WebP vs AVIF vs JPEG - Complete Image Format Comparison 2025

Choosing the right image format can make your website 50-70% faster. WebP offers 30% smaller files than JPEG, while AVIF delivers 50% size reduction with better quality. Here's everything you need to know.

File Size Comparison

See exact file size differences between WebP, AVIF, and JPEG formats.

Browser Support

Current browser compatibility for WebP, AVIF, and fallback strategies.

Quality Analysis

Visual quality differences and compression artifacts comparison.

Which to Choose

Best format recommendations for different website types and needs.

Want Automatic Format Selection?

BunnyCDN automatically serves WebP to Chrome users, AVIF to Safari users, and JPEG to older browsers. No manual conversion needed - just upload once and serve optimized formats everywhere.

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File Size Comparison

Here's how much space each format saves compared to JPEG:

Same Quality Image (100KB JPEG)

JPEG: 100KB (baseline)
WebP: 70KB (30% smaller)
AVIF: 50KB (50% smaller)

Real Website Examples

Photography blog: JPEG 2.5MB → WebP 1.8MB → AVIF 1.3MB
E-commerce product: JPEG 150KB → WebP 105KB → AVIF 75KB
Blog post images: JPEG 80KB → WebP 56KB → AVIF 40KB

AVIF consistently provides the smallest file sizes, followed by WebP, with JPEG being the largest but most compatible.

Browser Support

Based on caniuse.com data:

WebP Support (95.6% global usage)

✅ Chrome (32+)
✅ Firefox (65+)
✅ Safari (16.0+)
✅ Edge (18+)
✅ iOS Safari (14.0+)
❌ Internet Explorer

AVIF Support (93.9% global usage)

✅ Chrome (85+)
✅ Firefox (93+)
✅ Safari (16.4+) - macOS 13+ only for still images
✅ Edge (121+)
✅ iOS Safari (16.0+)
❌ Internet Explorer

JPEG Support (100% of users)

✅ All browsers ever made
✅ Perfect fallback option

Bottom line: Both WebP and AVIF have excellent modern browser support. WebP is slightly more compatible, while AVIF offers better compression with 93.9% coverage.

Quality Comparison

WebP Quality

Compression: Excellent with minimal artifacts
Colors: Accurate color reproduction
Details: Sharp text and fine details
Best for: General web use, good balance of size and quality

AVIF Quality

Compression: Superior quality at small file sizes
Colors: Better color depth and accuracy
Details: Preserves fine details better than WebP
Best for: High-quality images, photography sites

JPEG Quality

Compression: Good but creates artifacts at high compression
Colors: Decent color reproduction
Details: Loses details when compressed heavily
Best for: Universal compatibility, older browsers

Winner: AVIF offers best quality per byte, WebP balances quality and compatibility, JPEG provides universal support.

Performance Impact

Loading Speed Improvements

WebP: 25-35% faster loading than JPEG
AVIF: 40-50% faster loading than JPEG
Combined: Using both can improve Core Web Vitals scores

Bandwidth Savings (Monthly)

Small blog (50GB JPEG): Save 15GB with WebP, 25GB with AVIF
E-commerce (200GB JPEG): Save 60GB with WebP, 100GB with AVIF
Photography site (500GB JPEG): Save 150GB with WebP, 250GB with AVIF

Which Format to Choose

Use AVIF When:

Target modern browsers (93.9% coverage)
Image quality is crucial (photography, design portfolios)
Bandwidth costs are high
Users have fast internet (AVIF encoding is computationally intensive and slower than WebP/JPEG)

Use WebP When:

Need broad browser support (95% coverage)
Balanced performance and compatibility
WordPress or CMS with WebP plugins
Converting existing JPEG images gradually

Keep JPEG When:

Supporting very old browsers is critical
Using legacy systems that don't support modern formats
Need absolute universal compatibility
Simple websites with few images

Implementation Strategy

Best Practice: Progressive Enhancement

<picture>
  <source srcset="image.avif" type="image/avif" />
  <source srcset="image.webp" type="image/webp" />
  <img src="image.jpg" alt="Description" loading="lazy" />
</picture>

This code serves AVIF to supporting browsers, WebP as fallback, and JPEG for older browsers.

CDN Automatic Conversion

Most modern CDNs handle format selection automatically:

Upload JPEG to your CDN / Website with properly configured CDN URL
CDN detects visitor's browser
Serves AVIF to Chrome 85+, Safari 16+
Serves WebP to other modern browsers
Serves JPEG to older browsers

Popular CDNs Supporting All Formats

1. BunnyCDN (Recommended)

Automatic WebP/AVIF conversion
Smart browser detection
$9.50/month optimizer
Get $5 free credit

2. ImageKit

Free tier includes all format conversions
20GB bandwidth + 3GB storage free
Real-time format switching

3. Cloudinary

Advanced format optimization
AI-powered quality adjustment
25 monthly credits free

Getting Started

Start with WebP for immediate 30% size reduction
Add AVIF for modern browsers (extra 20% savings)
Keep JPEG fallback for universal compatibility
Use CDN for automatic format selection
Monitor performance - expect 40-60% faster loading

Quick win: Upload high-quality JPEG images to a CDN / properly configured website with automatic conversion. Your visitors will automatically receive the best format their browser supports, making your website significantly faster without any code changes.

Modern image formats are game-changers for website performance. Start with automatic CDN conversion to get benefits immediately.