Image formats, explained
What each format is for, what it can and can’t do, and which one to choose. Every page links to the matching converters.
| Format | Compression | Transparency | Animation | Browsers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPG | Lossy (DCT) | — | — | Universal |
| PNG | Lossless (DEFLATE) | ✓ | ✓ | Universal |
| WebP | Lossy (VP8) or lossless | ✓ | ✓ | All current browsers |
| AVIF | Lossy or lossless (AV1) | ✓ | ✓ | All current browsers |
| HEIC | Lossy (HEVC) | ✓ | ✓ | Safari only |
| GIF | Lossless (LZW), 256-color palette | ✓ | ✓ | Universal |
| SVG | Vector (text/XML) | ✓ | ✓ | Universal |
| BMP | Usually uncompressed | — | — | Most browsers |
| TIFF | Uncompressed, LZW, ZIP or JPEG | ✓ | — | Safari only |
| ICO | BMP or PNG entries | ✓ | — | Universal (as favicon) |
.jpg What is a JPG file?JPG (also written JPEG) is a lossy image format designed for photographs. .png What is a PNG file?PNG (Portable Network Graphics) is a lossless image format. .webp What is WebP?WebP is an image format made for the web. .avif What is AVIF?AVIF is a modern image format built on the AV1 video codec. .heic What is a HEIC file?HEIC is the photo format iPhones and iPads use by default. .gif What is a GIF?GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is a palette-based image format from 1987, best known for short looping animations. .svg What is an SVG file?SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) describes an image as shapes, paths and text instead of pixels. .bmp What is a BMP file?BMP is the Windows bitmap format: a simple file that usually stores pixels with no compression at all. .tiff What is a TIFF file?TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is a flexible, usually lossless format used for scanning, printing, publishing and archiving. .ico What is an ICO file?ICO is the Windows icon format.