PNG vs WebP: Which Format to Use (and When)

Use WebP for images on websites and apps you control: it does everything PNG does for the web (transparency, lossless) in smaller files, and every current major browser supports it. Use PNG when the image will be edited further, printed, needs 16-bit color or very large dimensions, or goes to software and upload forms that don't accept WebP. For screenshots you send to someone, PNG is still the safe default.

The short comparison

When WebP is the better choice

• Images on your website. Smaller files mean faster pages. For graphics, logos and UI images that must stay pixel-perfect, lossless WebP saves about a quarter versus PNG in Google's measurements.
• Photos with a transparent background. A product photo cut out on a transparent background is a classic PNG headache: lossless, so very heavy. Lossy WebP with an alpha channel keeps the transparency and is typically around three times smaller than the PNG, per Google.
• Simple animations. Animated WebP is usually smaller than GIF or APNG, though for anything longer than a few seconds a real video file is better still.
• Apps. Android has decoded WebP since Android 4.0, with lossless and transparency since 4.2.1, so it works well for app assets.

When PNG is still the better choice

• Working files. If an image will be opened, edited and saved again, keep it as PNG (or the editor's own format). Lossy WebP loses a little detail each time you re-save it.
• High bit depth. PNG can store 16 bits per channel, which matters for scientific images, some print workflows and heavy editing of gradients. WebP is limited to 8 bits per channel.
• Huge images. WebP tops out around 16,383 pixels per side. Large scans, panoramas and maps can exceed that; PNG's limit is effectively unlimited.
• Uploads and old software. Some services only accept PNG and JPG. LinkedIn's profile photo upload, for example, accepts PNG or JPG only. Older image editors, office suites and email clients may not open WebP.
• Sending screenshots. PNG opens everywhere, which matters more than a few kilobytes when you don't know the recipient's device.

If you need pixel-identical output, both work: PNG and lossless WebP decode to exactly the same pixels.

Browser support, precisely

According to caniuse, WebP is fully supported from Chrome 32, Edge 18, Firefox 65, Opera 19 and Safari 16, and on Safari for iOS 14 and later. Safari 14 and 15 had partial support because WebP decoding depended on macOS Big Sur (11) or later; MDN notes the same macOS requirement. caniuse puts global support at about 97% of users as of October 2026.

PNG is supported in every browser.

For a website, the practical approach is to serve WebP and keep a fallback only if your audience includes very old Safari or embedded browsers. The HTML picture element lets the browser choose:

<picture>
  <source srcset="image.webp" type="image/webp">
  <img src="image.png" alt="Description">
</picture>

AVIF is the next step after WebP: often smaller still, supported from Chrome 85, Firefox 93 and Safari 16.1 according to MDN, but slower to encode and with a shorter support history.

Converting between them

• PNG → lossless WebP: no quality change, smaller file. Good default for web graphics.
• PNG → lossy WebP: much smaller, small loss. Good for photos with transparency.
• WebP → PNG: only when something won't accept WebP. The PNG will be bigger, and if the WebP was lossy, the loss stays.
• Metadata can travel with either format: both can carry EXIF and XMP. Converting doesn't guarantee it's removed. Check with our photo metadata viewer and clean it with the EXIF remover if needed.

Our free image format converter handles PNG, WebP and JPG in the browser: PNG to WebP to make graphics lighter, WebP to JPG when a WebP won't open. If a WebP file has landed on your computer and won't open, what is a WebP file covers opening and converting it on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android. For QR codes specifically, see QR code SVG vs PNG.

Common mistakes

• Converting JPEG photos to PNG "for quality." It only makes them bigger; the JPEG loss is already baked in.
• Using lossless WebP for photos. It works, but lossy WebP at a good quality is much smaller and looks the same.
• Forgetting the recipient. WebP is great on your website and less great as an email attachment to someone using older software.
• Assuming the format strips metadata. Neither format removes location or camera data on its own. The guide on how to compress an image without losing quality covers metadata alongside compression.

Where photos you keep fit in

Format choice matters for what you publish. For what you keep private, such as ID scans, receipts and medical photos, the format matters less than where the file lives. sigil. stores photos in an encrypted vault on your phone with 256-bit encryption, opened only by the sign you draw, and strips EXIF and location on import and export. It's local-first with no cloud backup yet.

Bottom line

WebP for the web, PNG for working files, printing, 16-bit color, huge images and anything going to software you don't control. Both are lossless when you need them to be. Converting PNG to lossless WebP is safe; converting lossy files back to PNG only makes them bigger.

Sources

• Google for Developers: An image format for the Web (WebP)
• caniuse: WebP image format
• MDN: Image file type and format guide
• IETF RFC 9649: WebP Image Format
• W3C: Portable Network Graphics (PNG) Specification
• Android Developers: Supported media formats
• LinkedIn Help: Photo won't upload to your profile