What is an Image Converter?
An image converter transforms images from one file format to another—like converting JPEG to WebP, PNG to AVIF, or any combination of supported formats. It allows you to optimize images for the web, reduce file sizes, or ensure compatibility with different platforms.
Different image formats have different strengths: JPEG is great for photographs, PNG preserves transparency, WebP offers excellent compression, and AVIF provides the best compression ratios for modern browsers.
WebP & AVIF
Modern formats with superior compression for faster web pages
JPEG & PNG
Universal formats supported everywhere, ideal for sharing
Size Reduction
Compress images to reduce file size without losing quality
Resize Options
Scale images to specific dimensions while maintaining quality
Common use cases:
- Website optimization — Convert to WebP/AVIF for faster page loads
- Social media — Resize and compress images for upload limits
- Email attachments — Reduce file size to meet email limits
- Transparency support — Convert JPEG to PNG to add transparent backgrounds
- Format compatibility — Convert newer formats to JPEG for older software
Choosing the Right Format and Quality
Every format makes a different trade between file size, color depth, and features. The table below lines them up so you can pick before you convert. The size column compares a typical photo against the same image saved as JPEG at matching visual quality.
| Format | Compression | Transparency | Animation | Size vs JPEG | Browser support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPEG | Lossy | No | No | Baseline | Universal |
| PNG | Lossless | Yes | No (APNG rare) | +30% to +200% | Universal |
| WebP | Lossy + Lossless | Yes | Yes | -25% to -35% | All browsers since 2020 |
| AVIF | Lossy + Lossless | Yes | Yes | -40% to -50% | Safari 16.4+ (2023), others earlier |
| GIF | Lossless, 256 colors | Yes (1-bit) | Yes | Varies, large for photos | Universal |
| TIFF | Lossless / uncompressed | Yes | No | +300% or more | Desktop / print, not web |
Worked example: one 4000x3000 photo, four ways
Take a 12-megapixel landscape shot exported from a camera at JPEG quality 90. It lands around 4.2 MB. Re-encoding the exact same pixels at lower quality or into a newer format shrinks it sharply while staying visually clean on screen:
| Output setting | Approx. file size | Compared to original |
|---|---|---|
| JPEG, quality 90 | 4.2 MB | Original export |
| JPEG, quality 80 | 1.1 MB | 74% smaller |
| WebP, quality 80 | 800 KB | 81% smaller |
| AVIF, quality 60 | 550 KB | 87% smaller |
The jump from JPEG 90 to JPEG 80 alone removes most of the weight because the top quality band spends a lot of bytes on detail the eye cannot see. AVIF then squeezes the same picture roughly in half again. Actual sizes shift with how busy the photo is: flat skies compress far smaller than foliage or fabric texture.
Quality setting cheat sheet
| Use case | Format | Quality target |
|---|---|---|
| Print / archival | TIFF or PNG | 95-100 or lossless |
| Hero / banner photos | WebP or AVIF | 80-85 |
| In-article photos | WebP or JPEG | 78-82 |
| Thumbnails | WebP or JPEG | 70-75 |
| Screenshots with text | PNG | Lossless |
| Logos / line art | PNG or SVG | Lossless |
Screenshots and diagrams deserve special mention. Lossy formats break text into blocky halos, the ringing artifacts you see hugging sharp black-on-white edges. Keep those as PNG so every letter stays crisp, and reserve JPEG, WebP, and AVIF for photographic content where smooth gradients hide the compression.
What to watch when you convert
- Quality never comes back. Converting a JPEG to PNG wraps the already-lost detail in a lossless container. The file gets bigger, but the compression artifacts baked into the JPEG stay exactly where they were.
- Metadata and color profiles may drop. EXIF fields such as camera model, GPS, and capture date, plus the embedded ICC profile, are often stripped on conversion. If colors look washed out afterward, a missing profile is the usual cause.
- Animated GIF to a static format keeps one frame. Exporting an animated GIF to JPEG or PNG saves only the first frame. To preserve motion, target animated WebP or AVIF instead.
- CMYK gets remapped to RGB. Print TIFFs often use CMYK color. Web formats are RGB only, so saturated cyans and magentas can shift slightly during the conversion.
Picking dimensions for the web
Compression is only half the weight problem. A 4000 pixel wide photo shrunk to fit a 1200 pixel column still ships every extra pixel. Resize before you upload: 1920 px works for full-bleed backgrounds, 1200 px covers most article and content widths, and 400 px is plenty for thumbnails and avatars. When a layout serves different sizes on phones and desktops, a responsive srcset lets the browser download only the width it actually needs.