for graphics. Convert HEIC to PNG only when you need lossless editing. |
| AVIF vs WebP | AVIF compresses better than WebP, but WebP is faster to encode and supported in more places. |
| AVIF vs JPG | AVIF is the most efficient mainstream image format; JPG is the most compatible. Use AVIF on the web and JPG for everything else. |
| GIF vs PNG | For still images PNG beats GIF in every way. GIF only makes sense for simple animations. |
| GIF vs WebP | Animated WebP is a modern replacement for GIF: smaller files and full colour, but not every app plays it. |
| PNG vs SVG | SVG is for shapes (logos, icons, illustrations) and scales to any size; PNG is for pixels (screenshots, photos). |
| TIFF vs JPG | TIFF is for scanning, printing and archiving at full quality; JPG is for sharing. Convert TIFF to JPG before you email or upload. |
| TIFF vs PNG | Both are lossless. PNG is web-friendly and compact; TIFF is for print workflows and multi-page scans. |
| BMP vs PNG | PNG stores the same pixels as BMP in a fraction of the space. Only use BMP when a program specifically requires it. |
| JFIF vs JPG | They are the same image format. JFIF is only a different file extension, so converting to .jpg loses nothing. |
| ICO vs PNG | ICO is a container for icons at several sizes (often PNGs inside). Use ICO for favicons and Windows shortcuts, PNG for everything else. |
| JPG vs PDF | JPG is an image; PDF is a document that can hold images, text and many pages. Put photos in a PDF when a form asks for a document or you need to send several images as one file. |