What Is WEBP? The Modern Image Format Explained
WEBP is a newer image format, developed by Google, built specifically to do what JPG and PNG each do — but generally at a smaller file size for equivalent visual quality. It's become a common default across the web precisely because of that efficiency advantage.
One format covering what used to take two
Historically, choosing between JPG and PNG meant choosing between JPG's efficient lossy compression (good for photos, no transparency) and PNG's lossless quality with transparency support (good for graphics, larger files). WEBP supports both lossy and lossless compression, plus transparency, all within one format — effectively covering both of the older formats' use cases in a single, more efficient package.
Why it's usually smaller
WEBP uses more modern, more efficient compression techniques than either JPG or PNG, which were both designed decades earlier. For a given target visual quality, a WEBP file is typically noticeably smaller than the equivalent JPG or PNG — which matters directly for website load speed, since images are usually the largest part of a typical web page's total size.
Where compatibility still occasionally matters
WEBP support has become very broad across modern browsers, operating systems, and apps, but it isn't universal — some older software, certain design tools, and specific upload systems still only accept the more established JPG and PNG formats. This is narrowing over time, but it's still worth checking if you're sending a WEBP image somewhere unfamiliar rather than assuming it'll be accepted everywhere.
When to actually use it
For anything destined for the web — where load speed genuinely matters and modern browser support is close to universal — WEBP is generally the better default over JPG or PNG. For files headed to older or more specialized software with uncertain format support, sticking with JPG or PNG remains the safer choice.
The image converter handles converting to and from WEBP directly in your browser. Compress Image lets you compare WEBP against other formats at different quality settings to see the size difference firsthand.