Image File Formats Comparison: JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, GIF & More

Choosing the right image format affects file size, visual quality, and compatibility across browsers and devices. Pick the wrong one and you pay with slow load times, wasted storage, or images that simply won't display. This guide covers all 9 major formats — JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, GIF, SVG, TIFF, HEIC, and BMP — so you can make the right choice every time.

JPEG / JPG

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) is the most widely used format for photographs and complex images. It uses lossy compression, meaning some image data is discarded during encoding. The tradeoff is excellent: a typical JPEG at quality 80 looks nearly identical to the original while being 5–10x smaller.

• Compression: Lossy — quality setting 60–95 covers most use cases
• Transparency: Not supported
• Animation: Not supported
• Browser support: 100% — works everywhere
• Best for: Photos, blog images, social media, email attachments

Avoid JPEG for screenshots, logos, or text-heavy images. The lossy compression introduces visible "artifacts" around sharp edges and text.

PNG

PNG (Portable Network Graphics) uses lossless compression — every pixel is preserved exactly. This makes PNG ideal for images that require crisp edges or transparent backgrounds, but it produces larger files than JPEG for the same photo content.

• Compression: Lossless — no quality loss
• Transparency: Full alpha channel (8-bit)
• Animation: APNG (animated PNG) supported in modern browsers
• Browser support: 100%
• Best for: Screenshots, logos, icons, UI elements, images needing transparency

A PNG of a photograph will typically be 3–5x larger than the equivalent JPEG. Use PNG when quality or transparency matters more than file size.

WebP

Developed by Google and released in 2010, WebP is a modern format designed to replace both JPEG and PNG on the web. It supports both lossy and lossless compression, plus transparency and animation — all in a single format.

• Compression: Lossy and lossless — typically 25–35% smaller than JPEG at equivalent quality
• Transparency: Supported
• Animation: Supported (replaces GIF with far smaller files)
• Browser support: ~97% — all major browsers since 2020
• Best for: Web images, web app assets, replacing JPEG and PNG on websites

WebP is the safe modern default for web images. If you need to convert, use Picovert's image converter.

AVIF

AVIF (AV1 Image File Format) is the newest major image format, derived from the AV1 video codec. It achieves the best compression ratios of any format — typically 40–50% smaller than JPEG at the same visual quality — while supporting HDR color and high bit depth.

• Compression: Lossy and lossless — best compression of all formats
• Transparency: Supported
• Animation: Supported
• Browser support: ~92% — Chrome, Firefox, Safari 16+, Edge
• Best for: High-performance websites, images where file size is critical

AVIF encoding is slower than WebP, but the file size savings are significant. Use it for hero images and large photographs where every kilobyte counts.

GIF

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) dates from 1987 and is limited to a palette of 256 colors. Despite its age, it remains common for simple animations on social media and messaging apps.

• Compression: Lossless — but severely limited by 256-color palette
• Transparency: 1-bit (fully transparent or fully opaque — no partial transparency)
• Animation: Supported — but files are very large compared to alternatives
• Browser support: 100%
• Best for: Simple icon animations; avoid for photographs or complex scenes

For animations, WebP or MP4 video produce the same visual result at a fraction of the size. A 5 MB animated GIF can typically be replaced by a 300 KB WebP or a 200 KB MP4.

SVG

SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) is fundamentally different from all other formats listed here. Instead of storing pixels, SVG stores mathematical descriptions of shapes — lines, curves, and fills. This means SVG images are infinitely scalable with zero quality loss.

• Compression: Not applicable — vector data; can be gzipped (SVGZ)
• Transparency: Fully supported
• Animation: Supported (CSS and SMIL animations)
• Browser support: 98%
• Best for: Logos, icons, illustrations, charts, UI elements that need to scale

SVG is completely unsuitable for photographs. A photo in SVG format would be enormous. Use SVG only for artwork originally created as vectors.

TIFF

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is a professional-grade lossless format used in photography, printing, and publishing workflows. It supports very high bit depths (16-bit and 32-bit per channel) and multiple layers.

• Compression: Lossless (or uncompressed) — files are very large
• Transparency: Supported
• Animation: Multi-page TIFF, but not true animation
• Browser support: Very limited — not suitable for web
• Best for: Professional photography, print prepress, archival storage, scientific imaging

A single TIFF image from a professional camera can exceed 50–100 MB. Never use TIFF for web delivery — convert to JPEG or WebP before publishing.

HEIC

HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is Apple's image format, introduced with iOS 11 in 2017. It uses the HEVC/H.265 codec and delivers approximately 50% better compression than JPEG at equivalent visual quality.

• Compression: Lossy — outstanding compression efficiency
• Transparency: Supported
• Animation: Supported (HEICS variant)
• Browser support: Limited — Safari only natively; Windows/Android require codec installation
• Best for: iPhone/iPad local storage; always convert before sharing widely

HEIC is excellent for storing photos on Apple devices but creates compatibility headaches when sharing with non-Apple users. Convert to JPEG or WebP for broad compatibility.

BMP

BMP (Bitmap) is an uncompressed raster format from Windows 3.0 (1990). It stores raw pixel data with no compression, resulting in enormous files with zero quality benefit over PNG.

• Compression: None — raw pixel data
• Transparency: Limited (32-bit BMP)
• Animation: Not supported
• Browser support: Limited
• Best for: Nothing modern — legacy Windows compatibility only

A BMP file of a 1920×1080 image is roughly 6 MB. The same image as PNG is under 500 KB, and as WebP under 200 KB. Always convert BMP to PNG or JPEG before using anywhere.

Format comparison table

Quick decision guide

• Small web photos: Use WebP or AVIF — best compression with broad browser support
• Logo or icon with transparency: Use SVG if it's vector art; PNG if it's raster
• Animation: Use animated WebP or MP4 video — much smaller than GIF
• Professional print or archival: Use TIFF (lossless) or JPEG at 95+ quality
• Sharing with anyone, anywhere: Use JPEG — universal support guaranteed
• iPhone photos you need to share: Convert HEIC to JPEG or WebP first
• Old BMP files: Convert to PNG immediately — identical quality, 90% smaller

How to convert between formats

Need to change an image from one format to another? Use Picovert's free image converter. It supports conversion between all the formats covered in this guide — JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, GIF, BMP, TIFF, and HEIC — entirely in your browser with no upload required.

Simply drop your file, choose the target format, and download. No account, no file size limits beyond your device memory.

Once you have your images in the right format, use Picovert's image compressor to further reduce file size without visible quality loss — useful for any format before uploading to a website or sending by email.