Convert PNG to WebP Portable Network Graphics ↔ WebP Free Online Secure
The picture is redrawn once at its original size and saved as WebP. Nothing is resized, and the file never leaves your device.
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Drop a PNG here, or choose one.
Your file never leaves this device. Everything runs in your browser.
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Where these formats come from
Each of these formats was written to solve a different problem. JPEG arrived in 1992 from the Joint Photographic Experts Group and was built for photographs: it discards the detail the eye is least likely to miss, which is why a photo shrinks enormously and why text in a JPEG looks smudged. PNG was written in a hurry in 1996, after the company holding the patent behind GIF began charging for it; it is lossless and has real transparency, which is why logos and screenshots belong in it. WebP came from Google in 2010 and does both jobs, typically a quarter smaller than either. BMP is Microsoft's plain format with no compression at all, and HEIC, Apple's default since 2017, borrows video compression to store a still at about half the size of a JPEG.
Where you meet them
Photographs travel as JPEG or, straight off a recent iPhone, as HEIC. Anything with sharp edges — screenshots, logos, diagrams, text, anything needing a transparent background — belongs in PNG, where JPEG would blur the edges. WebP is what a modern website serves to save bandwidth. BMP survives mostly inside Windows software and in places where a program wants pixels with no decoding at all.
Questions people ask
Should I save this as PNG or JPEG?
Look at the edges. A photograph has no hard edges, so JPEG's way of discarding detail is invisible and the file ends up a fraction of the size. A screenshot, a logo, a chart or anything with text has hard edges, and JPEG leaves a visible halo around every one of them — that is where PNG belongs, even though the file is larger. If the image needs a transparent background, PNG is the only choice of the two.
Why will nothing open my HEIC photos?
Because HEIC is newer than most of the software people have. It has been the iPhone default since 2017, but Windows needs an add-on to show it, many Android phones will not, and a great deal of web software still rejects it outright. Converting to JPEG is the usual answer: the photograph is unchanged to the eye, the file is roughly twice the size, and everything made in the last thirty years can open it.
Does the file lose quality?
It depends on what the two formats can hold. Converting between formats that store the same thing — a PNG to a BMP, a WAV to a FLAC — loses nothing. Converting into a format that throws information away to save space, such as JPEG or MP3, loses a little every time, and converting back does not bring it back. Where a choice exists, this page errs towards keeping the original quality rather than making the smallest file.
Is my file uploaded anywhere?
No. The conversion happens inside your browser, on your own machine; the file never leaves it and there is no server here that could receive it. That is why a large file is limited by your own memory rather than by an upload, and why nothing you convert can appear in anybody's logs — including ours. The audio and video tools do fetch their conversion engine from this site the first time you use them, some thirty megabytes once; after that the work still happens entirely on your machine.
Why people convert PNG to WebP
PNG is the picture format of sharp edges and see-through backgrounds. It keeps every pixel exactly as it was drawn, and that is why logos, screenshots, diagrams and interface mock-ups are saved in it. The price is size. A PNG of a photograph or of a large screenshot can weigh several megabytes, and when a web page is made of dozens of them, it loads slowly, eats the data plan of visitors and drags down the score that search engines give to fast sites. WebP is a newer format created to fix exactly that. It makes smaller files, keeps transparency and is understood by every current browser. That is why people convert PNG to WebP: they want lighter pictures without losing the see-through background.
The situations are common. A website owner who has been told that the images are too heavy. A developer who wants a faster page. A shop that has hundreds of product pictures on transparent backgrounds. A blogger whose screenshots make a post slow to open. In every case the aim is the same: a picture that looks right and weighs less.
This page converts PNG to WebP in your browser. Your picture is redrawn once, at its original size, and saved as WebP. Nothing is resized, and the file never leaves your device. Below you will find how it works, what is kept, what the price is, and when you should leave your PNG as it is.
How the conversion works
Redrawn once at its original size
Your PNG is opened inside your browser, drawn onto a canvas at its own width and height and saved as WebP. The picture is redrawn once, and nothing is resized, so a picture of 1200 by 800 pixels is still 1200 by 800 pixels afterwards. Nothing is sent to a server, so there is nothing to wait for and nothing to delete.
Why WebP is smaller
WebP uses a more modern way of compressing pictures than the older formats. For the same appearance, it usually needs far less data. On a photograph, the saving can be very large; on a flat graphic, it is smaller. The format also supports transparency, which JPG does not, and that is what makes it a good replacement for PNG in particular.
Lossy WebP
WebP here is the lossy kind. It saves space by discarding a little detail that the eye is least likely to notice. A PNG, by contrast, had lost nothing yet. This is worth understanding before you convert: it is the first moment that the picture gives up some of its detail.
