Why are there so many image formats?

Each image format makes a different trade-off between file size, quality, and features such as transparency, so the right one depends on where the image goes. Converting also helps when a program or website won't take the format you have.

Format Transparency Good for
PNG Yes Screenshots, logos, and graphics with text, stored without losing detail
JPG No Photos, in small files with lossy compression
WebP Yes Web images, with lossy or lossless compression
GIF On or off per pixel Simple graphics with up to 256 colors
BMP No Older Windows programs; the files are uncompressed and large
ICO Yes Windows icons and website favicons, with several sizes in one file
TIFF Yes Printing, scanning, and archiving
AVIF Yes Modern web images with strong compression; can be converted from, not to
SVG Yes Vector logos and icons that scale to any size; can be converted from, not to

Tool description

This tool converts images between PNG, JPG, WebP, GIF, BMP, ICO, and TIFF, and from AVIF and SVG to any of those. Every image converter here works the same way, from the general Image Converter to the ones for a single pair, such as PNG to JPG or SVG to ICO: it starts on the formats in its name, and the Source and Target menus switch to any other. Browse file lists only images in the source format, but an image dropped on it can be in any of them: the source format follows the file, so a WebP file converts even on the PNG to JPG converter. Check the preview and download the converted image, which keeps the original file name with the new extension. When converting to ICO, check the icon sizes to include, from 16 × 16 to 256 × 256 pixels; all of them are checked to begin with.

Images are converted on your device and never uploaded.

How it works

The browser decodes the image, except TIFF, which UTIF.js decodes, and the tool draws it on a canvas at its original size. The browser then encodes PNG, JPG, and WebP files, gifenc writes GIF files, UTIF.js writes TIFF files, and the tool itself writes BMP and ICO files.

  • JPG and BMP have no transparency, so transparent areas turn white.
  • A GIF holds up to 256 colors, so the tool picks the 256 colors that best match the image. Pixels that are less than half opaque become transparent, and the rest fully opaque.
  • An ICO file gets one square PNG image per size. An image that isn't square is scaled to fit and centered, with transparent margins.
  • TIFF files are written uncompressed. Most browsers can't show TIFF, so the preview shows the original image when the target is TIFF.
  • An SVG is drawn at the width and height set in the file, or at the size of its viewBox, or at 300 × 150 pixels if it has neither.
  • Only the first frame of an animated GIF, WebP, or PNG is converted, and only the first page of a multi-page TIFF.
  • JPG and WebP files are saved at the browser's default quality.
  • Metadata, such as the camera details and GPS location in a photo's EXIF data, isn't copied to the new file.

Tips

  • To keep a transparent background, convert to PNG, WebP, ICO, TIFF, or GIF rather than JPG or BMP.
  • For photos, JPG and WebP files are much smaller than PNG. For screenshots and logos, PNG keeps text and edges sharp.
  • For a favicon, start from a square image of at least 256 × 256 pixels, or from an SVG.
  • To get a larger image from an SVG, raise its width and height attributes in a text editor first, since it's drawn at its own size.
  • An SVG that links to fonts or images in other files is drawn without them, because browsers don't load outside files for an image. Convert its text to paths and embed its images before converting.
  • Saving WebP needs a browser that can encode it. Other browsers show an error.