The Short Answer
- JPG — photos for sharing or publishing. Smaller files, wide compatibility.
- PNG — logos, screenshots, images with text, anything needing transparency.
- WebP — everything on a website. Smaller than both JPG and PNG. Supported by all modern browsers.
JPG — The Photo Standard
JPG uses lossy compression tuned for photographs. A good-quality JPG of a photo is 5-15x smaller than the same image as PNG. Downsides: every save re-compresses and loses quality; hard edges show block artefacts; no transparency support.
PNG — The Lossless Alternative
PNG uses lossless compression — no image data is discarded. Perfect for screenshots, UI elements, logos, and any image you plan to edit further. Supports a full alpha transparency channel. Downsides: PNG files are 3-5x larger than equivalent JPGs for photographs.
WebP — The Modern Web Format
WebP supports both lossy compression (like JPG) and lossless compression (like PNG), plus full transparency. A lossy WebP is typically 25-35% smaller than an equivalent JPG. Downsides: not all software opens WebP; Instagram and some social platforms do not accept WebP uploads.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | JPG | PNG | WebP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossy | Lossless | Both |
| Transparency | No | Yes | Yes |
| File size (photo) | Small | Large | Smallest |
| Browser support | Universal | Universal | 95%+ |