JPG vs PNG
JPG compresses photographs lossily and cannot store transparency. PNG is lossless and supports alpha, which makes it better for screenshots, UI, and logos — at larger file sizes for photos.
Quick takeaways
- Choose JPG for everyday photos when download size matters
- Choose PNG when you need transparency or pixel-perfect graphics
- Converting JPG to PNG does not remove existing JPEG artifacts
- Converting PNG to JPG flattens transparency and applies lossy compression
JPG
JPG (JPEG) is a lossy raster format built for photographs. It shrinks file size by discarding detail the eye is less likely to notice, which makes it a default for cameras, email, and the open web.
JPG converter and format notes
PNG
PNG is a lossless raster format with optional transparency. Pixels are preserved exactly, so it is the usual choice for screenshots, UI, logos, and any image that needs a clean alpha channel.
PNG converter and format notes
Convert between them
Formatly runs the conversion in your browser. Files stay on this device.
Pick by job, not by ‘quality’ as a vibe
JPEG wins when the picture is a photograph and the next stop is email, a CMS that still wants .jpg, or a print lab that listed JPEG. File size drops because the encoder is allowed to discard detail. PNG wins when the job is a screenshot, a logo, UI, or anything with a transparent hole. PNG is lossless on the pixels it stores — it is not a magic upscale of a JPEG.
The expensive mistake is converting JPEG to PNG ‘so it is higher quality.’ The DCT damage is already in the samples. PNG only freeze-frames those samples and usually makes the file larger. The other expensive mistake is JPEG-ing a UI dump: type and hairlines ring.
Web, print, and alpha
On the web, WebP often beats both for delivery size and can keep alpha. This comparison is still the one people search because Windows, mail, and design handoffs still speak JPEG and PNG. Print workflows that embed images in InDesign or Word still prefer those two over WebP.
Alpha exists only on the PNG side. A JPEG of a cutout is a rectangle with a fake background. If you flatten PNG to JPEG in Formatly, that flatten is permanent in the .jpg.
Convert locally
Formatly’s JPG to PNG and PNG to JPG tools run in the browser. Open Network in DevTools while you convert: the photo should not POST to a conversion API. Use those pair pages when you already know the direction; use this page when you are still choosing.