Convert PNG to JPG
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What is a PNG file?
PNG has been the web's lossless format since 1996. It stores every pixel exactly, carries a full alpha channel, and never degrades no matter how many times you re-save it. That fidelity is the point — and it is also why PNG files get so large.
For a photograph, PNG is the wrong tool. Lossless compression cannot exploit the fact that the human eye barely notices small colour shifts across a gradient, so a PNG photo routinely runs five to ten times the size of a visually identical JPEG. Most people converting PNG to JPG are doing it because a screenshot or an exported photo is too big to email, attach or upload.
Why convert PNG to JPG?
- The size difference is enormous. A photographic PNG is commonly five to ten times larger than a visually identical JPG.
- Upload limits. Email attachments, job portals and exam registration systems routinely cap uploads at a few megabytes, and a PNG photo blows through that.
- Page weight. Serving photographic PNGs is one of the most common causes of a slow page, because the browser must download every lossless byte.
- Print services expect JPEG for photographs and often reject PNG outright.
- JPEG is the only format you can assume any device, of any age, will open.
PNG compared with JPG
| Attribute | PNG | JPG |
|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossless DEFLATE, 1996 — every pixel exact, no degradation ever | Lossy DCT, 1992 — dramatically smaller on photographs |
| Support | Universal — every browser, OS and image tool since 1996 | Universal, and the one format print and legacy systems always accept |
| Transparency | Yes — full alpha channel | No — alpha is flattened onto a background colour |
| Metadata | Text chunks and ICC profiles (stripped here by default) | EXIF and GPS (stripped here by default) |
| Typical size | ≈2.5 MB for a 12 MP photograph | ≈350 KB for the same photo at quality 82 |
What actually changes
This is the one conversion where the source is lossless, so there is no accumulated generation loss to worry about — the JPEG you get is a first-generation encode of the original pixels. That makes PNG a genuinely good starting point.
Transparency is the thing to watch. PNG supports a full alpha channel and JPEG supports none, so any transparent pixel is flattened onto a background colour, white unless you change it. A logo that looked fine on a white page will suddenly have a white box around it on a coloured one. If the transparency matters, convert to WebP instead — it keeps alpha and still compresses well.
Content matters more here than in most conversions. JPEG's DCT compression is built for photographs and handles smooth gradients beautifully, but it smears hard edges. Screenshots of text, line art, diagrams and pixel art will show visible ringing around the edges even at high quality. Keep those as PNG, or use WebP.
Frequently asked questions
How much smaller will the JPG be?
For a photograph, usually five to ten times smaller. For a screenshot of mostly flat colour and text the gap narrows sharply, and JPEG may even look worse — PNG compresses flat colour extremely well, which is precisely the content JPEG handles badly.
My PNG has a transparent background. What happens?
JPEG has no alpha channel, so transparency is flattened onto a solid colour — white unless you change it. A logo with a transparent background will end up in a white box. If you need the transparency, convert to WebP instead: it keeps alpha and is still far smaller than PNG.
Will the JPG look worse than my PNG?
On a photograph, not noticeably at quality 85 and above. On a screenshot containing text, yes — visibly. JPEG smears hard edges, so text and line art pick up a halo. Keep screenshots and diagrams as PNG, or convert them to WebP, which handles both content types well.
Does converting lose quality permanently?
Yes. JPEG is lossy and the discarded detail cannot be recovered, so keep the original PNG if it is your master copy. The upside is that a PNG source is lossless, so this is a clean first-generation encode rather than a lossy file being re-compressed.
Nothing is uploaded — and you can check
Conversion happens on your own device, inside this browser tab. There is no server to receive your files, which is a stronger guarantee than a promise not to look at them. Open your browser's developer tools, switch to the Network tab, and convert something: you will see no request carrying your image. The page keeps working with your network disconnected.