Most of us never chose an image format in our lives. Our phone chose, our screenshot tool chose, the website we saved a picture from chose. Then one day a logo prints with a white box around it, a screenshot turns blurry, or an upload form rejects a perfectly good photo, and suddenly the choice matters. Take heart: you do not need to memorise anything technical. Each format was designed for one kind of picture, and once you know what each is good at, the right answer becomes obvious. Let me walk you through them, and then give you a simple map you can follow every time.
What do lossy and lossless mean?
Lossy formats, such as JPG, make files small by permanently discarding detail you are unlikely to miss. They are wonderful for photos. Lossless formats, such as PNG, keep every pixel exactly as it was. They are best for screenshots, logos, text and anything you plan to edit again. Some modern formats, such as WebP and AVIF, can work either way.
One more idea completes the picture: raster versus vector. Raster images, which is almost all of them, are a grid of pixels, so they blur if you enlarge them too far. Vector images, such as SVG, are described as shapes and lines, so they stay crisp at any size. Vectors suit logos and icons, never photos.
How do you choose the right format quickly?
Start at the top of this map and answer each question honestly. The first question you answer with yes gives you the format.
- Several pictures sent as one document? PDF (pages in order). If not, go to the next question.
- A logo or an icon? PNG or SVG (ICO for a favicon). If not, go to the next question.
- Needs a transparent background? PNG or WebP (keeps transparency). If not, go to the next question.
- A photo for your own website? WebP or AVIF (smallest files). If not, go to the next question.
- A photo to share, email or upload? JPG (opens everywhere). If not, go to the next question.
- None of the above? PNG (screenshots, text, graphics).
How do the formats compare?
If you prefer to see everything at once, here are the formats you are most likely to meet:
| Format | Best for | Transparency | Animation | Opens everywhere |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPG | Photos to share | No | No | Yes |
| PNG | Screenshots, logos, editing | Yes | No | Yes |
| WebP | Websites | Yes | Yes | Modern browsers |
| AVIF | Smallest web files | Yes | Yes | Current browsers |
| HEIC | iPhone photo storage | Rarely used | No | Mostly Apple |
| GIF | Tiny simple loops | Yes (on or off) | Yes | Yes |
| SVG | Logos and icons | Yes | Possible | Browsers |
| Documents and scans | Not applicable | No | Yes |
What is JPG best at?
JPG is the universal photo format: small, lossy and understood by absolutely everything. Use it for photos you share, upload or email. Avoid it for screenshots and graphics with text, where it softens sharp edges, and for anything that needs transparency, which it cannot store. If you have JFIF files, relax: they are JPGs with a different ending.
When is PNG the right choice?
PNG is lossless and supports transparency, which makes it ideal for screenshots, logos, icons, diagrams, anything with text or flat colours, and pictures you will keep editing. It is a poor choice for photos, simply because the files become very large.
Why do websites use WebP?
Google created WebP for the web. It can be lossy or lossless, handles transparency and animation, and according to Google's own measurements makes files around a quarter to a third smaller than comparable JPGs. All modern browsers display it. The only catch is that some older programs and upload forms still refuse it, which is why so many people end up converting WebP back to JPG or PNG.
Is AVIF worth using?
AVIF is a newer format based on the AV1 video codec. It often produces the smallest files of all at a given quality, and supports transparency and high colour depth. Current versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari can display it, but support in desktop programs, older devices and upload forms is still patchy, and it takes longer to encode. Use it on your website when every kilobyte counts, and keep a JPG for anything that must open everywhere.
What about HEIC, GIF, BMP and TIFF?
HEIC is the iPhone's default photo format: smaller than JPG, but often unreadable outside the Apple world. Keep it for storage and convert to JPG for sharing; the HEIC vs JPG guide explains why. GIF is the old animation format, limited to 256 colours, so photos look grainy and animations are large. When ManyFormat converts a GIF it keeps only the first frame, and says so.
BMP is an old, uncompressed Windows format: simple but enormous. TIFF is used for scanning, printing and archiving, where full quality matters more than size, and it can hold several pages in one file. For everyday sharing, turn photos into JPG and graphics into PNG.
What are ICO, SVG and PDF for?
ICO is the icon format behind website favicons and Windows icons, holding a small square image, typically 16 to 256 pixels across. Start from a square PNG with a transparent background for the best result.
SVG is a vector format written as text, used for logos, icons and illustrations on websites. It stays perfectly sharp at any size and is often tiny. Because many programs and forms cannot use SVG directly, people often convert it to PNG. Turning a photo into SVG only works as a simplified tracing of its shapes, never as an exact copy.
PDF is not an image format as such, but it is the standard way to send pictures as a document. Putting scans or photos into a PDF gives the recipient one tidy file, which is what many offices, schools and print shops ask for.
What should you remember when converting?
Going from lossless to lossy, such as PNG to JPG, makes files smaller but cannot be undone, so keep the original. Going from lossy to lossless, such as JPG to PNG, never restores lost detail and usually makes the file bigger, so do it only when a program requires PNG or you need to edit without further loss. ManyFormat tells you in plain words whenever a conversion loses something, such as transparency or animation, and every conversion happens inside your browser, without uploading your files.
Questions people ask
What is the best image format overall?
There is no single best format. JPG is best for compatibility, PNG for screenshots and graphics, WebP or AVIF for small files on websites, and PDF for documents.
Which formats support transparency?
PNG, WebP, AVIF, GIF, ICO and SVG can store transparency. JPG and BMP cannot, so transparent areas become a solid colour.
Is WebP better than JPG?
For websites, usually yes: smaller files at similar quality. For sending to other people or uploading to forms, JPG is safer because everything accepts it.
Why does my logo have a white box around it on a coloured background?
It was probably saved as JPG, which cannot store transparency, so the empty areas were filled with white. Use the original PNG or SVG, or recreate it with a transparent background.
Does changing the file ending change the format?
No. Renaming photo.png to photo.jpg only changes the label, not the data inside. Some programs then refuse the file or show an error. Convert it instead so the data really matches the ending.
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Last reviewed: October 17, 2026 · Tfq Mouad