CONVERT
PNG → AVIF
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Convert PNG to AVIF for dramatically smaller file sizes with minimal quality loss.
PNG was designed in the mid-1990s to replace GIF, and its lossless compression and full alpha channel made it the default format for anything that needed pixel-perfect fidelity on the web — logos, screenshots, UI assets, illustrations with sharp edges. The problem is that PNG files are large. A 1920×1080 screenshot can weigh 800 KB to 2 MB depending on palette complexity, and lossless compression only goes so far. AVIF, based on the AV1 video codec, approaches compression from a completely different angle: it is a lossy (and optionally near-lossless) codec that models the human visual system and discards information the eye barely registers, achieving file sizes 50–80% smaller than PNG for photographic content and 30–60% smaller for illustrations, depending on quality settings. For web teams dealing with Core Web Vitals, page-weight budgets, or mobile bandwidth constraints, converting a library of PNG assets to AVIF is one of the most impactful single-format decisions available in 2024. The trade-off is real: you are choosing compression efficiency over pixel-perfect preservation, and the degree of loss depends entirely on the quality parameter you choose at encode time.
PNG Image
Source formatPNG is a lossless image format that supports transparency. It is ideal for graphics, logos, screenshots, and any image where preserving exact pixel data is important.
AVIF Image
Target formatAVIF is a next-generation image format based on the AV1 video codec. It offers significantly better compression than JPEG and WebP while maintaining excellent visual quality, including HDR and wide color gamut support.
Why convert PNG to AVIF
PNG's lossless nature is its strength and its liability. When the source PNG contains photographic gradients, complex backgrounds, or rasterized photography embedded in a UI, lossless compression offers no meaningful advantage over what AVIF can achieve at quality 80–90 with a fraction of the bytes. The primary driver for this conversion is web performance: AVIF is natively supported by Chrome 85+, Firefox 93+, Safari 16+, and Edge 121+, covering the overwhelming majority of active browsers as of 2024, which means you can serve AVIF directly without a fallback stack for most audiences. Secondary drivers include storage cost reduction for large image CDNs and bandwidth savings on mobile, where PNG payloads measurably affect Time to First Byte and Largest Contentful Paint scores.
HOW TO CONVERT
PNG → AVIF
Drop the PNG file
Drag and drop or click to upload your PNG. The image is transferred securely over HTTPS and queued for conversion.
Re-encode with ImageMagick
ImageMagick decodes every pixel of the PNG and writes a matching AVIF with sensible default quality settings.
Download the AVIF
The converted AVIF is ready to download as a single file; both files delete automatically within two hours.
Common Use Cases
Share across platforms
Send AVIF files to anyone without worrying about whether they have the right software for PNG.
Embed in documents
Drop AVIF output into Word, Google Docs, PowerPoint, Notion or a website without conversion warnings.
Optimize size
AVIF often produces smaller files than PNG for web, email and storage.
Archive & future-proof
Store in a widely-supported format that will still open on future operating systems without legacy plugins.
PNG vs AVIF — Strengths and limitations
What each format does best, and where it falls short.
PNG Strengths
- Lossless compression — every save preserves the original pixels perfectly.
- Full 8-bit alpha channel for smooth transparency.
- Excellent for text, UI screenshots, logos, and line art.
- Royalty-free and an ISO standard (ISO/IEC 15948).
- Supports 16-bit color depth for high-fidelity work.
Limitations
- Much larger than JPEG for photographs (no perceptual compression).
- No native animation in most software (APNG support is inconsistent).
- No CMYK support — web and screen only, not print.
AVIF Strengths
- Best-in-class compression efficiency — 30-50% smaller than JPEG for the same quality.
- Royalty-free and patent-unencumbered (unlike HEIC).
- Supports alpha transparency, HDR, wide gamut (BT.2020), and up to 12-bit color.
- Progressive decoding: a blurry preview appears while the file is still downloading.
- Supported in all major browsers since late 2022 — no polyfills needed.
Limitations
- Encoding is CPU-expensive — an AVIF export can take 10-30× longer than JPEG.
- Older software (pre-2022) cannot open AVIF without plugins.
- Email clients still largely ignore it — stick to JPEG for attachments.
PNG vs AVIF — Technical specifications
Side-by-side comparison of the technical details.
