WebP was developed by Google from the VP8 video codec and launched in 2010 with a clear goal: to be a more efficient replacement for JPG and PNG on the web. In 2026, with over 97% browser compatibility, WebP has delivered on that promise for site use. But JPG still has a place in specific contexts where WebP isn't the ideal choice.
Direct comparison
| Feature | JPG | WebP |
|---|---|---|
| Compression type | Lossy only | Lossy and lossless |
| Compression efficiency | Baseline (1×) | 25–35% smaller for the same quality |
| Transparency (alpha channel) | ❌ Not supported | ✅ Supported |
| Animation | ❌ No | ✅ Supported |
| Browser compatibility | 100% | >97% (2026) |
| Email support | ✅ Universal | ⚠️ Incomplete (Outlook, Apple Mail) |
| Print software support | ✅ Universal | ⚠️ Limited |
| Encoding speed | Very fast | Fast (slower than JPG) |
| Recommended by Google PageSpeed | ❌ Replace with WebP | ✅ Next-gen format |
| YouTube support (thumbnails) | ✅ Accepted | ❌ Not accepted |
The difference in the compression algorithm
JPG uses the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) on fixed 8×8 pixel blocks — a technique from 1992. It works very well for photographs, but creates visible artifacts (blocky patches) at high compression.
WebP uses the VP8 codec's algorithm, with variable-size block prediction and adaptive transforms — more sophisticated techniques that identify patterns in the image more intelligently. The result: the same visual quality with less data, or visibly better quality at the same file size.
In practice: a 500 KB product photo in JPG (85% quality) can come down to 320–350 KB in WebP with visually equivalent quality — a 30–35% reduction with no perceptible difference on screen.
⚡ Impact on PageSpeed: the "Serve images in next-gen formats" warning in Google PageSpeed Insights shows up specifically when a site uses JPG where WebP would produce smaller files. Converting images to WebP is one of the highest-impact changes for performance.
When to keep using JPG
- Email marketing: clients like Outlook and Apple Mail have inconsistent WebP support. JPG is safer.
- Print production: software and print shops work with JPG (and TIFF). WebP has limited support in this context.
- YouTube thumbnails: the platform accepts JPG and PNG, not WebP.
- Downloadable files users will open locally: older systems may not recognize WebP natively.
When to switch to WebP
- Any image going into a modern website or web application
- E-commerce product photos (Shopify already converts automatically)
- Blog images, banners and heroes
- Whenever Google PageSpeed flags JPGs to optimize
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