File Format Comparisons
Which format should you use? Side-by-side comparisons of the image, audio, video and document formats people most often have to choose between.
- WebP vs PNGWebP is the better choice for websites: a lossless WebP is roughly a quarter smaller than the same PNG, and a lossy WebP is several times smaller. PNG is the safer choice everywhere else, because every program, printer and upload form accepts it. Both support transparency.
- WebP vs JPGAt the same visual quality a WebP photo is typically 25–35 % smaller than a JPG, and WebP can also be transparent or animated. JPG wins on compatibility: there is no camera, printer, email client or website that does not take it.
- PNG vs JPGUse JPG for photographs and PNG for everything with sharp edges: screenshots, logos, text, diagrams. JPG makes photos small by discarding detail; PNG keeps every pixel and supports transparency, but a photo saved as PNG is several times larger.
- HEIC vs JPGHEIC stores the same photo in about half the space of a JPG, which is why iPhones use it. JPG opens everywhere; HEIC often does not open on Windows, Android or websites. Keep HEIC on the phone, convert to JPG when a photo leaves the Apple world.
- AVIF vs WebPAVIF usually produces smaller files than WebP at the same quality, especially for photos, and supports HDR. WebP encodes much faster and is accepted by more software. On a website, AVIF with a WebP or JPG fallback gives the best result.
- SVG vs PNGSVG describes shapes and stays sharp at any size; PNG is a grid of pixels and blurs when enlarged. Use SVG for logos, icons and charts wherever it is accepted, and PNG when a program or upload form needs a pixel image — or when the picture is a photo or screenshot.
- TIFF vs PNGBoth are lossless. TIFF is the format of printing and scanning: it handles CMYK, high bit depths and several pages in one file. PNG is the lossless format of screens and the web, smaller and viewable in any browser.
- GIF vs WebPFor animations WebP does everything GIF does at a fraction of the size, with full colour and real transparency. GIF's only advantage is that it plays absolutely everywhere, including old chat apps and email clients.
- BMP vs PNGPNG stores the same picture, pixel for pixel, in a file many times smaller — BMP is simply uncompressed. Use BMP only when an old program or device asks for it.
- FLAC vs WAVFLAC and WAV sound identical — both are lossless. FLAC is about half the size and carries tags and cover art; WAV is uncompressed and is what audio editors and hardware samplers expect. Archive in FLAC, work in WAV.
- FLAC vs MP3FLAC keeps the full recording; MP3 throws part of it away to be about five times smaller. On good equipment a 320 kbps MP3 is hard to tell from FLAC, but an MP3 can never be turned back into the original. Keep FLAC as the master, use MP3 for the phone and the car.
- MP3 vs WAVWAV is the uncompressed original, about 10 MB per minute; MP3 is roughly a tenth of that with a small, usually inaudible loss. Use WAV while recording and editing, MP3 for the finished file people listen to.
- AAC vs MP3AAC sounds better than MP3 at the same bitrate, most clearly at 128 kbps and below, and is what YouTube, Apple Music and streaming video use. MP3 remains the format every device ever made can play.
- M4A vs MP3M4A (AAC) is slightly smaller and better sounding than MP3 at the same bitrate and is native to iPhone, iTunes and Apple Music. MP3 plays on everything, which makes it the safer format to send to someone else.
- OGG vs MP3OGG Vorbis is free of patents and sounds a little better than MP3 at the same size, which is why games and open-source software use it. MP3 is supported by far more devices, Apple's in particular.
- Opus vs MP3Opus is technically far ahead: it sounds good at 64–96 kbps where MP3 needs 128–192. It is the codec of WhatsApp, Discord and YouTube. As a file to keep or send, MP3 still opens in many more players.
- ALAC vs FLACALAC and FLAC are both lossless and about the same size. The only real difference is where they play: ALAC is native to Apple Music, iPhone and HomePod; FLAC is the standard everywhere else.
- WAV vs AIFFWAV and AIFF hold the same uncompressed audio and sound identical. WAV comes from Windows, AIFF from the Mac; AIFF handles tags and markers a little better, WAV is accepted by slightly more software and hardware.
- MKV vs MP4MKV and MP4 are containers: the same H.264 or H.265 video looks identical in both. MKV holds more — many audio tracks, subtitles, chapters — and MP4 plays in more places — phones, browsers, TVs, editors. Converting between them usually needs no re-encoding.
- MOV vs MP4MOV is Apple's version of nearly the same container as MP4, and usually holds the same H.264 or H.265 video. Quality is identical. MP4 is the one that opens reliably on Windows, Android and the web; MOV is preferred inside Final Cut and for ProRes footage.
- WebM vs MP4WebM is an open format built for browsers; MP4 is the format everything plays. With VP9 or AV1, WebM is often smaller at the same quality, but iPhones, TVs and editors handle MP4 far better.
- AVI vs MP4AVI is a container from 1992; MP4 holds modern codecs that give the same picture at a fraction of the size. Use MP4 unless an old DVD player or program insists on AVI.
- WMV vs MP4WMV is Microsoft's own format and plays natively only on Windows. MP4 gives better quality at the same size and plays on every device. Convert WMV to MP4 unless a specific Windows program requires WMV.
- Word vs PDFWord documents are for writing and editing; PDFs are for sending and printing. A DOCX can look different on another computer, while a PDF looks the same everywhere and is hard to change by accident. Write in Word, deliver as PDF.
- Excel vs CSVXLSX is a full workbook — several sheets, formulas, formatting, charts. CSV is one plain table of values. People work in XLSX; programs, databases and import tools want CSV.
- ODT vs WordODT is the open standard and the native format of LibreOffice; DOCX is Microsoft Word's format and the de facto standard in offices. Each suite opens the other's format, but complex layouts are most reliable in the format native to the program used.
- EPUB vs PDFEPUB text reflows to fit the screen and the reader's font size, which makes it right for phones and e-readers. A PDF has fixed pages, which makes it right for printing and for layouts that must not change.