PNG
- MIME type
- image/png
- Compression
- Lossless — DEFLATE (zlib)
- Color depth
- 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 bits per channel
- Max dimensions
- 2^31 − 1 pixels per side (2.1 billion)
- Transparency
- Full 8-bit alpha channel
- Standard
- ISO/IEC 15948:2004
AVIF
- MIME type
- image/avif
- Color depth
- Up to 12-bit per channel
- Max dimensions
- 65 536 × 65 536 px
- Container
- HEIF (ISOBMFF)
- Codec
- AV1 (intra-only)
- Color spaces
- sRGB, Display-P3, BT.2020, arbitrary ICC
| Specification | PNG | AVIF |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | image/png | image/avif |
| Compression | Lossless — DEFLATE (zlib) | — |
| Color depth | 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 bits per channel | Up to 12-bit per channel |
| Max dimensions | 2^31 − 1 pixels per side (2.1 billion) | 65 536 × 65 536 px |
| Transparency | Full 8-bit alpha channel | — |
| Standard | ISO/IEC 15948:2004 | — |
| Container | — | HEIF (ISOBMFF) |
| Codec | — | AV1 (intra-only) |
| Color spaces | — | sRGB, Display-P3, BT.2020, arbitrary ICC |
PNG vs AVIF — Typical file sizes
Approximate file sizes for common scenarios.
PNG
- Icon or small logo 2–20 KB
- UI screenshot (1920×1080) 200–800 KB
- High-res photo (12 MP) 10–30 MB
- Print-ready illustration 5–50 MB
AVIF
- Thumbnail (400px) 10-30 KB
- Web photo (1920px) 80-300 KB
- 4K photo (3840px) 300 KB - 1.2 MB
- Lossless copy of 24MP photo 8-15 MB
Quality & Compatibility
PNG carries full 8-bit or 16-bit per-channel lossless data, an optional alpha channel at the same bit depth, and text metadata chunks (tEXt, iTXt, zTXt). Converting to AVIF at the default quality setting (typically 60–75 on a 0–100 scale) applies lossy compression using AV1's intra-frame encoding, which operates in YUV color space internally — most encoders default to YUV 4:2:0 chroma subsampling, which halves the chroma resolution horizontally and vertically. This means fine color detail at high-contrast edges can show subtle banding on synthetic graphics. If your PNG contains transparency, the alpha channel is preserved in AVIF (the format supports it natively), but the alpha plane is also compressed, so a hard-edged mask on a logo may show slight fringing at quality settings below 85. AVIF does not carry PNG text metadata chunks; EXIF and XMP can be embedded in the AVIF container but are not automatically migrated. Bit depth: AVIF supports 8, 10, and 12 bits per channel, but most web encoders default to 8-bit output unless explicitly configured otherwise, so 16-bit PNG sources are downsampled.
Tips for Best Results
- For sharp-edged graphics such as logos, icons, or text-heavy screenshots, raise the quality setting to 85–90 and enable lossless alpha encoding if your encoder supports it separately from the main quality parameter — this preserves hard transparency edges while still compressing the opaque regions aggressively.
- If your PNG contains fine diagonal lines or text rendered at small sizes, inspect the AVIF output at 1:1 zoom before deploying; chroma subsampling at 4:2:0 can introduce color fringing on sub-pixel-width strokes, and switching to 4:4:4 chroma if your encoder allows it eliminates this at a modest size increase.
- For photographic PNGs or screenshots with gradients, quality 70–80 typically yields files 60–75% smaller than the source PNG with no perceptible difference at normal viewing sizes; run a structural similarity (SSIM) check between source and output if you need to validate fidelity before replacing the original in production.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the codecs involved. If both PNG and AVIF are lossy, the pixels are re-encoded and a small amount of detail is discarded — invisible at default quality settings on photographs. If AVIF is lossless (PNG, TIFF, BMP) the output keeps every pixel of the decoded PNG exactly, but cannot recover detail that PNG had already compressed away.
Often yes, especially when AVIF is lossless. PNG tuned for efficient web delivery will usually produce smaller files than AVIF's default settings. If file size matters, drop the quality in Advanced or pick a more compressed target format instead.
KaijuConverter uploads over HTTPS, processes the image in an isolated container and deletes both the source and the output within two hours. No account is required, file contents are never logged, and we do not use uploads to train any model. For confidential material, the paid plan includes a data-processing agreement.
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Your files are encrypted during transfer, processed in isolated containers, and automatically deleted within 60 minutes. We never read, share, or store your data.