What is kept
The exact dimensions
The width and height of the picture are kept exactly. The WebP is the same size as the PNG on the screen, so it fits in the same place on a page without changing the layout.
The transparency
Transparency is kept. Unlike JPG, WebP keeps a see-through background, so a logo or a cut-out product picture still shows what is behind it. This is the main reason to choose WebP over JPG when you start from a PNG.
What you should know before you convert PNG to WebP
It is the first detail the picture gives up
WebP here is the lossy kind, and a PNG had lost nothing yet, so this conversion is the first time the picture gives up some detail. On a photograph it is hard to see, and the file shrinks a great deal. On a screenshot, a diagram or anything with sharp text, the edges soften and the saving is smaller. If your picture is mostly flat colour and crisp lines, test one before you convert them all.
Keep the PNG if you will edit again
Keep the PNG if you will edit the picture again. Every time a lossy picture is saved, it loses a little more. The PNG is your master, and the WebP is the copy you put on the web. Never edit the WebP and save it again as a WebP repeatedly.
Check where it will be shown
Every current browser reads WebP, and so do most editing programs and phones. Some older software, email programs and print services still expect PNG or JPG. If the destination is unusual, check before you replace the original.
How to convert PNG to WebP here
Add your picture
Drop the PNG onto the page or pick it from your device. It is opened inside your browser and is not uploaded.
Convert
Press the button. A picture takes a moment, and a large one takes a little longer. Leave the page open until it is done.
Download and compare
Download the WebP and compare it with the PNG. Look at the edges of text and the soft areas, and check the size of the file. If it looks right and weighs much less, you have what you wanted.
A closer look at PNG and WebP
Where the two formats come from
PNG appeared in the mid-nineties as a free replacement for an older format, and became the standard for pictures that must stay exact. WebP was introduced by Google in 2010 to make the web faster, and over the years it was adopted by every major browser. Both can hold transparency; they differ in how they store the picture. PNG stores it without loss. WebP can do either, but the kind used here stores it with a small loss in exchange for a much smaller file.
Which pictures gain the most
Photographs gain the most: the file can shrink to a fraction of its size with no visible change. Pictures with large flat areas and sharp lines gain less, and they show the loss more. A screenshot of text is the hardest case, since letters have crisp edges that a lossy format tends to soften a little.
Transparency and soft edges
A see-through background survives, but the soft edge of a shadow or a glow may show a faint halo after lossy compression. If you notice one, check the picture on the colour of the page where it will appear, since the halo is often invisible on a matching background.
Common situations in detail
Speeding up a website
Pictures are usually the heaviest part of a page. Converting them to WebP is one of the simplest ways to make it load faster. Convert PNG to WebP for the photographs and the big banners first, since that is where the saving is greatest.
Online shops with transparent product pictures
Products cut out against a transparent background are common in shops. WebP keeps the cut-out and makes the files lighter, which helps pages with many items.
Blogs and articles with screenshots
Screenshots add up. If your posts are slow, convert the larger ones and compare the sharpness of any text before replacing the originals.
Email and messaging
Some mailing tools and chat programs still do not display WebP. If your picture will travel by email, keep a PNG or JPG version as well, and use the WebP on your site.
Practical advice before you convert PNG to WebP
Test one picture first
Convert one picture and look at it at full size. If the result is good, convert the rest. If the text looks soft, consider leaving screenshots as PNG and converting only the photographs.
Keep the originals
Store the PNG files in a folder of their own. The savings come from the web copies, and the originals are your safety net if you ever need to edit or print a picture.
Mind the name
Give the WebP a clear name, and keep the same base name as the PNG, so that you can tell which belongs to which. The extension changes; the rest should not.
Do not resize at the same time
The converter keeps the original size. If your page needs a smaller picture, resize it in your editor first, and then convert PNG to WebP, since a picture of 4000 pixels shown at 400 is wasted weight.
Questions people ask before converting
Will the quality drop?
A little, yes. WebP here is the lossy kind, so the picture gives up some detail. On a photograph it is hard to see; on sharp text it is easier to notice.
Will the transparency stay?
Yes. WebP keeps the see-through background, which JPG does not.
Will it be the same size in pixels?
Yes. Nothing is resized, and the exact dimensions are kept.
Do all browsers show WebP?
Every current browser does. Some older programs do not, so check the destination if it is unusual.
Is my picture uploaded?
No. The conversion runs in your browser and the picture never leaves your device.
Can I go back to PNG?
Yes, with WebP to PNG, but what was lost when the WebP was made stays lost.
