WebP vs AVIF: The Future of Web Image Formats

JPG has dominated the web for 30 years. Two newer formats — WebP and AVIF — offer significantly better compression. But which should you use in 2026? And what happens when you need to share these images outside a browser?

WebP in 2026: Mature and Reliable

WebP was developed by Google in 2010 and reached near-universal browser support by 2022. In 2026, WebP is the practical choice for web images:

• Browser support: 97%+ globally
• CMS support: WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace all support it natively
• CDN support: Cloudflare, AWS CloudFront convert to WebP automatically
• Compression: 25–35% smaller than JPG at equivalent quality

AVIF in 2026: Better Compression, Limited Adoption

AVIF (AV1 Image File Format) was finalized in 2019 and offers even better compression than WebP — typically 50% smaller than JPG and 20% smaller than WebP. Netflix uses AVIF for movie thumbnails. Apple added support in iOS 16 and macOS Ventura.

• Browser support: Chrome 85+, Firefox 93+, Safari 16+, Edge 121+
• Compression: 50% smaller than JPG, 20% smaller than WebP
• Encoding speed: Significantly slower than WebP (improving)
• CMS support: Growing but not universal

Direct Comparison

The Problem: Neither Works Outside Browsers

Both WebP and AVIF are web-optimized formats. When users download these images, they often can't open them in standard photo apps, email them, print them, or use them in design software. This is why converting WebP and AVIF to JPG remains necessary.

PNG To JPG converts both WebP and AVIF to JPG or PNG — giving you the universal compatibility that web-optimized formats lack.