The quick answer
- JPG — photographs and realistic images. Small files, but lossy and no transparency.
- PNG — logos, icons, screenshots, diagrams, and anything needing a transparent background. Lossless and sharp, but larger.
- WebP — the modern all-rounder: photo quality at much smaller sizes than JPG, with transparency support. Best for websites.
JPG: for photos
JPG uses lossy compression tuned for photographs, so it produces small files where slight detail loss is invisible. The trade-offs: no transparency, and repeatedly saving degrades it. Avoid JPG for text and logos — artifacts make edges fuzzy. Convert with PNG to JPG and JPG to PNG.
PNG: for graphics and transparency
PNG is lossless, so text stays razor-sharp and colours exact, and it supports transparency. Ideal for logos, UI screenshots and diagrams. The cost is size — a photo as PNG can be several times larger than as JPG.
WebP: for fast websites
WebP is typically 25–35% smaller than JPG at the same quality, with transparency support, and every modern browser handles it. If you run a website, convert with the WebP Converter.
Whatever you choose, compress it
An oversized image is slow in any format. Run finals through the Image Compressor before publishing.