WebP vs JPG: Which Image Format Should You Use?

Should you save that photo as WebP or JPG? The honest answer is "it depends on where the image is going." WebP almost always produces a smaller file at the same visual quality, but JPG is understood by literally everything. This guide gives you a rule you can actually apply.

The short version

For images on a modern website, use WebP — it typically shrinks files 25–35% smaller than JPG at matching quality, which means faster pages and lower bandwidth. For anything you email, print, or hand to someone else's software, JPG is the safer bet because compatibility beats a few saved kilobytes.

Why WebP is smaller

WebP uses more modern compression than JPG's decades-old algorithm, and it supports both lossy and lossless modes plus transparency (which JPG can't do at all). At the same perceived quality, a WebP photo is usually noticeably lighter. Convert existing images with the Image to WebP tool, then check the savings for yourself.

Where JPG still wins

JPG's superpower is that it opens everywhere — every browser, every phone, every email client, every photo kiosk, every ten-year-old printer driver. WebP support is broad on the web today, but it still trips up some older desktop apps, certain email previews, and print workflows. If someone downloads the file and opens it in unknown software, JPG removes all doubt.

When to use each

• Website hero images, thumbnails, product photos: WebP. Speed matters and browsers handle it. Resize first with the Image Resizer, then convert to WebP.
• Email attachments and newsletters: JPG. Some clients won't render WebP inline.
• Printing or sending to a print shop: JPG. Print pipelines expect it.
• A file someone else will edit in an unknown app: JPG for safety.
• Logos or graphics needing transparency: WebP or PNG, not JPG (JPG has no transparency).

A practical workflow

Keep a master copy, then export per destination. For the web, serve WebP and optionally compress further with the Image Compressor. If you're handed a WebP but need something universal, convert to JPG (or use PNG to JPG when the source is a PNG). Don't over-think it: WebP for your own website, JPG for everyone else's world, and you'll rarely be wrong.