Picovert

How to Convert AVIF to WebP for Free — 4 Methods

By Picovert Team2026-01-214 min read

AVIF offers better compression than WebP — typically 20–50% smaller at the same visual quality. But WebP has significantly broader compatibility: older iOS devices, most image editors, CMS platforms, and CDNs support WebP, while AVIF support is still catching up. If you need to share AVIF images with someone using older software or a platform that doesn't yet support AVIF, converting to WebP is the right move.

Why Convert AVIF to WebP?

  • Browser support — WebP is supported everywhere, including older iOS (iOS 14+). AVIF requires iOS 16+, Chrome 85+, and Firefox 93+. If your audience includes users on older devices, WebP is the safer choice.
  • Software compatibility — Most image editors, CMS platforms, and CDNs support WebP natively. AVIF support in tools like older Photoshop versions, WordPress plugins, and third-party CDNs is still inconsistent.
  • Email — Neither WebP nor AVIF is widely supported in email clients, but more tools accept WebP than AVIF when processing attachments.
  • Social media — WebP upload is accepted by more platforms than AVIF. When in doubt, WebP is the more compatible option.

When to convert: when you need to share AVIF images with someone using older software, an older iPhone (iOS 14–15), or a platform that doesn't yet support AVIF. If the original uncompressed source is available, convert that directly to WebP instead — this avoids double lossy compression.

AVIF vs. WebP: File Size Comparison

For a typical 1000×1000 px photo:

  • JPEG at q85 — ~200–300 KB
  • WebP at q85 — ~140–200 KB (roughly 30% smaller than JPEG)
  • AVIF at q85 — ~80–150 KB (roughly 50% smaller than JPEG)

Converting AVIF to WebP increases file size by roughly 30–50%. This is an expected trade-off for broader compatibility. The WebP output will still be smaller than an equivalent JPEG.

Method 1: Online Converter (No Install)

The easiest way is to use Picovert's image converter — upload your AVIF file, select WebP as the output format, and download the result. Everything runs in your browser; no files are uploaded to a server and no software installation is required. Batch conversion is supported: drop multiple AVIF files at once.

Method 2: ImageMagick (Command Line, Batch)

ImageMagick is a free, open-source tool available on Mac, Windows, and Linux.

  1. Install: brew install imagemagick on Mac, or download from imagemagick.org on Windows.
  2. Single file: convert input.avif output.webp
  3. With quality setting: convert input.avif -quality 85 output.webp
  4. Batch (Mac/Linux shell): for f in *.avif; do convert "$f" -quality 85 "${f%.avif}.webp"; done

ImageMagick produces well-optimized WebP output and is the recommended command-line option for still images.

Method 3: FFmpeg

FFmpeg can convert AVIF to WebP via a lossy intermediate step:

ffmpeg -i input.avif -q:v 80 output.webp

Note: FFmpeg's WebP encoding is less optimized than ImageMagick's for still images. Use ImageMagick if you have both available. FFmpeg is better suited for video-related conversions.

Method 4: GIMP / Photoshop

  • GIMP — File → Open (select your AVIF file), then File → Export As → choose WebP format. GIMP 2.10.28+ supports AVIF natively; earlier versions may need a plugin.
  • Photoshop — Requires a WebP plugin or use File → Export → Export As (available in CS6+). Photoshop added native AVIF support in version 22.4 (2021).

Quality Settings for AVIF to WebP

Since AVIF is already a compressed format, re-encoding to WebP introduces additional generation loss. To minimize quality loss:

  • Use WebP quality 85–90 — higher than you'd typically use when converting from an uncompressed source like PNG or TIFF.
  • The output WebP will be larger than the original AVIF but smaller than an equivalent JPEG.
  • Lossless WebP is an option if you need to preserve maximum quality. In ImageMagick: convert input.avif -define webp:lossless=true output.webp. The file size will be significantly larger.

Quick Tips

  • If you have the original uncompressed source (RAW, TIFF, or PNG), convert that to WebP instead of converting AVIF→WebP. This avoids double lossy compression and gives better quality at the same file size.
  • After converting, use Picovert's compressor to further optimize the output WebP if needed.
  • If you need to resize the image at the same time, use Picovert's resizer after conversion.