How to Convert JPG to AVIF (And Why You Should)

JPG has been the default photo format for over 30 years. It works everywhere. But it's also showing its age.

AVIF is the modern replacement. It produces files up to 50% smaller than JPG with no visible quality loss. Your photos look the same but load twice as fast.

If you've been sticking with JPG out of habit, it's time to consider making the switch. Here's what you need to know.

Why Is AVIF Better Than JPG?

AVIF uses compression technology based on the AV1 video codec. This is a newer, more advanced algorithm than what JPG uses. Our comparison of how AVIF compares to WebP shows where it stands among modern formats. The result is dramatic file size savings.

A typical photo that weighs 250 KB as JPG drops to about 120 KB as AVIF. Same visual quality. Half the size. Across a website with 50 images, that's over 6 MB saved. Pages load faster. Users stay longer. Google ranks you higher.

AVIF also fixes several JPG pain points:

• Transparency support. JPG can't do transparent backgrounds. AVIF can.
• No banding in gradients. JPG often shows ugly color steps in smooth gradients. AVIF handles them cleanly.
• HDR and wide color. AVIF supports High Dynamic Range and wider color spaces. Photos look more vibrant and true to life.
• Better at low quality settings. When you push JPG below 60% quality, it gets blocky fast. AVIF still looks good at much lower quality levels.

Will AVIF Work in All Browsers?

Browser support for AVIF has grown fast. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge all support it. That covers over 93% of web users right now.

The few browsers that don't support AVIF are mostly older versions that are fading out. If you're building a website, you can serve AVIF to modern browsers and fall back to JPG for the rest. The HTML <picture> element makes this easy to set up.

For non-web uses, support varies. Most social media platforms still expect JPG. Email clients don't support AVIF yet. If you're sharing photos outside of a website, JPG is still the safer pick for now.

How Do You Convert JPG to AVIF?

The process is simple. You need a tool that reads JPG files and outputs AVIF.

ConvertIMG does this right in your browser. Drop your JPG files in, select AVIF as the output format, set your quality level, and download. No uploads to external servers. No software to install. Your files stay on your device the whole time.

When picking a quality setting, start around 80%. AVIF is so efficient that 80% quality produces results that look identical to a JPG at 95%. You can go lower for thumbnails and preview images. Stay at 85-90% for hero images and product photos where every detail counts.

What Quality Settings Should You Use?

Quality settings in AVIF don't map directly to JPG quality. An AVIF at 70% quality often matches a JPG at 85-90%. This confuses a lot of people.

Here's a practical guide:

Use case	AVIF quality	Comparable JPG quality	Typical file size savings
Hero images	85-90%	95-100%	40-50% smaller
Blog photos	75-80%	85-90%	50-60% smaller
Thumbnails	60-70%	75-85%	60-70% smaller
Background images	50-65%	70-80%	65-75% smaller

One thing to keep in mind: AVIF encoding is slower than JPG. Converting a batch of 100 photos takes longer. But you only convert once. The speed gain on every page load after that more than makes up for it.

Should You Delete Your JPG Files After Converting?

No. Keep your original JPG files as backups. There are a few reasons for this.

First, some platforms still need JPG. If you want to post a photo on social media, send it in an email, or upload it to a site that doesn't accept AVIF, you'll want the JPG handy.

Second, converting back from AVIF to JPG means another round of lossy compression. Starting from your original JPG is always better than converting AVIF back to JPG.

Third, AVIF is still a newer format. While adoption is growing fast, keeping JPGs around gives you a safety net. In practice, most people keep both versions: AVIF for the web and JPG as the archive copy.

When Should You Stick With JPG Instead?

JPG still has a place. Here are the cases where it makes more sense:

Email attachments. Most email clients can't display AVIF. Stick with JPG for any photos you're sending by email.

Print workflows. Print shops expect JPG or TIFF. Don't send AVIF files to a printer.

Older CMS platforms. Some content management systems don't accept AVIF uploads yet. If your CMS rejects the file, use JPG or WebP as a middle ground. See our WebP vs JPG comparison to decide between them.

Batch processing speed. If you're converting thousands of photos and time is a factor, JPG encoding is much faster. AVIF encoding can be 3-5 times slower.

For everything else, especially anything on the web, AVIF is the better choice. The file size savings are too big to ignore.

For a deeper look at all image formats and when to use each one, check out our complete image format guide.

Ready to Convert Your JPGs to AVIF?

Making the switch is quick. ConvertIMG converts JPG to AVIF in seconds, right in your browser. No sign-up needed. Your files never leave your device. Just drop, convert, and download.