Quick verdict
WEBP for web (smaller files, same quality, full transparency). PNG when you need broad compatibility or are editing back-and-forth in legacy software.
PNG has been the go-to format for transparency on the web since the late 1990s. WEBP, released by Google in 2010, supports the same transparency feature but with much better compression.
If you're building anything for the web today — a logo, a screenshot, an app icon, a UI illustration — WEBP gives you the same visual quality as PNG at roughly 75% of the file size, or smaller if you accept some lossy compression.
PNG remains the safer choice when you need maximum compatibility with old software or pixel-perfect editing pipelines.
| Feature | WEBP | PNG |
|---|---|---|
| Typical screenshot size | ~40 KB | ~60 KB |
| Compression | Lossless or lossy | Lossless only |
| Transparency | Yes (lossy and lossless) | Yes |
| Animation | Yes | No (APNG rare) |
| Browser support | 97%+ | 100% |
| Editing in legacy tools | Limited | Universal |
| Best at | Web delivery | Source / archival |
Use WEBP when
- You ship images to a website or app and care about page load speed.
- You want transparency but PNG is too heavy.
- You're storing many UI assets and want 25%+ disk savings.
Use PNG when
- You're saving a source / master file that you'll edit again.
- Your audience uses legacy software (older Windows, old Photoshop).
- You're sending the image to a printer or a print shop.
Convert between WEBP and PNG in your browser
FAQ
- Is WEBP lossless like PNG?
- WEBP supports both lossless and lossy modes. Lossless WEBP is typically 25% smaller than PNG at identical quality.
- Does WEBP keep transparency?
- Yes — both lossless and lossy WEBP support a full alpha channel, the same as PNG.
- Why is my PNG so much bigger than the WEBP version?
- PNG uses Deflate compression from the 1990s. WEBP uses modern VP8 compression. For the same image, WEBP's algorithm is just more efficient.
- Should I convert all my PNGs to WEBP?
- For your website: yes. For your source files and archives: keep PNG. It's universally readable and will outlive WEBP if format support ever fades.