Zro7In 2026, use AVIF for the web when file size matters, WebP when encoder speed matters, MozJPEG for email and legacy pipelines, and PNG only for screenshots, UI, and anything with crisp edges or transparency that AVIF/WebP-lossless can't beat. Convert any of them locally with Zro7 Convert Image Format.
Quick decision table
- Photograph on the web → AVIF (fallback: WebP).
- Photograph you're emailing / uploading to old CMS → MozJPEG at 80.
- Screenshot, chart, logo → PNG or WebP-lossless.
- Icon / illustration with transparency → PNG or WebP-lossless (both are lossless with alpha).
- Animated → WebP or AVIF; skip GIF unless you truly need universal legacy support.
- Archival / editing master → keep the RAW or a lossless copy; only export lossy versions.
The real numbers
On a typical 12 MP phone photo saved from RAW:
- PNG (lossless): ~15–25 MB
- MozJPEG q80: ~1.2 MB
- WebP q75: ~800 KB (~35% smaller than JPEG at matching perceived quality)
- AVIF q60: ~500 KB (~40% smaller than WebP)
Where PNG still wins
Anything with hard edges and few colors — screenshots, UI mocks, pixel art, diagrams — compresses better as PNG than as JPEG/WebP/AVIF (which are tuned for photos). Modern PNG optimizers (OxiPNG, Zopfli) can shrink screenshots 20–40% with no quality change.
Converting between them
Convert without uploading with Convert Image Format, or compress in-place with Compress Image. Both use the Squoosh WebAssembly encoders — the same ones Google Chrome's dev-tools "Copy image as WebP" is built on.