AVIF vs WebP vs HEIC vs JPEG XL: which image format should you use in 2026?

If you've ever wondered whether to use AVIF, WebP, or just stick with JPEG — this is the guide I wish existed when I was building Convertify , a free image converter that handles 20+ formats including all of these. Let me cut through the noise with actual data. TL;DR Format Lossy savings vs JPEG Browser support Best for AVIF ~50% smaller 94.9% General web delivery WebP 25–34% smaller 95.67% Fallback, simple graphics JPEG XL 35–55% smaller 14.74% (Safari only) High quality, archival HEIC ~50% smaller 12% (Safari only) Apple ecosystem only Recommended today: AVIF → WebP → JPEG fallback chain. Compression: the real numbers At equivalent visual quality (measured by SSIM/DSSIM): AVIF — ~50% smaller than JPEG (Netflix research, Ctrl.blog 600-image study) WebP — 25–34% smaller than JPEG JPEG XL — 35–55% smaller than JPEG, but 20% smaller than AVIF at high quality (Cloudinary, 40,000+ image test) HEIC — ~50% smaller than JPEG, but patent issues kill web use Real example — a 2000×2000 product p