JPG vs PNG vs WebP: Which Format Should You Use?
A tested comparison of the three formats that cover almost every web image, with clear rules for each.
JPEG is best for photographs. It uses lossy compression tuned for smooth colour gradients, so photos shrink dramatically. It has no transparency and softens sharp edges and text.
PNG is best for graphics, logos, screenshots and anything with transparency or sharp text. It preserves edges exactly, but photographs become very large files in PNG.
WebP is the modern middle ground: it handles photographs nearly as well as JPEG, supports transparency like PNG, and usually produces the smallest file of the three. Its only real drawback is older software that does not support it yet.
A simple rule: photograph → JPEG or WebP; graphic with transparency → PNG or WebP; graphic without transparency → WebP, then PNG if compatibility matters more than size.
Converting between formats never improves quality. A JPEG converted to PNG keeps the JPEG artefacts; it just stores them in a larger file.