PNG vs JPEG

PNG is lossless with alpha. JPEG is lossy and smaller for photographs. Screenshots and UI chrome belong in PNG; camera photos usually belong in JPEG, WebP, or AVIF.

Photographs: JPEG (or WebP/AVIF). Graphics, type, screenshots, transparency: PNG. Re-encoding JPEG to PNG does not restore lost detail; it only stores the artefacts losslessly.

Compression

PNG. Lossless. Files get large for photos.

JPEG. Lossy. Quality sliders matter.

Transparency

PNG. Alpha.

JPEG. None. Edges become matte.

Metadata

PNG. Text chunks, including AI workflows.

JPEG. EXIF and GPS are common.

Re-saving

PNG. Safe for pixels if you do not go through canvas.

JPEG. Each lossy save can add artefacts.

Topic	PNG	JPEG
Compression	Lossless. Files get large for photos.	Lossy. Quality sliders matter.
Transparency	Alpha.	None. Edges become matte.
Metadata	Text chunks, including AI workflows.	EXIF and GPS are common.
Re-saving	Safe for pixels if you do not go through canvas.	Each lossy save can add artefacts.

Related tools

Image converter
Convert images on-device, with honest limits for animation and AVIF support.
Image compressor
Auto-compress locally to the smallest high-quality JPEG, WebP, PNG, or AVIF.
PNG chunk inspector
See every PNG chunk, including the ones that hide prompts.

Related formats

Last reviewed 16 August 2026.