What image format should I use?
JPG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, GIF, SVG — the list of image formats is long, and it's rarely obvious which one you're supposed to use. The good news is that for almost everything you'll actually do, the choice comes down to a handful of formats and a few simple rules. Here's a plain-English guide to picking the right one, starting with the short answer and then explaining each format so you know why.
The short answer: use JPG for photographs you want to share, PNG for graphics, logos, screenshots, and anything needing a transparent background, and WebP for images on your own website where smaller files make pages faster. That covers the vast majority of situations.
The everyday formats
JPG — the format for photographs
JPG (also written JPEG) is the universal language of photos. It compresses images by discarding detail your eye won't miss, which makes files small while photos still look great — and crucially, it opens on absolutely every device and website. If you're sharing or uploading a photo, JPG is almost always the right answer. Its only real weakness is that it can't do transparency, and it makes text and sharp edges look slightly fuzzy, so it's wrong for graphics.
PNG — the format for graphics
PNG keeps every pixel exactly, so it stays perfectly crisp — ideal for logos, icons, screenshots, diagrams, and anything with text or hard edges. It's also the everyday format that supports transparency, so it's what you need for a logo that sits on top of other content. The trade-off is size: PNG is very inefficient for photographs, where it can produce files many times larger than JPG. Use it for computer-made images, not camera photos.
For a deeper look at choosing between these two, see PNG vs JPG: what's the difference, and when should you use each?
WebP — the modern all-rounder
WebP is a newer format built to beat both JPG and PNG. It can compress photos like JPG and keep graphics sharp with transparency like PNG, typically at 25–35% smaller file sizes. That makes it excellent for websites, where smaller images mean faster pages. The catch is compatibility: while every current browser supports it, some older software and a few upload forms still don't — which is why people often need to convert a WebP back to JPG after saving one from the web. Great when you control where the image is used; less safe for sending files to others.
HEIC — the iPhone format
HEIC is what iPhones save photos as by default. It packs better quality into roughly half the file size of JPG, which is wonderful for saving storage — but it's poorly supported outside Apple devices, so a HEIC file often won't open on Windows or upload to a website. The fix is simply to convert it to JPG when you need it to work elsewhere.
For more on this specific trade-off, see HEIC vs JPG: what's the difference, and which should you use?
A quick reference
| Use case | Best format |
|---|---|
| Photo to share or upload | JPG |
| Logo, icon, or screenshot | PNG |
| Anything needing transparency | PNG (or WebP) |
| Images on your own website | WebP |
| iPhone photo that won't open elsewhere | Convert HEIC to JPG |
| Simple animation | GIF (or a short video) |
| Logo that must scale to any size | SVG |
The other formats, briefly
You'll occasionally meet a few others. Here's where they fit, so the whole picture makes sense:
- GIF — an old format now used mostly for short, simple animations. Fine for a looping animated graphic, but poor for photos (it can only show 256 colours). For anything detailed, a short video file is usually better.
- SVG — a fundamentally different kind of image. Instead of pixels, it stores shapes as maths, so it scales to any size without ever blurring. Perfect for logos and icons on the web, but only for graphics, not photographs.
- AVIF — an even newer format that can be smaller than WebP. Support is still growing, so it's mostly for websites where you can control compatibility. Think of it as WebP's more efficient successor, not quite ready for sending files to strangers.
- TIFF and RAW — high-end formats used in printing, scanning, and professional photography. They preserve maximum quality at the cost of very large files, and most people never need to touch them. If a camera hands you a RAW file, you'll usually convert it to JPG to share.
How to switch between formats
Once you know which format you want, converting is quick — and it's worth using a tool that does it in your browser rather than uploading your images to a server, especially for personal photos that may carry location data. Our converters all run entirely on your own device.
Convert an image to the right format
All of these run in your browser — nothing is uploaded to any server.
The bottom line
Don't overthink it. Photographs you share go to JPG; graphics, logos, and transparent images go to PNG; images on your own site are good candidates for WebP; and an iPhone HEIC that won't cooperate just needs converting to JPG. Match the format to the job and you'll get the right result — small enough, sharp enough, and openable wherever it needs to go.