JPG vs PNG vs WebP: Pick the Format by What You Need to Keep
JPG, PNG and WebP can all display the same picture. They do not store it the same way, and choosing the wrong one can leave you with a file that is either unnecessarily huge or visibly damaged.
The shortest rule is useful: photographs usually tolerate lossy compression; logos, screenshots and graphics with hard edges often need something else.
JPG: good at photographs, unforgiving with repeated saves
JPEG compresses by discarding visual information. That is why a large phone photo can become much smaller. It is also why tiny text, line art and sharp interface screenshots can develop ringing or blocky edges.
One export at sensible quality may look excellent. Repeatedly opening and saving a JPEG can compound the loss. Keep a high-quality original if you expect to edit again.
PNG: predictable pixels and transparency
PNG is lossless for normal image use and supports transparency. It is a strong choice for logos, diagrams, screenshots and assets where crisp edges matter. The trade-off? A photographic PNG can be dramatically larger than an equivalent JPEG or WebP.
Transparency is another practical divider. Converting a transparent PNG to JPEG requires a background because JPEG has no alpha channel. If a converter fills that area with white, that is a format limitation—not a mysterious bug.
WebP: flexible, but check the destination
WebP supports both lossy and lossless compression and can preserve transparency. For web delivery it often offers an attractive size/quality balance. Modern browsers handle it well, but a specific legacy workflow or third-party upload system may still prefer JPEG or PNG.
Dimensions and compression are different levers
A 4000×3000 image displayed at 800 pixels wide carries far more pixels than the page needs. Resizing the dimensions can reduce file size before you even touch the compression quality. This is often a cleaner win than crushing JPEG quality.
- Need a photo for a website? Resize to the actual display range, then compress.
- A logo with transparency? Keep PNG or lossless WebP unless the destination says otherwise.
- Uploading to a strict portal? Follow the portal's required dimensions and format first; optimise second.
Metadata can change during conversion
EXIF data such as camera details, orientation and GPS coordinates may be removed or rewritten when an image is decoded and exported to another format. Sometimes that is desirable. Sometimes it breaks a workflow that relies on metadata.
Use the Image Converter when format is the problem, Resize Image when dimensions are the problem, and EXIF Viewer when you need to know what metadata is actually present.