Choosing wisely when you convert PNG to WebP
Photographs and flat graphics are different
Photographs convert well and save a lot. Flat graphics and text screenshots show the loss more and save less. Choose by the kind of picture, and not by habit.
Compare against other options
If you do not need transparency, PNG to JPG may suit better for photographs. If you only want a lighter PNG, compress PNG trims the weight and keeps the format.
Think about the next step
If you might edit the picture later, work from the PNG and make the WebP at the end, just before publishing.
Using WebP well on a website
Serve the right size
A lighter format helps, but the biggest saving still comes from sending a picture no larger than the place where it is shown. A banner displayed at 1200 pixels does not need 4000. Resize first, then convert PNG to WebP, and you get both savings together.
Describe the picture
Every picture on a page should have a short text that says what it shows. It helps visitors who use screen readers, and it is read by search engines. The file format has nothing to do with it, but a page of lighter pictures is a good moment to go through them and add the missing descriptions.
Offer a fallback if you must
Every current browser reads WebP, so for most sites a fallback is no longer needed. If you know that some of your visitors use very old software, you can offer a PNG alongside, and let the browser pick the one it understands.
Measure the result
After you replace the pictures, check how fast the page loads, with the tools built into your browser. Seeing the difference in numbers makes the work worthwhile and tells you whether there is more to gain from other pictures.
Do not forget the thumbnails
Small preview pictures, icons and avatars repeat on many pages. They are light one by one, but together they add up. Converting them is quick and the effect over a whole site is real.
Think about screenshots in documentation
Help pages are full of screenshots with text in them. If you convert PNG to WebP there, look carefully at the sharpness of the letters. For the pictures that must stay crisp, a compressed PNG is the safer choice, and it keeps the screenshot easy to read.
Privacy and handling
Why local conversion matters for pictures
Pictures often show people, places, documents and screens that are private. Many online converters upload your file to a server, process it and send back the result, and for a while a copy lives on a machine you do not control. Here your own browser does the work, so the picture stays on your device.
What happens when you leave
When you close the page, the converted picture disappears from the browser, so download it first. Nothing about your picture is kept.
If something goes wrong
The text in my screenshot looks soft
That is the lossy compression at work. Keep that screenshot as PNG, or compress it with compress PNG instead.
A halo appears around a cut-out
It comes from compressing a soft edge. Check it on the real background of your page. If it still shows, keep the PNG for that picture.
The page freezes with a very large picture
Everything runs on your device, and a huge picture needs memory. Try again on a computer, or reduce the picture first.
Related tools
The same family of tools covers the neighbouring jobs. To go the opposite way, use WebP to PNG. For photographs, JPG to WebP and WebP to JPG do the same for the other common format, and PNG to JPG and JPG to PNG switch between them. To lighten a PNG without changing its format, compress PNG is the answer, and PNG to PDF puts pictures into a document.
A worked example
Say you run a small shop, and the picture of a product on a transparent background is a PNG of 2.4 megabytes. You drop it here and press the button. A moment later you download a WebP of about 300 kilobytes, the same size in pixels and with the same see-through background. On the product page it looks the same, and the page loads noticeably faster. The PNG stays in your folder for the day you need to edit it.
A short checklist
Before converting
Decide whether the picture is a photograph or a flat graphic. Keep the PNG safe. Check that your destination reads WebP.
While converting
Stay on the page until the file is ready.
After converting
Open the WebP at full size, look at edges and text, compare the file sizes and keep both versions in separate folders.
Common mistakes
Converting everything blindly
Do not convert PNG to WebP for every picture without looking. Flat graphics and screenshots of text may deserve to stay PNG.
Editing the WebP again and again
Each lossy save costs detail. Edit the PNG and export a new WebP when you need to change something.
Deleting the PNG
Keep it. It is the master, and nothing can restore its detail once it is gone.
Your picture stays on your device
The conversion happens locally. Your picture is read by your own browser, redrawn there and handed back as a WebP. Nothing is uploaded, so no copy ends up on a server and nobody else can see it. For private pictures, that is the safe way to convert PNG to WebP.
Summary
To convert PNG to WebP here, drop the picture and press the button. The picture is redrawn once at its original size and saved as WebP. Nothing is resized, and the file never leaves your device. The exact dimensions are kept, and so is the transparency: unlike JPG, WebP keeps a see-through background. WebP here is the lossy kind, and a PNG had lost nothing yet, so this is the first detail the picture gives up. On a photograph it is hard to see and the file shrinks a great deal. On a screenshot, a diagram or anything with sharp text, the edges soften and the saving is smaller. Keep the PNG if you will edit the picture again.