JPEG vs PNG vs WebP vs AVIF vs HEIC: Which Image Format Should You Use?

Quick comparison

Format	Best for	Transparency	Compression	Browser support
JPEG	Photos	–	Lossy	Universal
PNG	Graphics, logos	✓	Lossless	Universal
GIF	Simple animations	✓	Lossless (256 colors)	Universal
WebP	Web images	✓	Lossy & lossless	Broad (97%+)
AVIF	Next-gen web	✓	Lossy & lossless	Growing (92%+)
HEIC	Apple ecosystem	✓	Lossy & lossless	Apple devices

JPEG — The universal photo format

JPEG uses lossy compression, making it ideal for photographs and images with many colors. It is universally supported across all browsers, devices, and applications.

Best for: photographs, complex images, social media uploads.

Weakness: no transparency support, visible artifacts at low quality settings.

PNG — Lossless with transparency

PNG uses lossless compression and supports alpha transparency. This makes it the go-to format for logos, icons, screenshots, and any image where transparency matters.

Best for: logos, icons, screenshots, graphics with transparency.

Weakness: larger file sizes than JPEG for photographic content.

GIF — Animated but limited

GIF supports animation and basic transparency, but is limited to 256 colors. It remains useful for simple animations but produces large files for anything complex.

Best for: simple animations, small icons.

Weakness: 256-color limit, large file sizes for animation.

WebP — Modern web standard

WebP supports both lossy and lossless compression, transparency, and animation. It typically produces files 25–35% smaller than equivalent JPEG images. Browser support is now above 97%.

Best for: web images where broad compatibility is needed.

Weakness: slower to encode than JPEG, not yet universal in all desktop apps.

AVIF — Next-generation compression

AVIF offers the best compression ratio of any widely-supported format. It supports HDR, wide color gamut, transparency, and both lossy and lossless modes. Browser support is above 92% and growing.

Best for: maximum file size savings on the web.

Weakness: slower encoding, still growing in app and tool support.

HEIC — Apple’s default format

HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is the default photo format on iPhones and iPads. It uses HEVC compression to achieve file sizes roughly 50% smaller than JPEG at similar quality. HEIC supports transparency, depth maps, and HDR.

Best for: Apple ecosystem workflows, iPhone/iPad photos, reducing storage on Mac.

Weakness: limited browser support, not ideal for web use. Convert to WebP or JPEG for websites.

File size comparison

Approximate sizes for a typical 1920×1080 photograph:

Format	Quality	Approx. file size	Savings vs original
Original (uncompressed)	–	~6 MB	–
JPEG	80%	~400 KB	~93%
PNG	Lossless	~2.5 MB	~58%
WebP	80%	~280 KB	~95%
AVIF	80%	~180 KB	~97%
HEIC	80%	~200 KB	~97%

How TrimrPix handles each format

TrimrPix optimizes all six formats — JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP, AVIF, and HEIC — in one drag-and-drop interface. Use the quality slider (60%–95%) to balance file size and visual quality. Batch processing lets you optimize hundreds of images at once.

For web projects, see How to Compress Images for Your Website.