The short answer
Photographs: JPG (or WebP). Screenshots, text, line art, logos, anything with transparency or anything you will edit repeatedly: PNG. A photo saved as PNG is five to ten times larger than it needs to be; a logo saved as JPG gets fuzzy edges and is often not even smaller.
PNG vs JPG at a glance
| PNG | JPG | |
|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossless: always | Lossy |
| Transparency | Yes | No |
| Animation | No | No |
| Keeps EXIF in ConvertX | Yes | Yes |
| ConvertX reads it | Yes | Yes |
| ConvertX writes it | Yes | Yes |
| Extensions | .png | .jpg, .jpeg |
PNG: Lossless with transparency. Perfect for graphics, wasteful for photos. JPG: The universal photo format. Small, lossy, opens everywhere, no transparency.
Choose PNG when
- Screenshots and UI captures with text.
- Logos, icons, diagrams and charts.
- Images with transparent or partly transparent areas.
- Master copies you will keep editing.
Choose JPG when
- Camera photos and scans of photographs.
- Attachments and uploads with size limits.
- Anything that only needs to be viewed, not edited.
File size
For photographs a JPG at Balanced quality is typically 80–95 % smaller than the same image as PNG. For flat graphics PNG is often smaller than JPG and always sharper.
Converting between them, offline
ConvertX converts on your device with no upload, in batches, and strips location data by default.
Frequently asked questions
Does converting JPG to PNG improve quality?
No. The pixels are copied exactly, artefacts included. It only prevents further loss.
Does PNG to JPG lose transparency?
Yes. Transparent areas become white. Use WebP if you need both small and transparent.
Which is better for printing?
Either works at sufficient resolution. Printers often ask for JPG or TIFF; PNG is fine for graphics.