JPEG vs PNG vs WebP vs AVIF

Image Converter offers four output formats: JPEG, PNG, WebP and AVIF. It also accepts HEIC and HEIF photos, such as an iPhone's, as input and converts them to one of these (see Crop, resize, and save an image with Image Converter).

JPEG

Good for photographs. Small files. Does not support transparency: any transparent area becomes white, or the Background colour if you chose one for Fit inside, add a background.

PNG

Good for screenshots, graphics, and transparency. Usually larger for photographs than JPEG or WebP. PNG is lossless, so there's no quality slider for it. Image Converter still shows the resulting file size, but the only way to make a PNG smaller is to reduce its dimensions or switch format.

WebP

A good general-purpose web format: small file sizes and transparency support, so it usually beats JPEG for photographs and PNG for graphics at the same visual quality.

AVIF

Very small files at good quality. Best when compatibility with older software is not a concern, since some older tools and email clients still don't open it.

Quality levels

Maximum, High, Medium, and Small file are the same four options for every format, but the encoder setting behind each one differs by format, because the formats respond to the same number differently. Pick the level that balances file size against visual quality; the resulting size is shown after converting.

Metadata

Photos can carry EXIF data: camera model, date, and sometimes GPS location. On the Single image page, Image Converter removes it from every image it produces. In Batch, Remove metadata (camera and location information) is on by default and can be turned off.

Why an enlarged image can look soft

Resizing up cannot invent detail that wasn't captured in the original. If you deliberately allow enlarging a smaller image, expect the result to look softer than a photo actually taken at that size.

For crop, resize, and save/download steps, see Crop, resize, and save an image with Image Converter. If a format or quality setting doesn't behave as described here, Contact support.