You're saving an image. Your software offers JPEG, PNG, HEIC, WebP, and more. Each has tradeoffs in quality, size, and compatibility. Here's when each is the right choice.
JPEG: photos and continuous-tone images
JPEG (also written as JPG) uses lossy compression — it discards data to shrink files, and the discarded data can't be recovered.
Best for:
- Photos (people, landscapes, food)
- Continuous-tone images (gradients, sky, grass)
- Web images where size matters
- Sharing via email
Avoid for:
- Screenshots with text
- Graphics with sharp edges or solid color regions
- Images that need transparency
Compression range: 80–95% file size reduction vs uncompressed. At 90% quality (typical), photos look essentially identical to source. At 60% quality, visible artifacts.
PNG: graphics, screenshots, transparency
PNG uses lossless compression — every pixel preserved exactly.
Best for:
- Screenshots (sharp text, UI elements)
- Logos and graphics with solid colors
- Images requiring transparency
- Diagrams and illustrations
- Anything where compression artifacts would be visible
Avoid for:
- Photos (file sizes balloon)
- Large images destined for web (PNG is bigger than JPEG for photos)
File sizes: ~10× larger than JPEG for photos, but appropriate for graphics.
HEIC: modern smartphone photos
HEIC (also called HEIF) uses HEVC compression — much more efficient than JPEG.
Best for:
- Photos on iPhone (default since iOS 11) and modern Android
- Storage-efficient personal photo libraries
- HDR photos (HEIC supports 10-bit color)
Avoid for:
- Sharing with non-Apple users (compatibility issues until recently)
- Older Windows / Linux systems without HEVC support
- Public web images (older browsers don't render)
File sizes: ~50% smaller than equivalent JPEG. A photo that's 3 MB in JPEG is ~1.5 MB in HEIC.
WebP: modern web image format
WebP is Google's image format. Both lossy and lossless modes; 25–35% smaller than JPEG/PNG at the same quality.
Best for:
- Web images (universal browser support since 2021)
- App images where bandwidth matters
- Where you'd otherwise use JPEG or PNG and want smaller files
File sizes: ~25–35% smaller than equivalent JPEG/PNG. Lossless WebP is 25% smaller than lossless PNG.
AVIF: the next-generation web format
AVIF uses AV1 video codec applied to single images. Even more efficient than WebP.
Best for:
- Modern web (Chrome, Firefox, Safari since 2020-2022)
- Maximum file size reduction
Caveats:
- Slow to encode
- Browser support still expanding
- Software support varies
File sizes: 30–50% smaller than JPEG, 20–30% smaller than WebP.
The decision framework
| Use case | Best format |
|---|---|
| Web photo, max compatibility | JPEG (90% quality) |
| Web photo, modern browsers | WebP or AVIF |
| Web photo, balance of both | JPEG with WebP fallback |
| Screenshot for blog post | PNG |
| Screenshot for printing | PNG (lossless) |
| Logo or icon | PNG (or SVG if vector) |
| iPhone photo | HEIC (default) or JPEG (sharing) |
| Family photo archive | HEIC (efficient) or DNG/RAW (preservation) |
| Diagram with text | PNG or SVG |
| Illustration with transparency | PNG |
| Large photo library | HEIC (size) or DNG (RAW preservation) |
Lossy vs lossless
Lossy formats (JPEG, HEIC, WebP-lossy, AVIF) discard data to compress. Each save further degrades. After 100 saves, a JPEG can show visible artifacts.
Lossless formats (PNG, WebP-lossless, BMP, TIFF) preserve every pixel exactly. Saving 1000 times produces identical files.
Rule: edit in lossless, export to lossy as the final step. Don't repeatedly edit and re-save JPEGs.
Quality settings
JPEG quality runs 0–100:
- 100%: almost lossless. Files larger than necessary.
- 90%: excellent quality, visually indistinguishable from source for most photos. Recommended default.
- 80%: good quality, ~30% smaller than 90%. Web standard.
- 60%: visible compression artifacts in detail areas.
- 50%: noticeable quality loss.
- 30%: heavy compression, looks bad.
For most photos, 80–90% is the sweet spot.
HEIC compatibility
The HEIC compatibility journey:
- 2017: iOS 11 introduces HEIC. Apple-only.
- 2018-2020: Mac apps add support. Windows can install HEVC plugin.
- 2021+: Windows 10/11 default support. Most photo viewers handle it.
- 2023: Most browsers don't render HEIC natively.
- 2026: Cross-platform support is reliable for native apps and most editing software.
If sharing photos, JPEG is still the safest format. iPhone offers "Most Compatible" option to save in JPEG instead of HEIC.
The "save for web" workflow
Most image editors have a "Save for Web" or "Export" option:
- Edit in original format (RAW, PSD, TIFF — lossless).
- Export to JPEG/WebP for web use.
- Choose quality (typically 80–85% for web).
- Verify size and visual appearance.
Tools: Photoshop, Affinity Photo, GIMP, Squoosh (free web tool).
Estimate sizes
Our file size estimator handles image and video estimates by resolution and quality. Useful for planning storage, comparing format options, or sanity-checking compression results.