WebP vs JPG: What Is the Difference and Which Should You Use?

The short answer

Use JPG when you need a picture to open everywhere, for example for a form, an email attachment, a print shop or an older program. Use WebP when the picture is for a website or an app that you control, because it usually makes the file smaller at a similar look.

If you need a transparent background, JPG cannot do it, and your choices are PNG or WebP.

What JPG and WebP are

JPG, also written JPEG, is an image format that has been in use since the early 1990s. Almost every phone, camera, website, editing program and printer understands it, and that is its biggest strength.

WebP is a newer format created by Google and introduced in 2010. It was designed for the web, with the goal of making images smaller so that pages load faster. It can store pictures in a lossy way, like JPG, or in a lossless way, like PNG.

File size and quality

Both formats can shrink a photo by throwing away detail that the eye barely notices. This is called lossy compression, and it means that a little quality is lost every time you save a file in this way.

WebP is often noticeably smaller than JPG at a similar look. Figures of roughly a quarter to a third smaller are often quoted, but the real difference depends on the picture and the settings, so treat that as a rough guide, not a promise. Photos with smooth areas gain more than pictures full of fine texture.

At very low quality, both formats show their weaknesses. JPG tends to show blocky patches, while WebP tends to look smooth and a bit waxy. Neither one fixes a bad photo, and a small file is never worth an ugly picture.

Transparency and animation

JPG has no transparency. A picture that was transparent gets a solid background, usually white or black, when it is saved as JPG.

WebP supports transparency and also animation, so it can replace both PNG and GIF in many cases. This is useful for logos, icons and stickers on a website.

Where each format works

All current major web browsers can show WebP, so for a website it is a safe choice today. The trouble starts outside the browser.

• Some older programs, some photo editors and some print or design software may not open WebP, or may need an update.
• Many upload forms and portals accept only JPG, PNG or PDF, and some reject WebP with an error.
• Some messaging and social apps accept WebP but turn it into another format, and a few do not accept it at all.
• JPG is understood by practically everything, including cameras, printers and photo kiosks.

How to choose

• Uploading to a form, an application or a government website: use JPG, unless the instructions say that WebP is accepted.
• Sending pictures by email or sharing them with people whose devices you do not know: use JPG.
• Printing photos: use JPG.
• Images for your own website or app, where speed matters: use WebP, and keep a JPG copy if you also need to share the picture.
• Logos, icons and graphics that need a transparent background: use PNG or WebP.
• Screenshots with a lot of text, where every edge must stay sharp: use PNG, or lossless WebP if the destination supports it.

How to convert without hurting quality

1. Keep your original file. Always convert from the original, not from a copy that was already compressed.
2. Convert once. Each time a lossy file is saved again it loses a little more detail, so converting back and forth makes the picture worse.
3. Choose a quality that matches the use. High values keep more detail and give larger files, and lower values give smaller files with visible softness.
4. Look at the result at full size before you use it, especially around text and faces.

Converting on this site

The Image Converter on GetTaskCraft turns WebP into JPG or PNG, and JPG or PNG into WebP, in your browser. Your pictures are not uploaded to a server. If a form insists on a certain file size, the Compress Image tool can bring the picture under a limit such as 100 KB or 200 KB.