JPG vs PNG
JPG and PNG are the two image formats every device understands. They solve different problems: JPG keeps photos small by discarding invisible detail, while PNG stores every pixel exactly and supports transparency.
Short answer
Use JPG for photographs, especially when file size matters for sharing or uploading. Use PNG for screenshots, logos, text, diagrams and anything that needs a transparent background. If you are unsure, ask whether the image came from a camera (JPG) or from a screen or design tool (PNG).
| JPG | PNG | |
|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossy, based on 8×8 blocks and a quality setting | Lossless: row filters plus DEFLATE |
| Quality | Very good for photos at quality 75–90; halos around text and edges | Pixel-exact; never adds artifacts |
| Transparency | None; every pixel is opaque | Full 8-bit alpha channel |
| Animation | No | Yes, through APNG, though rarely used |
| File size for photos | Small; often a fraction of the PNG size | Large; commonly several times the JPG size |
| File size for graphics | Often larger than PNG, with visible artifacts | Small for flat colors, screenshots and text |
| Browser and app support | Universal | Universal |
| Editing and re-saving | Each re-save loses a little more detail | Re-save as often as you like without loss |
| Metadata | EXIF from cameras is standard, including GPS | Text and EXIF chunks possible; often minimal |
| Best for | Camera photos, sharing, upload forms | Screenshots, logos, UI, transparent images |
Why the same image gets such different sizes
The two formats react to content in opposite ways. JPG is good at throwing away the random fine texture found in photos, so a camera picture shrinks dramatically. PNG cannot throw anything away, and that same texture is close to incompressible, so the photo stays large.
With a screenshot, the situation reverses. Large flat areas and repeated patterns are exactly what PNG’s lossless compression handles best, so a full-screen capture can be surprisingly small. JPG, meanwhile, has to spend data describing razor-sharp text edges and still produces faint halos and color fringes around letters.
Which should I use?
Match the format to the job rather than to habit:
- Holiday or product photo to email, post or upload: JPG
- Passport or ID photo for a form with a KB limit: JPG
- Screenshot of an error message or a spreadsheet: PNG
- Company logo for a slide deck or website: PNG, or SVG if you have it
- Image you will keep editing over several sessions: PNG as the working copy, then export JPG at the end
- Photo with a removed background: PNG, since JPG would fill the background back in
What happens when you convert between them
Going from PNG to JPG makes photos much smaller but flattens transparency onto a solid color; Pixellin uses white unless you choose otherwise. Text and sharp graphics may pick up slight artifacts, so check them at the quality you pick. PNG to JPG defaults to quality 90.
Going from JPG to PNG doesn’t restore any detail the JPG already lost, and the file usually grows. It is still useful when you need a lossless working copy for repeated edits, or when a program insists on PNG. JPG to PNG does it without uploading anything.
Switch between JPG and PNG
JPG to PNG
Save JPG images as lossless PNG files before you edit, annotate or re-save them.
CONVERT · PNG → JPGPNG to JPG
Shrink large PNG screenshots and photos into JPG files that email, upload and open anywhere.
COMPRESS · JPGCompress JPG
Shrink JPG photos with MozJPEG, an encoder tuned for smaller files at the same visual quality.
COMPRESS · PNGCompress PNG
Cut PNG screenshots, icons and graphics down by reducing them to a smaller color palette.
Questions
Is PNG higher quality than JPG?
PNG is lossless, so it can’t add compression artifacts. For a photo viewed on screen, a JPG at quality 85–90 usually looks identical while being far smaller. For screenshots and text, PNG is visibly sharper, so “quality” depends on what the image contains.
Does converting JPG to PNG improve quality?
No. The PNG stores the JPG’s pixels exactly, including any artifacts already there. It prevents further loss if you keep editing, but it cannot recover detail. Expect the PNG to be larger than the original JPG.
Which is better for a website?
Use JPG for photos and PNG for logos, icons and screenshots if you must pick between the two. For most sites today, WebP or AVIF do both jobs with smaller files, and every current browser supports them.
Why does my logo look blurry or dirty as a JPG?
JPG compression struggles with hard edges between flat colors, producing halos and blotchy color around lines and letters. Logos also often need transparency, which JPG lacks. Save logos as PNG or SVG instead.