WebP vs JPEG vs PNG: which format and when
Updated
Three formats cover almost every image on the web. Picking the right one is the difference between a sharp, light page and a heavy, blurry one.
JPEG: photographs
JPEG is built for photographs and any image with smooth gradients and many colors. It uses lossy compression, discarding detail the eye does not notice to reach small file sizes. It does not support transparency, so it is the wrong choice for logos or UI elements that need to sit on a colored background.
For photos, a well-encoded JPEG at a sensible quality is still an excellent, universally supported choice.
PNG: logos, icons, transparency
PNG is lossless and supports transparency, which makes it ideal for logos, icons, screenshots and graphics with sharp edges or flat color. The trade-off is size: photographic PNGs are large. Use PNG when crisp edges or an alpha channel matter, not for full-color photos.
Smart palette compression can shrink most PNGs by 50 to 80 percent with no visible change, because real logos and UI use far fewer colors than PNG reserves space for.
WebP: the modern default
WebP does both jobs: it has a lossy mode that beats JPEG on photos and a lossless mode with transparency that beats PNG on graphics, typically 25 to 35 percent smaller than the equivalent. As of 2026 it is supported by every current browser, so for new projects it is the sensible default for web delivery.
The main reason to still ship JPEG or PNG is when a file will be downloaded and opened in older desktop software that does not read WebP.
Quick recommendation
For the web: WebP first, with JPEG or PNG as a fallback only where you need it. For sharing files with people: JPEG for photos, PNG for anything with transparency. Whatever you pick, compress it before publishing. The format sets the ceiling on efficiency; compression is what actually claims it.