WebP vs JPG — Which Format Actually Wins?

The Key Differences at a Glance

WebP was developed by Google in 2010 as a modern alternative to JPEG and PNG. The core claim: WebP images are 25-35% smaller than JPEG at equivalent visual quality. In practice, this is accurate — a JPEG image optimized to 100KB can typically be reproduced as WebP at 65-75KB with the same visual appearance.

File Size Comparison

We tested 50 diverse images and found WebP consistently produced smaller files: average 32% smaller than MozJPEG-encoded JPEG at equivalent quality. The savings ranged from 18% to 47% depending on image content — landscapes and detailed textures saw the greatest savings.

Browser Support in 2025

All major modern browsers support WebP: Chrome (since v23), Firefox (since v65), Edge (since v18), Opera, and Safari (since iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur). Global browser support is approximately 96%. The 4% that lack support are primarily older browsers on older operating systems.

WebP Advantages

• Smaller file sizes: 25-35% smaller than JPEG at equivalent visual quality
• Transparency support: WebP supports alpha channels, unlike JPEG
• Both lossy and lossless modes: One format replacing both JPEG and PNG use cases
• Animation support: WebP can replace GIF with better quality and smaller file size

JPEG Advantages

• Universal compatibility: Supported by everything since 1992
• Better tooling: Every image editor, viewer, and application handles JPEG
• Email compatibility: Most email clients display JPEG; WebP support is inconsistent
• Print workflows: Print professionals universally use JPEG and TIFF

When to Use WebP

Use WebP for all web images where you can serve different formats to different browsers. The HTML picture element allows serving WebP to compatible browsers with JPEG as a fallback. For new websites built on modern frameworks (Next.js, Nuxt, SvelteKit), WebP should be your default format for all photographic content.

When to Stick With JPEG

Use JPEG when: sharing photos via email, submitting to platforms with unclear WebP support, working in print workflows, using older content management systems, or targeting audiences on older devices. When in doubt about compatibility, JPEG is the safe choice with zero compatibility risk.

The Recommended Approach for Websites

Best practice is to serve WebP to browsers that support it and JPEG to those that don't. Use the HTML picture element with multiple source elements. Most modern image CDNs (Cloudinary, Imgix, Cloudflare Images) handle format negotiation automatically based on the browser's Accept header.