While all these 3 (JPG, PNG & WebP) are image formats only, but the differences comes from their different use cases.
JPG – A well-known image format from decades. Mostly, JPG format is used for photography, online sharing, and printing purposes.
PNG – A format that is especially known for Transparent Backgrounds. Yes, PNG is the best format for logos, icons and for other images that requires transparent backgrounds.
WebP – A format that is officially recommended by Google especially for web use like blogging, e-commerce websites, and for digital marketers. WebP is smaller and faster compared to JPG and PNG, so it’s always the best option for web uses.
You can easily convert JPG to WebP using our Safe WebP Converter.
Today, we are gonna compare JPG, PNG and WebP with simple examples so beginners can easily understand which one to use and when. Let’s get started!
Quick Summary Table (JPG vs PNG vs WebP)
| Image Format | Best For | File Size | Quality | Transparency | SEO Friendly | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPG | Photography, printing, sharing | Medium/High | Good | No | Not ideal | Great for photos but too heavy for websites |
| PNG | Logos, icons, graphics | High | Excellent | Yes | Not ideal | Best for transparency but very large in size |
| WebP | Websites, blogging, e-commerce | Low (smallest) | Excellent | Yes | Highly SEO Friendly | Google-recommended, loads faster, ideal for web use |
If you want a deep explanation instead of this quick table, check out our full comparison: JPG vs WebP (Complete Breakdown for 2025).
What is JPG? (Explained for Beginners)
JPG also called as JPEG is a common image format used worldwide from years. When we capture any pictures in our mobile phones, it automatically saved as JPG. Yes, JPG is popular for photography and printing works, because it holds huge colors or gradients with a very less noticeable mistakes for our eyes. In simple words, for high quality pictures, JPG is best.
Also a small caution, While JPG was the standard image format from decades, it’s no longer the most efficient option for websites. Larger and unoptimized JPG files can be very heavy. It can slow down your site and negatively impact site SEO and rankings, which is the worst condition for a website from Google perspective. This is why Google now recommends modern formats like WebP.
What is PNG? (When and Why to Use It?)
PNG (Portable Network Graphic) is a common image format which is widely known for transparent backgrounds. Yes, PNG is best for logos, icons and all other images that require a transparent background. Web designers can highly use PNG because it handles graphics with transparent backgrounds.
Again, PNG is also too heavy for normal web uses like blogging and e-commerce websites. So, PNG is also not recommended for any web use.
What is WebP?
WebP – a modern image format introduced by Google and it’s a perfect image format for web use. WebP is mostly used by people like us who manage websites. It’s lighter as well as faster compared to JPG and PNG. WebP can hold huge colors and gradients like JPG with less file size. And can also support transparent backgrounds like PNG again with lower size. A combination of both with a very compact file size!
This is why websites become faster than before, after using WebP images. It’s a format that was launched and recommended by Google to improve Technical SEO and core web vitals, which are the main factors to rank high.
Want to know more about WebP? Read What is WebP and How it Improves SEO.
JPG vs PNG vs WebP Live Comparison
PNG Format
JPG Format
WebP Format
Observed? WebP is a format that contains all features of JPG and PNG in one, even with the smallest size compared to both. See our comparison
When Should You Use JPG?
Even though JPG is not made for websites, it’s still good for detailed photography and also for sharing images from one device to another. If you want to print any image, JPG is the best option for printing as well.
For example, if I want to make a portrait of myself, PNG and other formats are not suitable for that. In this case, JPG is the best option for me because it offers the best printable capability for high-quality images.
Remember that, JPG is still good for several use cases, but not good for SEO.
When Should You Use PNG?
As always, PNG is a well-known format for images that require transparent backgrounds, such as logos. Yes, PNG supports transparent backgrounds allowing us to easily place the image on any background without a surrounding box. This means we can effectively remove the icon’s original background (those white boxes around it) and place it seamlessly onto a separate color or on separate image.
In simple words, PNG is a better option for icons, logos, vector-like graphics, charts and screenshots.
In my experience, no doubt PNG is a beast for transparency, but it is also a disaster for website speed! So, make sure to convert it to WebP before using on any website.
When Should You Use WebP Format?
WebP is most important for web use! JPG and PNG are good at quality and transparency but again, they are not made for websites and can slow down websites with larger file size. But WebP is designed for speed and performance. It holds a maximum quality with the smallest possible size, and this is what Google exactly wants!
Website speed matters guys, because it’s a first priority when it comes to good user experience. WebP is exactly made for speed. It does not acquire a large amount of space in our hosting server, and it helps to improve core web vitals and other technical stuff on our site that we don’t even know about.
From my experience, if you use Google’s recommended WebP for the next 30 days, you’ll see a massive change in speed, performance, and also in rankings as well.
How to Convert JPG or PNG to WebP Safely?
Safety matters! The majority of people are using some famous online WebP converters but, have you ever thought about what if all your converted images are stored somewhere? Yes, it’s an obvious question that only few people think about, and it actually makes sense!
Most of the WebP converters available online are first upload your images to their servers and then convert it to WebP, which is obviously unsafe. For this exact reason, we developed a Safe WebP Converter that converts all of your images inside your web browser. Yes, we do not use any servers to convert, instead all the images are processed and converted inside your browser using client-side conversion technology.
So make sure to maintain your privacy because most people don’t know about it!
A small announcement that our WebP Converter tool currently supports JPG to WebP conversion. But soon we’ll upgrade it to PNG to WebP and others as well.
Conclusion
In conclusion, never ever slow down your website by using unsuitable image formats for websites. Google knew about this problem and provided a solution 15 years ago, but only few know about it! That’s true. Most website owners don’t even know what WebP is!
Upgrading ourselves according to the latest technology will always gonna save us. If you are using WebP images, you are far more ahead of those who are not!
Make sure to convert your images safely!
Have a Great Day!
