Change the Format of an Image

How it works

Choose your images, pick a target format and press Convert. The batch can be mixed: PNG, JPG, WEBP, GIF and BMP files selected together all come back in the same target format, so you do not have to handle them one by one. With JPG or WEBP as the target, the quality slider decides the file size; PNG ignores it because PNG is lossless, and its output is usually larger than the source. The result line names both formats and the size change: an 840 KB PNG screenshot converted to WEBP typically lands at 190 KB, under a quarter of what it was. If you only ever need one direction — PNG to JPG, say — the dedicated page for that pair in the left menu does the same job without asking you to pick a target.

This tool is also known as change image format, image format converter, convert image to jpg, convert png to webp, change photo format online.

What is File extension?

A file extension is the short label after the last dot in a file name: .jpg, .png, .webp. Operating systems normally use it to decide which program opens the file, but it does not define the content — it only names it. Renaming a WEBP file to .jpg changes none of its bytes; the program opening it reads the real format from the signature bytes at the start and sees the mismatch. That is why upload forms check the content rather than the name, and why manually renamed files come back rejected. The only way to genuinely change a format is to decode the image and write it again, which is what this page does.

What is Format compatibility?

Compatibility is how many programs can open a file without complaining, and when you are picking a format it usually matters more than quality does. JPG wins on this measure: after three decades in use it opens in official application systems, ancient Office versions, printer drivers and photo kiosks alike. PNG is nearly as universal and is the classic choice that carries transparency. WEBP works in every current browser but is still refused by some desktop software, older phones and corporate upload systems. If the file is going to leave your hands, ask about compatibility before anything else.

What is the difference between JPG, PNG and WEBP?

All three store the same picture, but they charge different prices for it. JPG is lossy: it drops detail your eye barely registers, fits photographs into very small files, carries no transparency and leaves faint halos around hard edges. PNG is lossless: every pixel survives, transparency survives, and it shines on screenshots and logos while bloating photographs. WEBP does both jobs in one format and usually needs the least space for the same visual result — the price is the narrowest compatibility of the three. The practical rule: JPG for photos and official uploads, PNG for transparency or sharp edges, WEBP for your own website.

Which format for which job?

None of the three fits everything. The choice follows the content and the destination: photographs are made of soft tonal gradients, screenshots of hard edges and flat colour, and the two do not survive the same encoder equally well.

If an upload page states a format, the discussion is over — use that one. When nothing is stated, JPG is the most widely accepted answer.

• Photos, form uploads, email attachments → JPG
• Screenshots, logos, anything with a transparent background → PNG
• Images going on your own website → WEBP
• Files headed for an official application → JPG (widest compatibility)

Changing format rewrites the file

This is not a rename. The image is decoded and written again in the new format. If the source was already lossy — JPG and most WEBP files are — the detail thrown away back then does not come back, and the second encode discards a little more of its own. Converting the same picture back and forth degrades it a step at a time.

Transparency survives only into PNG and WEBP. JPG cannot store it, so transparent areas are filled with the background colour you choose; leave it on white and a dark logo comes back inside a visible white box.

Animated GIF and animated WEBP files give up only their first frame. None of the three targets here carries animation, so if the movement matters, leave the file as it is.

Dedicated pages for a single pair

This page exists for the generic case: a mixed batch, or files whose format you are not sure about. When you know the direction, the page built for that pair is a shorter route — it never asks which target you want.

Those pages use the same workbench and the same rule: your files stay on your device.

• PNG to JPG Converter
• JPG to PNG Converter
• Convert JPG to WEBP
• WEBP to JPG Converter
• PNG to WEBP (transparency kept)
• GIF to PNG (first frame)
• SVG to PNG at any width

Frequently asked questions

How do I change a photo's format?

Choose the image, pick a target format — JPG, PNG or WEBP — and press Convert. The conversion happens inside your browser; no file is sent to a server.

Can I mix formats in one batch?

Yes. PNG, JPG, WEBP, GIF and BMP files can sit in the same selection and all of them come back in the single target format you picked. The result line names the source format of each file separately.

What happens to transparency if I convert a PNG to JPG?

It is lost. JPG has no transparency channel, so transparent areas are filled with the background colour you selected, white or black. Pick PNG or WEBP as the target if you need transparency preserved.

Can't I just rename the file to .jpg?

No. The extension is only a label on the end of the file name; the bytes inside do not change and any program that opens the file reads the real format from those bytes. A renamed WEBP is usually rejected by an upload form that asks for JPG.

Does it handle HEIC files from an iPhone?

Usually not. Most browsers cannot decode HEIC, and this tool is limited to what the browser can open. Setting the iPhone camera to "Most Compatible" makes it shoot JPG instead.