Which format gives the best quality for photographs?

JPG at a quality setting of 80–90% is a solid baseline for photos. WebP at equivalent settings will produce a smaller file with the same perceived quality. AVIF is even better on file size, but encodes slowly. PNG is lossless and technically perfect, but the file size is impractical for photos.

Does WebP support transparency?

Yes. WebP supports an alpha channel just like PNG, so you can have transparent or semi-transparent areas. This makes it a strong replacement for PNG on the web, with significantly smaller file sizes in most cases.

Is it safe to convert images using an online tool?

Most online converters upload your file to a remote server, which raises privacy concerns — especially for personal photos or proprietary graphics. Carbide's Image Converter runs entirely on your device: nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored in the cloud, and it works offline.

Can I use AVIF on my website today?

AVIF works in Chrome, Firefox, and Safari 16 and later, which covers the vast majority of users. To be safe, serve AVIF inside a element with a WebP or JPG fallback for older browsers. Carbide's format converters let you produce both the AVIF and the fallback locally.

Guide

PNG vs JPG vs WebP vs AVIF: which format should you use?

Choosing the wrong image format costs you load time, storage, or visual quality — sometimes all three. PNG, JPG, WebP, and AVIF each have a job they do best, and picking the right one is a simple decision once you know the trade-offs. This guide walks you through exactly when to reach for each format and how to convert between them for free, offline, and privately using Carbide.

JPG: photos and anything without transparency

JPG (or JPEG) uses lossy compression, which means it discards some detail to shrink file size. That trade-off is almost invisible in photos — a well-compressed JPG can be 5–10x smaller than the same image as a PNG. Use JPG for photographs, product shots, and backgrounds where you do not need a transparent layer. Avoid it for logos, diagrams, text-heavy images, or anything you plan to edit repeatedly, because every re-save adds more compression artefacts. Carbide's Image Converter lets you convert to JPG entirely on your device — no upload, no account.

PNG: logos, screenshots, and anything needing transparency

PNG uses lossless compression, so every pixel is preserved exactly. It is the right choice whenever you need a transparent or semi-transparent background — a logo on a coloured slide, a UI screenshot with crisp text, or an icon. The cost is file size: a full-colour photo saved as PNG can be several times larger than the same image as a JPG. For web use, always ask whether you actually need transparency before defaulting to PNG. If you do, use Carbide's free PNG converter to create or convert PNG files without sending your images to any server.

WebP: the modern default for the web

WebP was designed by Google to replace both JPG and PNG for web delivery. It supports lossy and lossless compression, transparency, and animation — and it consistently produces smaller files than the older formats at equivalent quality. Browser support is now universal across Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari (since 2022). If you are optimising a website or a web app and your tools support it, WebP should be your first choice over JPG for photos and over PNG for transparent graphics. Carbide's Image Converter handles JPG-to-WebP and PNG-to-WebP conversions offline, so your originals stay private.

AVIF: the best compression, with a compatibility caveat

AVIF is derived from the AV1 video codec and delivers noticeably smaller files than WebP at the same visual quality — often 30–50% smaller than an equivalent JPG. It also supports transparency, HDR, and wide colour gamut. The catch is encoding speed: AVIF encodes much more slowly than other formats, which matters if you are converting large batches. Browser support covers Chrome, Firefox, and Safari 16+, but older browsers need a fallback. For cutting-edge web projects where file size is critical, AVIF is worth the extra step. Use Carbide's per-format converters to try AVIF locally before committing to it.

Tools in this guide

Image Converter PNG to WebP JPG to WebP WebP to AVIF

Frequently asked questions

Which format gives the best quality for photographs?: JPG at a quality setting of 80–90% is a solid baseline for photos. WebP at equivalent settings will produce a smaller file with the same perceived quality. AVIF is even better on file size, but encodes slowly. PNG is lossless and technically perfect, but the file size is impractical for photos.
Does WebP support transparency?: Yes. WebP supports an alpha channel just like PNG, so you can have transparent or semi-transparent areas. This makes it a strong replacement for PNG on the web, with significantly smaller file sizes in most cases.
Is it safe to convert images using an online tool?: Most online converters upload your file to a remote server, which raises privacy concerns — especially for personal photos or proprietary graphics. Carbide's Image Converter runs entirely on your device: nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored in the cloud, and it works offline.
Can I use AVIF on my website today?: AVIF works in Chrome, Firefox, and Safari 16 and later, which covers the vast majority of users. To be safe, serve AVIF inside a <picture> element with a WebP or JPG fallback for older browsers. Carbide's format converters let you produce both the AVIF and the fallback locally.