JPG, PNG or WebP? How to pick an image format

Most format confusion comes down to one distinction: photographs versus graphics. Photos are continuous gradients of color; graphics (screenshots, logos, diagrams, text) are sharp edges and flat areas. The formats are specialized for one or the other.

JPG — the photograph format

JPEG compresses by discarding detail human eyes are bad at noticing — fine color variations, subtle textures. On a photo this works spectacularly: a fraction of the size with no visible difference. On sharp edges it works badly: compress a screenshot or text as JPEG and you get the telltale smudgy “ringing” around letters and lines.

• Use for: photos going anywhere — email, web, storage.
• Avoid for: screenshots, logos, text, anything needing transparency (JPEG has none).
• Quality setting: 70–80% for screen use, 90%+ for print. Never re-save a JPEG repeatedly; each save loses more detail.

PNG — the graphics format

PNG is lossless: every pixel is preserved exactly. Text stays razor sharp, flat colors stay clean, and it supports full transparency — which is why logos and UI assets live in PNG. The cost is size: a photograph saved as PNG is routinely 5–10× larger than the same photo as a good JPEG, for no visible benefit.

• Use for: screenshots, logos, diagrams, images with transparency, and photos you’ll keep editing.
• Avoid for: sharing photographs — that’s the classic “why is this photo 20 MB” mistake. Convert photographic PNGs to JPG and watch the size collapse.

WebP — the web format

WebP is Google’s newer format doing both jobs: lossy compression ~25–30% smaller than JPEG at the same quality, a lossless mode smaller than PNG, plus transparency and animation. Websites love it, which is why images you save from the web increasingly land as .webp — and then some older app, editor or upload form refuses them.

• Use for: serving images on websites you run.
• The everyday problem: compatibility. When a .webp you saved won’t open somewhere, convert it to JPG (photos) or PNG (graphics with transparency) and move on.

The conversions that make sense

You have	You need	Do this
Huge PNG photo	Something shareable	PNG → JPG — dramatic size drop, no visible loss
JPG you’ll edit heavily	A format that won’t degrade	JPG → PNG — stops further loss (can’t undo past loss)
Saved .webp that won’t open	Universal file	WebP → JPG
iPhone .heic	Anything	See our HEIC guide

And one conversion that doesn’t make sense: converting JPG → PNG to “improve quality”. PNG can’t restore detail that JPEG compression already discarded — it only preserves exactly what’s there, at many times the size.

One caveat on transparency

JPEG has no transparency, so converting a transparent PNG or WebP to JPG flattens the see-through areas onto a background (usually white). If the transparency matters — logos, stickers, cutouts — stay in PNG, or use a background removal tool to re-cut the subject when you need it back.