JPG vs PNG vs WebP: which format to use?

Tuxia guide · about 4 min

JPG vs PNG vs WebP: which one?

Pick the wrong format and your image is either huge or mushy. Three rules cover it: JPG for photos, PNG for screenshots and transparency, WebP for smaller files. Details below.

	JPG	PNG	WebP
Compression	Lossy (adjustable)	Lossless	Lossy / lossless
Transparency	❌ No	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Typical size	Small	Large (often 3–5× JPG)	Smallest (~30% smaller than JPG)
Best for	Photos, camera shots	Screenshots, logos, memes, transparency	Web images, saving bytes
Compatibility	Universal	Universal	All modern browsers/phones; old software may not read it

When to convert

PNG screenshot too big to send → JPG: text stays readable at 80% quality, far smaller;
Photo for a website → WebP: loads faster, and search engines like fast pages;
Need transparency → PNG (or lossless WebP) only: JPG has no alpha channel, the background turns white;
Steganography with Tuxia → PNG preferred: lossless won't harm appended data (JPG works too, just don't re-compress).

Myth: converting JPG to PNG does not improve quality — it only makes the file bigger. Conversion changes the container and compression, never recovers lost detail.

Tuxia's image compressor & converter converts between JPG / PNG / WebP and resizes in one go, all locally.

Open the converter →