Quick Answer
Use PNG for graphics with transparency, sharp edges or text, and whenever you need lossless quality. Use JPG for photographs and for images where a small file matters more than pixel-perfect quality.
PNG vs JPG Comparison
| Feature | PNG | JPG |
|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossless | Lossy |
| Transparency | Yes (alpha channel) | No |
| Typical file size | Large | Small |
| Quality | Pixel-perfect | Degrades with compression |
| Best for | Logos, icons, screenshots, graphics | Photos, web images, email |
| Browser support | Universal | Universal |
| Animations | APNG only (limited) | No |
| Color depth | Up to 48-bit RGB + 16-bit alpha | 8-bit per channel (24-bit RGB) |
When to Use PNG
- Logos and branding assets, where edges and text must stay crisp
- Screenshots, so text and UI elements render without artifacts
- Graphics with transparency, which the alpha channel preserves
- Images you plan to edit further, since lossless compression means repeated saves lose nothing
- Line art, icons and illustrations, whose solid colors and hard edges compress well
When to Use JPG
- Photographs, because gradients and natural color transitions compress efficiently
- Web images where speed matters, since smaller files load faster and improve Core Web Vitals
- Email attachments, where smaller files stay under size limits
- Social media uploads, which platforms often re-compress to JPG anyway
- Large image libraries, where JPG saves a lot of storage at acceptable quality
Key Differences Explained
Transparency is the biggest practical difference. PNG has an alpha channel, so areas can be fully or partially transparent. When an image is converted to JPG, transparent areas are filled with a solid color (usually white or black).
The compression method decides file size. PNG never loses quality but produces larger files. JPG makes much smaller files by discarding data the human eye barely notices, and at quality levels above 85 the difference is nearly invisible in photographs.
Text and sharp edges suffer in JPG, because lossy compression creates blocky artifacts around high-contrast boundaries. PNG keeps them exactly as they are. For logos and icons that must stay sharp at every size, a vector format can be better still: see PNG vs SVG.
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