What Is WebP? When to Use It and How to Convert It
By the NextG Design team · Published 17 October 2026 · 3 min read
Quick answer: WebP is an image format created by Google that can compress photos like JPG or graphics like PNG, supports transparency and animation, and usually produces files 25–35% smaller than JPG at similar quality. All modern browsers support it, but some older apps, print services and upload forms don't, which is when converting WebP to JPG (for photos) or PNG (to keep transparency) helps.
What WebP is
WebP is an image format Google released in 2010 to make web pages load faster. Unlike older formats that each do one job, WebP does several:
- Lossy compression for photographs, like JPG but more efficient.
- Lossless compression for graphics and screenshots, like PNG but usually smaller.
- Transparency (an alpha channel), even in lossy mode — something JPG can't do at all.
- Animation, as a far smaller alternative to GIF.
WebP vs JPG vs PNG
| WebP | JPG | PNG | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lossy photos | Yes, smallest | Yes | No |
| Lossless | Yes | No | Yes |
| Transparency | Yes | No | Yes |
| Animation | Yes | No | APNG only |
| Browser support | All modern browsers | Universal | Universal |
| Older software & print | Patchy | Universal | Universal |
Why you keep downloading .webp files
Many websites now serve images as WebP to save bandwidth. When you right-click and save one, you get the WebP file the site sent, even if the original was a JPG. That's why images from shops, news sites and social platforms often arrive with a .webp extension, and why an app that only understands JPG or PNG may refuse to open them.
Where WebP works — and where it doesn't
- Works: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Safari (on current macOS and iOS), Android and iOS galleries, and recent versions of most major image editors and office suites.
- Can be a problem: older desktop software, some print shops and photo kiosks, some government and job-application upload forms that only accept JPG/PNG, and older email clients.
If you're sending an image somewhere you don't control, JPG (photos) or PNG (graphics) is still the safest choice.
How to convert WebP to JPG or PNG
Choose JPG for ordinary photos when you want a small file that opens everywhere:
- Open the WebP to JPG converter.
- Drop in your WebP file and pick a background color for any transparent areas (white by default).
- Download the JPG.
Choose PNG when the image has transparency (a logo, sticker or cutout) or sharp text: use the WebP to PNG converter. The file will be larger, but nothing is lost in the conversion.
Both converters run in your browser — the images aren't uploaded anywhere.
Converting your own images to WebP
If you run a website, serving WebP is one of the easiest speed wins. Export photos as WebP with the Image Compressor, which shows the live file size as you adjust quality. A quality of around 75–85% is a good starting point. For details on choosing settings, see how to compress images without losing quality.
You may also hear about AVIF, a newer format that can be even smaller than WebP. It's well supported in current browsers but slower to encode and less widely supported in other software, so WebP remains the practical default for most sites.
Frequently asked questions
Is WebP better quality than JPG?
At the same file size, WebP usually looks slightly better than JPG; at the same visual quality, WebP is usually 25–35% smaller. The difference matters most for websites with many images.
How do I open a WebP file on Windows or Mac?
Any modern browser can open a WebP file — drag it onto a browser window. Recent versions of Windows Photos and macOS Preview also open WebP. To use it in software that doesn't, convert it to JPG or PNG.
Will converting WebP to JPG lose quality?
JPG is lossy, so there is a small additional loss, but at a sensible quality it isn't visible. If you need to keep transparency or avoid any further loss, convert to PNG instead.
Does WebP support transparency?
Yes. WebP supports full alpha transparency in both lossy and lossless modes, which is why converting a transparent WebP to JPG fills the background with a solid color.
Try it free: the WebP to JPG Converter runs entirely in your browser — no upload, no account, no watermark.