JPG, PNG, WebP or HEIC? Choosing the right image format

Picking an image format is really answering two questions: what kind of picture is this, and where is it going? Get those right and the format chooses itself. This guide walks through the formats you actually meet, what each is good and terrible at, and the handful of conversions everyone eventually needs.

The one concept that explains everything: lossy vs lossless

Lossy compression (JPG, WebP in its default mode, HEIC) throws away detail your eye is unlikely to miss — which works brilliantly for photographs, where every pixel differs slightly from its neighbours anyway. Losslesscompression (PNG, GIF, WebP in lossless mode) keeps every pixel exact — which is what text, logos, screenshots and UI graphics need, because lossy artifacts smear crisp edges into visible fuzz. Almost every “why does my image look bad?” question is one of these two mismatches: a screenshot saved as JPG (fuzzy text) or a photo saved as PNG (enormous file, no visual gain).

JPG — the photograph workhorse

Fifty years from now something will still open a JPG. It compresses photos to a tenth of their raw size with barely visible loss, every device and website accepts it, and printers and photo labs expect it. Its weaknesses: no transparency, and visible artifacts around sharp edges and text. Each re-save loses a little more quality, so keep an original and export from it rather than re-editing JPGs repeatedly. Convert anything to it with the JPG converter.

PNG — screenshots, logos, transparency

PNG is lossless and supports full alpha transparency, making it the default for screenshots, diagrams, logos and any graphic that overlays another background. The cost is size: a photo saved as PNG is routinely five to ten times larger than the visually identical JPG. Rule of thumb — made by a camera: JPG (or WebP/HEIC); made by a computer: PNG. Conversions: to PNG, or compress an oversized image without leaving your browser.

WebP — the modern web default

WebP does both jobs — lossy like JPG but ~25–30% smaller at the same quality, lossless like PNG but smaller too, with transparency and animation on top. Every modern browser supports it, which is why site builders and CDNs push it hard. Where it still stumbles: some desktop software, older email clients and print workflows. So: publish WebP on the web (convert here), but when a form, an old CMS or a print shop rejects it, convert back to JPG or PNG.

HEIC — the iPhone surprise

Since iOS 11, iPhones shoot HEIC by default: roughly half the size of JPG at the same quality, which is why Apple chose it. The catch appears the moment the photo leaves the Apple ecosystem — Windows needs codecs, many websites and government portals reject it outright, and older software has never heard of it. The practical fix is a quick local conversion to JPG or PNG; the image tools here decode HEIC in your browser, so the family photos never touch a server.

The specialists: GIF, TIFF, BMP, ICO, SVG

GIF survives purely for simple animations; for still images its 256-colour limit makes it the wrong answer (make one deliberately if you need it). TIFFis the print and scanning industry’s lossless container — huge files, expected by publishers (convert). BMP is uncompressed and mostly legacy Windows (convert). ICO is exclusively for favicons and Windows icons — it packs several sizes into one file (make one). SVG is not pixels at all but vector instructions: infinitely scalable logos and icons, unbeatable where it applies, but not a photo format.

Quick answers

Photo for a website or WhatsApp: JPG or WebP, quality ~80 — visually identical to the original at a fraction of the size (compressor). Screenshot with text: PNG, always. Logo that sits on any background: PNG or SVG for the transparency. iPhone photo a form rejects: HEIC → JPG. Image for print:TIFF or maximum-quality JPG at 300 DPI, per your printer’s instructions. Favicon: ICO. And whichever direction you need, the conversion runs locally: your pictures are processed by your own device and never uploaded — the entire reason this site exists.