JPEG vs PNG vs WebP vs AVIF
What each image format in Image Converter is good for, and why the same quality setting produces different results in each one.
Image Converter offers four output formats. You don't need to understand compression to pick one — here's what each is for.
JPEG
Good for photographs. Small files. Does not support transparency — any transparent area is filled with the background colour you choose before saving.
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 — some older tools and email clients still don't open it.
Quality levels
Maximum, High, Medium, and Small file are the same four options regardless of format, but the encoder setting behind each one is different per format — "High" quality AVIF and "High" quality JPEG don't use the same underlying number, because the formats don't respond to that number the same way. Pick the level that matches how much you care about file size versus visual quality; the resulting size is always shown after converting.
Metadata
Photos can carry EXIF data — camera model, date, and sometimes GPS location. Image Converter removes this by default when producing an output, since most uses (posting online, sending to someone) don't need it and location data in particular is worth stripping.
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.