How to Convert PNG to JPG (and When You Should)

PNG files are crisp but heavy, and one of the quickest ways to make one much smaller is to convert it to JPG. That single change can cut the file size by 70–90% for a photograph. But it's not always the right move — there's one important thing you give up. Here's what you need to know before converting.

Why convert PNG to JPG?

PNG is lossless, so it stores every pixel perfectly and the files get large — especially for photographs, which have millions of subtle colour variations. JPG uses lossy compression tuned for exactly that kind of content, so a photo saved as JPG is typically five to ten times smaller than the same photo as PNG, with no visible difference at normal viewing sizes.

So if you have a photograph saved as PNG — a common situation with screenshots of photos or exports from some apps — converting to JPG is an easy, big win for file size.

The one thing you lose: transparency

JPG does not support transparency. If your PNG has a transparent background — a logo, an icon, a cut-out product image — converting to JPG will fill that transparent area with a solid colour, usually white. For those images, converting to JPG is the wrong choice; keep them as PNG, or use WebP if you want them lighter while keeping transparency.

The simple test: if the image needs a see-through background, don't convert it to JPG. If it's a photograph or a graphic on a solid background, JPG is fine.

How to convert without visible quality loss

Because JPG is lossy, the conversion quality depends on the setting you choose. At 80–90% quality, the JPG is visually identical to the PNG for almost any photo while being far smaller. Going below about 70% starts to introduce visible artefacts around edges and in flat areas.

Drop your PNG into our converter, choose JPG as the output format, set the quality to around 85%, and download. Everything runs in your browser — the file is never uploaded, and you can compare before and after to confirm the quality before saving.

PNG, JPG or WebP?

Quick guide: keep PNG for graphics with sharp edges, text or transparency. Convert to JPG for photographs and images on solid backgrounds where you want a much smaller file. And if the destination is a website, consider WebP instead — it beats JPG on size and, unlike JPG, can keep transparency when you need it.