Convert an Image to JPG: WebP, PNG and iPhone Photos
JPG is the most widely accepted image format; here is when and how to turn any image into a real JPG without installing software and without uploading anything.
You saved an image from a website and its extension is .webp instead of jpg; the sign-up form will not accept it and an old program on your computer will not open it. Or you have a photo in PNG format that is far too heavy for an email attachment. In both cases the fix is to convert the image to JPG. This guide looks at what JPG is good at, when converting to it makes sense and when it does not, and then converts files in a few seconds, right inside your browser, with the Image Converter.
What is JPG, and why is it accepted everywhere?
JPG, or JPEG, is the most common format for storing photos and has been in use since the early 1990s. The extensions .jpg and .jpeg are the same format; the three-letter form survives from a time when some systems accepted only three-letter extensions. JPG uses "lossy" compression: it throws away detail the eye is less likely to notice and in return makes the photo several times smaller.
JPG's biggest advantage is compatibility: practically every phone, browser, program and online sign-up form recognises it. On the other hand it has two limits: no transparency, meaning every pixel must have a definite colour, and no animation, meaning it holds only a single still image.
| Format | Compression | Transparency | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPG | Lossy | No | Photos, forms and online services, email attachments |
| PNG | Lossless | Yes | Logos, icons, screenshots and images with text |
| WebP | Either mode | Yes | Lightweight images on websites |
| GIF | Lossless, at most 256 colours | Basic | Simple animations |
When to convert an image to JPG, and when not to
Converting to JPG solves these situations:
- A form or online service that accepts only JPG files.
- A WebP image saved from a website that will not open in an older program or device.
- Photos saved as PNG that are several megabytes for no good reason.
- Sending a photo to someone when you do not know which device or software they will open it with.
In these cases, though, it is better to keep the current format:
- Logos and icons with a transparent background: in JPG a white box appears around the logo; keep PNG or WebP.
- Screenshots of text, tables or charts: JPG creates small smudges around letters and sharp edges, and sometimes barely reduces the size. If you have to, set the quality to 90 or higher.
- Animated GIFs: the JPG output is a single still frame, and the motion is lost.
- A file you are still editing: every new JPG save takes a little quality away; keep the original and make only the final output a JPG.
Convert WebP to JPG
WebP is a format Google created for the web, and it usually gives quality on a par with JPG at a smaller size. That is why many websites serve their images as WebP, and when you right-click an image and choose Save image as, you get a file with a .webp extension; sometimes even when the image address ends in jpg.
Modern browsers display WebP, but some older programs, editors and upload forms do not recognise it. Converting is simple: give the file to the Image Converter, set the output to JPG and convert. If the WebP has transparency, the transparent parts turn white, and if it is animated, only one still frame remains in the output.
Convert PNG to JPG, and the transparent background problem
PNG is lossless and produces large files for real photos; that is why converting a photo saved as PNG to JPG usually makes it several times smaller, without any visible difference.
The main issue is transparency. JPG has no transparency channel, so before converting, the Image Converter fills the area behind the image with white. That is no problem for a logo used on a white background, but the same logo on a dark background shows up with a white rectangle. Semi-transparent edges, such as soft shadows, are blended with white too. The colour of this background cannot be changed in the tool; if you need transparency, choose PNG or WebP output.
Step by step: convert an image to JPG with the Image Converter
The Image Converter converts files inside your browser, and nothing is uploaded. The input can be JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP, WebP, AVIF or SVG:
- Drag the files onto the upload area, or click the area and select them; up to 30 files at a time, each up to 25 MB.
- Choose JPG from the Output menu.
- Adjust the Quality slider. The default of 85 suits photos; try 90 or more for images with text, and about 75 for a smaller file.
- If the dimensions must not change, set the Resize menu to Keep original size; to shrink the image at the same time, choose one of the other options.
- Click Convert. Each file shows a preview, the size before and after, and the percentage change in size.
- Save each file with Save, or get several at once with Download all (.zip).
The file name is kept and only the extension changes to .jpg. If two files share a name, for example photo.png and photo.webp, the second is saved as photo-2.jpg so they do not overwrite each other. EXIF metadata, such as the camera model and location coordinates, is removed from the output, and the orientation of rotated phone photos is applied correctly. If you also want to bring the file down to a specific size, set Compression to To a target size and enter the limit in kilobytes; the guide on reducing image size covers that workflow in full.
How to convert iPhone HEIC photos to JPG
By default, the iPhone saves photos in HEIC format, which is smaller than JPG at similar quality. The trouble is that most browsers and many Windows programs cannot open HEIC; in those browsers the Image Converter cannot read these files either and skips them with an error message. The fix is on the iPhone itself:
- For future photos: go to Settings, then Camera and Formats, and choose Most Compatible. From then on photos are saved as JPG; in return, they take up more space.
- For transfers to a computer by cable: in Settings, under Photos, set Transfer to Mac or PC to Automatic so the iPhone converts photos to a compatible format during the transfer.
- After that: you can shrink the JPG files in the Image Converter or convert them to another format.
Common mistake: do not just change the extension
Some people rename image.webp to image.jpg and believe the file has been converted. That only changes the name; the content of the file is still WebP. Some programs will not open such a file, and systems that check a file's real content reject it. A real conversion means the image is read and saved again in JPG format, which is exactly what the Image Converter does. If you have already "converted" a file by changing its extension, run it through the Image Converter once.
To see file extensions in Windows 11, open File Explorer, go to the View menu, then Show, and turn on File name extensions. In Windows 10 the same option is a checkbox on the View tab. As long as this option is off, a file you think is a JPG may actually be .webp or .png.
Quality tips when converting
- Always start from the original file. Converting JPG to JPG, or going back and forth between formats, loses a little detail every time.
- Converting JPG to PNG does not bring quality back. Detail that has been thrown away once cannot be rebuilt; the file only gets bigger.
- Quality 100 is not necessary. In our tests, the size at quality 100 was several times the size at quality 90, while the visual difference was usually not noticeable.
- Do not enlarge small images. The Allow enlarging option is only needed when a form requires minimum dimensions; upscaling adds no detail.
- On Windows without a website: if Paint opens the file, choose File, Save as and JPEG picture; the only catch is that quality cannot be adjusted in Paint.