Short answer: for the web in 2026, use WebP as your default — it's much smaller than JPEG and supported everywhere that matters. Use AVIF when you want the absolute smallest file and your audience is on modern browsers. Keep JPEG only for maximum compatibility or when something downstream demands it.

Here's the longer version.

At the same quality, roughly:

  • JPEG — the baseline. Universally supported, decades old.
  • WebP — about 25–35% smaller than JPEG at similar quality. Supported by all current browsers, most apps, and most platforms.
  • AVIF — about 50% smaller than JPEG, sometimes more, especially for photos. Best compression, but slower to encode and not supported in some older or niche software.

So the size ranking is almost always AVIF < WebP < JPEG.

But size isn't the only thing

  • Compatibility: JPEG works literally everywhere. WebP is safe for the web now. AVIF is great in browsers but can trip up older email clients, some CMSes, and a few image viewers.
  • Encoding speed: AVIF takes longer to compress. For one image you won't notice; for a batch of hundreds it adds up.
  • Transparency: WebP and AVIF support transparency (like PNG); JPEG does not. If you need a transparent background, JPEG is out.
  • Photos vs graphics: For flat graphics, logos and screenshots with sharp edges, none of these are ideal — a vector SVG is usually the right call.

A simple rule

  • Website images, default → WebP.
  • Want the smallest and your users are on modern browsers → AVIF (keep a WebP/JPEG fallback if you're being careful).
  • Email attachments, old systems, "just give me a normal image" → JPEG.
  • Logo / icon / flat art → not these at all; vectorize to SVG.
  • Need transparency → WebP or AVIF (or PNG if compatibility matters more than size).

Try it both ways

The honest answer for any specific image is: export it as WebP and AVIF, compare the size and how it looks, and keep the better one. Quality at a given format isn't perfectly predictable — a noisy photo and a clean illustration compress very differently.

Drop an image into the Image Compression tool, switch the output format, and watch the file size change in real time. It's the fastest way to settle the WebP-vs-AVIF question for your image.

Not sure which to pick? Open Image Compression, try WebP and AVIF on your own file, and keep whichever wins.