WebP was built to replace both PNG and JPG on the web, and for PNG's usual workload it wins comfortably: it compresses flat colour, sharp edges and transparency better, and typically produces a file 25 to 35 percent smaller with no visible difference at all.
That makes this one of the few conversions with almost no downside. This tool re-encodes your PNG as WebP inside your browser, so the image is never uploaded.
How to convert PNG to WEBP
- Add your PNG. Drag it onto the box above or click to browse.
- Set the quality. WebP handles quality gracefully. 82 is a good default; the format stays cleaner than JPG at the same setting.
- Download. The WebP downloads immediately, usually noticeably smaller than the PNG you started with.
WebP has a lossless mode too
WebP is usually discussed as a lossy format, but it also has a lossless mode that competes directly with PNG and typically beats it by around 25 percent on the same image, with transparency intact and no quality cost whatsoever. It is genuinely a better PNG.
The catch is that browsers expose the lossy encoder through the canvas API, which is what a tool like this can reach, so the quality slider here is producing lossy WebP. For most PNG content at quality 82 the difference is invisible and the saving is larger than lossless would give you anyway. If you need mathematically identical pixels, keep the PNG as your master.
The one real trade
WebP is lossy at the default quality, so unlike PNG it does discard some information. For the images people usually store as PNG, that loss is invisible in practice and the size saving is substantial.
The exception is anything destined for further editing or archival, where you want the pixels preserved exactly. In that case keep the PNG as the master and export WebP for the web. To go the other way, use WebP to PNG.
Frequently asked questions
- Does WebP keep transparency?
- Yes. This is the main reason to prefer it over JPG for PNG-style images. WebP supports a full alpha channel, so logos, icons and cutouts convert without gaining a white box behind them.
- Will WebP work everywhere?
- On the web, effectively yes. Every current browser has supported it for years. The gaps are elsewhere: some older desktop software, a few print workflows and the occasional upload form will still reject a .webp. If the destination is a browser, use it. If it is someone else's software, check first.
- How much smaller will it be?
- For typical PNG content, screenshots, logos, graphics with flat areas, expect 25 to 35 percent. For photographs saved as PNG the saving is far larger, but that image should have been a JPG or WebP to begin with.
- Is my file uploaded?
- No. The encoding is done by your browser's own WebP encoder, on your machine. Nothing is sent to a server.