AVIF vs WebP vs JPEG XL — Which Next-Gen Image Format Should You Use?
JPEG has been the default image format for three decades. It works everywhere, every device opens it, and every website serves it. But JPEG was designed in 1992. Modern formats compress better, support transparency, handle HDR, and still look sharp. Three formats are competing to replace it: AVIF, WebP, and JPEG XL. Each has different strengths, different trade-offs, and different browser support. This guide breaks down exactly what each format does well and where it falls short, so you can pick the right one for your workflow.
What Are These Formats?
AVIF (AV1 Image File Format) is based on the AV1 video codec developed by the Alliance for Open Media — a group that includes Google, Apple, Netflix, and Meta. It was released in 2019 and delivers exceptional compression, especially at low bitrates where JPEG turns muddy. AVIF supports transparency, HDR, wide color gamut, and animation.
WebP was created by Google in 2010 as a direct JPEG replacement. It compresses roughly 25–35% smaller than JPEG at equivalent quality. WebP supports transparency (like PNG) and animation (like GIF), making it a practical all-in-one format. It has the widest browser support of the three next-gen formats.
JPEG XL (.jxl) was finalized in 2022 by the JPEG committee itself. It was designed as a true JPEG successor — it can losslessly transcode existing JPEG files (reducing size by ~20% with zero quality loss), supports progressive decoding, and handles massive images efficiently. However, browser support has been rocky. Chrome removed its JPEG XL flag in 2023, and as of 2026, only Safari and Firefox support it natively.
Compression: How Small Do They Get?
Compression is the primary reason to switch from JPEG. All three formats beat JPEG, but by different margins depending on the image type and quality target.
Photographic images (lossy):
AVIF: 40–50% smaller than JPEG at equivalent perceived quality
WebP: 25–35% smaller than JPEG
JPEG XL: 35–45% smaller than JPEG
At very low bitrates (heavy compression), AVIF wins decisively — it avoids the blocky artifacts that make JPEG and even WebP look muddy.
AVIF: 40–50% smaller than JPEG at equivalent perceived quality
WebP: 25–35% smaller than JPEG
JPEG XL: 35–45% smaller than JPEG
At very low bitrates (heavy compression), AVIF wins decisively — it avoids the blocky artifacts that make JPEG and even WebP look muddy.
Graphics, text, screenshots (lossless):
AVIF: 20–30% smaller than PNG
WebP: 15–25% smaller than PNG
JPEG XL: 25–40% smaller than PNG
JPEG XL is particularly strong for lossless compression of screenshots and illustrations.
AVIF: 20–30% smaller than PNG
WebP: 15–25% smaller than PNG
JPEG XL: 25–40% smaller than PNG
JPEG XL is particularly strong for lossless compression of screenshots and illustrations.
Encoding speed:
WebP encodes fastest — near-instant for most images. JPEG XL is moderately fast. AVIF is the slowest to encode, especially at high quality settings. Encoding speed matters for server-side image processing pipelines where thousands of images are converted per minute, but it rarely matters for one-off conversions.
WebP encodes fastest — near-instant for most images. JPEG XL is moderately fast. AVIF is the slowest to encode, especially at high quality settings. Encoding speed matters for server-side image processing pipelines where thousands of images are converted per minute, but it rarely matters for one-off conversions.
Real-World Savings
A 4 MB JPEG photo at 85% quality becomes roughly:
WebP: ~2.8 MB
JPEG XL: ~2.4 MB
AVIF: ~2.1 MB
For a website serving 10,000 images/day, AVIF saves ~19 GB/day in bandwidth vs JPEG.
Quality and Visual Fidelity
Compression ratios only tell half the story. What matters is how an image looks after compression — and this is where the formats diverge in interesting ways.
AVIF excels at preserving overall structure and color accuracy, but it can sometimes over-smooth fine textures at aggressive compression levels. Hair strands, fabric weave, and grass can look slightly waxy in heavily compressed AVIF files. At moderate quality settings (q60–q80), this effect disappears.
WebP preserves texture detail slightly better than AVIF at equivalent file sizes, but it introduces more ringing artifacts around high-contrast edges — text on a photo, a branch against a bright sky. For web-sized images (under 2000px), WebP looks excellent.
