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JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF: Pick the Right Image Format

Every format has trade-offs. Here's how to choose the right one for your images.

RunToolz TeamJanuary 31, 20263 min read

You export an image. The options are JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, AVIF, SVG, and more.

They all produce images. They're not interchangeable.

JPEG: The Photos Standard

Best for: Photographs, complex images with gradients, anything with many colors.

Avoid for: Text, logos, screenshots, anything with sharp edges.

JPEG uses lossy compression. It throws away data you probably won't notice in photos. But it struggles with sharp edges—text looks fuzzy, logos get artifacts.

Quality setting matters. 80-85% is usually the sweet spot. Below 60%, compression artifacts become obvious.

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PNG: Sharp Edges and Transparency

Best for: Screenshots, logos, graphics with text, images needing transparency.

Avoid for: Large photographs (files get huge).

PNG uses lossless compression. Every pixel is preserved exactly. Great for sharp edges, terrible for file size on complex images.

PNG-8 (256 colors) vs PNG-24 (millions of colors). Use 8 when you can get away with it.

WebP: The Modern Compromise

Best for: Almost everything on the web.

Avoid for: When you need maximum compatibility with old browsers.

WebP does both lossy and lossless compression, often 25-35% smaller than JPEG or PNG at the same quality.

Browser support is excellent now. Use WebP with a JPEG/PNG fallback for ancient browsers.

AVIF: Newest and Smallest

Best for: Maximum compression with good quality.

Avoid for: Browser support requirements, encoding speed concerns.

AVIF achieves even better compression than WebP. But encoding is slower and browser support is still growing.

If you can generate formats ahead of time (static sites), use AVIF with fallbacks.

GIF: Moving Images, Limited Colors

Best for: Simple animations, very simple graphics.

Avoid for: Photos (256 color limit), large animations (huge files).

GIF's animation support keeps it alive. But 256 colors maximum means photos look terrible.

For animations, MP4 or WebM video is often smaller and better quality.

SVG: Vector Graphics

Best for: Icons, logos, illustrations, anything that needs to scale.

Avoid for: Photographs, complex images.

SVG isn't a bitmap format. It's XML describing shapes. Scales to any size without quality loss.

For icons and logos, SVG is almost always the right choice.

Quick Decision Guide

| Content Type | Format | |-------------|--------| | Photo for web | WebP (JPEG fallback) | | Screenshot | PNG | | Logo/icon | SVG | | Simple animation | GIF or animated WebP | | Complex animation | MP4/WebM video | | Maximum quality archive | PNG |