WebP vs JPG: Is WebP Actually Better for Websites?
Short answer
For images on a website, yes — WebP is typically 25–35% smaller than JPG at comparable quality and every current browser supports it. Outside the browser it is a liability: many desktop applications, print services and older devices cannot open it.
Published
The size advantage is real but not universal
WebP's lossy mode uses more modern compression than JPEG's, and the commonly cited 25–35% saving at equivalent quality holds up reasonably well for photographic content.
It is not universal. For simple graphics with few colours, a well-optimised PNG can still be smaller than lossless WebP. And at very high quality settings the gap narrows considerably. The honest summary is that WebP usually wins on photographs and sometimes ties elsewhere.
What WebP can do that JPG cannot
Transparency is the big one. WebP supports a full alpha channel, so it can replace PNG for graphics as well as JPEG for photos — one format covering both roles.
It also supports animation, which makes it a far better choice than GIF for short loops: comparable animation at a small fraction of the file size, with full colour instead of GIF's 256.
| WebP | JPG | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical size (photo) | 25–35% smaller | Baseline |
| Transparency | Yes | No |
| Animation | Yes | No |
| Browser support | All current browsers | Universal |
| Desktop apps | Patchy | Universal |
| Print services | Often rejected | Universal |
| Encoding speed | Slower | Very fast |
When not to use WebP
Anything that leaves the browser. If a user will download the image and open it in desktop software, email it to a colleague, or send it to a print shop, WebP creates friction that a smaller file does not justify.
The practical pattern most sites use is to serve WebP through the picture element with a JPG fallback, so browsers get the small file and everything else still works.
- Website images → WebP, ideally with a JPG fallback
- Downloads users will open elsewhere → JPG
- Short animations → WebP or MP4, not GIF
- Print or professional workflows → JPG or TIFF