JPEG XL is the most perceptually tuned of the three. Its psychovisual model is designed to match human vision closely, which means the artifacts it introduces are the kind humans are least likely to notice. For professional photography workflows where visual quality is paramount, JPEG XL is arguably the strongest choice.
Browser Support in 2026
This is where the practical decision often gets made, regardless of technical merit.
WebP: Supported in all major browsers since 2020. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera, Samsung Internet, and every Chromium-based browser. Effectively universal — the safest choice for web use.
AVIF: Supported in Chrome (since v85, 2020), Firefox (since v93, 2021), Safari (since v16.4, 2023), Edge, and Opera. The main gap was Safari, but that closed in 2023. AVIF is now safe for mainstream web use with a WebP or JPEG fallback.
JPEG XL: Supported in Safari (since v17, 2023) and Firefox (behind a flag, enabled by default since v122, 2024). Chrome removed JPEG XL support in v110 (2023), which means the world's most-used browser does not support it. This is the format's biggest limitation for web deployment.
Feature Comparison
Transparency (alpha channel): All three support it. All three replace PNG for transparent images at much smaller file sizes.
Animation: AVIF and WebP both support animation as a GIF replacement. JPEG XL also supports animation. All three produce dramatically smaller animated files than GIF — typically 50–80% smaller.
HDR and wide color gamut: AVIF and JPEG XL both support HDR10 and wide gamut natively. WebP is limited to 8-bit SDR. For HDR photography or display-P3 color workflows, WebP is not an option.
Progressive decoding: JPEG XL supports true progressive decoding — a low-resolution preview loads first, then refines. This was one of JPEG's most useful features for slow connections, and JPEG XL is the only next-gen format that preserves it. AVIF and WebP require the full file before rendering.
Lossless JPEG recompression: JPEG XL can losslessly transcode existing JPEG files — shrinking them ~20% with bit-perfect reconstruction. No other format can do this. For archives of existing JPEG collections, this is a compelling feature.
Which Format Should You Use?
For websites and web apps: Use WebP as your primary format with JPEG as fallback. If your audience is on modern browsers (post-2023), start using AVIF for hero images and large photos where the extra compression savings justify the slower encoding. Serve both with the
<picture> element.For mobile apps: AVIF gives the best compression, and both iOS (since iOS 16) and Android (since Android 12) support it natively. Use AVIF for assets shipped inside the app bundle to minimize download size.
For photography archives: JPEG XL, if your tooling supports it. The lossless JPEG transcode feature alone saves ~20% on existing collections with zero quality loss. For new captures, JPEG XL's lossless mode compresses better than PNG.
For social media and sharing: JPEG and PNG remain king. Most social platforms re-encode uploads to JPEG regardless of source format. Convert to JPEG or PNG before uploading to avoid double compression.
For email attachments: JPEG. Many email clients and corporate firewalls strip or block unfamiliar file extensions. JPEG is universally accepted.
Quick Decision Guide
Maximum compatibility → WebP
Maximum compression → AVIF
Maximum quality + JPEG migration → JPEG XL
Universal fallback → JPEG (still)
How to Convert Between Formats
Converting between AVIF, WebP, JPEG XL, and traditional formats is straightforward with online tools. You can convert AVIF to JPG, AVIF to PNG, or AVIF to WebP using iFormat's free AVIF converter. For WebP files, the image converter handles WebP to JPG, WebP to PNG, and dozens of other format combinations.
If you are batch-converting images for a website migration, upload multiple files at once — most conversions finish in seconds. All files are processed in your browser or deleted from the server within 30 minutes.
Convert AVIF, WebP, and More — Free Online
Convert between AVIF, WebP, JPEG, PNG, and 50+ image formats. No sign-up, no watermarks.
The Bottom Line
JPEG is not going away anytime soon, but the gap between it and modern formats is too large to ignore. WebP is the pragmatic choice today — it works everywhere, compresses well, and supports transparency and animation. AVIF is the performance leader and is quickly becoming safe for production web use. JPEG XL is technically superior in several ways but faces an uncertain future on the web due to Chrome's decision to drop support.
For most people, the answer in 2026 is: serve AVIF with a WebP fallback for websites, keep JPEG for anything that leaves your control (email, uploads, sharing), and watch JPEG XL's browser situation. The format war is not over, but the days of JPEG-only are.
