Picking the right output format
| Format | Best for | Transparency | Typical size (12 MP photo) |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPG | Photos, universal compatibility | No | 2–5 MB at quality 90 |
| PNG | Screenshots, graphics, lossless editing | Yes | 15–25 MB |
| WebP | Websites, smaller photos | Yes | 1.5–3 MB |
| AVIF | Smallest files, modern browsers | Yes | 0.8–2 MB |
JPG remains the safest choice when you do not know where an image will end up. PNG is the right choice when every pixel matters or you need transparency for graphics. WebP and AVIF are best when you control where the image is displayed, such as your own website, because both are supported by all current major browsers but not by every older app or service.
Quality settings explained
The quality slider applies to JPG, WebP and AVIF, which are lossy formats: they discard detail the eye is unlikely to notice in exchange for much smaller files. The number is not a percentage of the original quality. It controls how aggressively the encoder discards information. For photos, 85–92 looks identical to the source in normal viewing, 70–80 is a good compromise for web pages and messages, and below about 60 you may start to see blocky areas in skies and soft halos around edges. PNG ignores the slider because it is lossless.
How the converter works
When you drop a file, PixFoundry reads the first bytes to detect the real format, so a mislabelled file still converts correctly. The image is decoded in a background Web Worker by the matching WebAssembly decoder: libheif for HEIC, MozJPEG for JPG, libwebp for WebP, libavif for AVIF, or your browser’s built-in decoder for GIF and BMP. EXIF orientation is applied, then the pixels are encoded to the format you picked.
Several files are processed in parallel, depending on how many processor cores and how much memory your device has. Very large images are processed one at a time so your browser tab does not run out of memory.
Common conversions
Looking for a specific pair? Dedicated pages explain the trade-offs for each one: HEIC to JPG, WebP to JPG, WebP to PNG, PNG to JPG, JPG to WebP and AVIF to JPG, among others listed below.