Comparison
WebP vs PNG vs JPG
Three formats, three jobs. WebP tries to cover both photos and graphics. PNG and JPG still win on universal support. This page is the decision chart after you land on WebpUndo.
| WebP | PNG | JPG | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best at | Web delivery, mixed content | Sharp graphics, alpha | Photographs, forms that demand JPEG |
| Compression | Lossy or lossless | Lossless | Lossy |
| Transparency | Yes | Yes | No |
| Animation | Yes | APNG (spotty) | No |
| Old software | Often no | Usually yes | Almost always yes |
| Typical size | Smallest on the web | Large for photos | Small for photos |
Pick PNG when the picture is a graphic
Screenshots, type, UI, logos, diagrams. Lossless matters because a single wrong pixel in a letter is obvious. Alpha matters because the next background is unknown. ConvertWebP to PNG and stop. Re-saving that PNG as JPEG later will halo the text.
Pick JPG when the picture is a photograph
Faces, landscapes, food, anything that already came through a camera pipeline. JPEG’s artifacts hide in texture. File size stays friendly for email and older CMS upload caps. UseWebP to JPG and leave quality near 85 unless you are squeezing for a quota.
Keep WebP when the next stop is a browser
If you are posting back to a site that already serves WebP, converting out and in again is wasted quality. Download the WebP and use it. Convert only when the next tool cannot open it.
Double conversion is a trap
Camera RAW → JPEG → CDN WebP → your PNG → someone else’s JPEG is four chances to bruise the same sky. Each hop that is lossy writes a new compromise. WebpUndo will not warn you with a modal, but the honest rule is: convert once, to the format the next human tool needs, from the best source you still have.
Color, metadata, and EXIF
Browser canvas encode keeps pixels, not a full metadata fork. GPS, camera model, and some ICC details from the WebP may not appear on the PNG or JPG. That is usually what you want for a screenshot you plan to share. If you are an archivist who needs EXIF intact, use a desktop tool that copies chunks instead of a canvas.
Support in 2026
Current phones and desktop browsers decode WebP. The holdouts are enterprise viewers, some email clients, print RIPs, and “attach a JPEG” government forms. Those holdouts are why this site exists. They are not going away this year.
More on the bitstream: How WebP works. Privacy notes for teams: No-upload guide.