# Choose PNG, JPEG or WebP for an image export

Source: https://image-edit.app/guides/choose-png-jpeg-or-webp/

Image Edit · English

This editorial guide is currently available in English. Calculator and tool interfaces support the site’s available languages.

A file extension describes an encoding, not a promise of quality or size. A photograph, a logo and a screenshot may benefit from different settings. The [Image Converter](https://image-edit.app/convert-image/) offers PNG, JPEG and WebP exports, subject to what your browser can encode. Compare the result visually and check that the place you will use it accepts the format.

## Keep transparency when it matters

PNG can represent transparent pixels and is useful when a logo must sit over different backgrounds. The tool’s PNG export keeps transparency. WebP can also carry transparency. JPEG cannot represent an alpha channel, so this tool places transparent areas on white when exporting JPEG. A transparent logo can therefore become a white rectangle after conversion.

The preview may show transparency against the page’s checkerboard or background. Download the file and test it in its intended layout rather than assuming that a white-looking preview contains a white background.

## Understand quality settings

JPEG and the tool’s WebP quality settings influence lossy encoding. A lower setting may reduce bytes while introducing visible changes around fine detail, text and sharp edges. A quality value is an encoder setting; it is not the percentage of original visual detail retained. The same numeric value can behave differently across formats and browsers.

PNG does not use the JPEG/WebP quality slider in the same way. Exporting a JPEG photograph as PNG does not restore information lost during earlier JPEG compression. Converting it repeatedly can also create unnecessary versions without improving the source. Keep a high-quality original and make delivery copies from it.

## Check output rather than guessing

If a 500 KB original exports as 650 KB, the new file is 150 KB larger, a 30% increase. Format changes and pixel content determine the result; conversion alone does not guarantee savings. Use [Compress Image](https://image-edit.app/compress-image/) to compare file sizes, and [Resize Image](https://image-edit.app/resize-image/) when the dimensions exceed what you need.

These tools accept still PNG, JPEG and WebP images up to 16 MiB, 24 megapixels and 16,384 pixels on either side. Generated images are limited to 16 megapixels and 8,192 pixels per side. Animated files are not an animation-editing workflow: a browser canvas export produces a still image. HEIC, SVG, GIF, TIFF and PDF are outside the supported input formats. Color appearance can vary by browser, display and export pipeline, so review images where they will be published.