AVIF vs PNG
| Property | AVIF | PNG |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | AV1 Image File Format | Portable Network Graphics |
| File extensions | .avif | .png |
| Created by | Alliance for Open Media (Google, Netflix, Apple, Microsoft and others) | PNG Development Group (W3C Recommendation) |
| Introduced | 2019 | 1996 |
| Compression | Lossy or lossless (AV1); often smaller than WebP at the same quality | Lossless: every pixel is kept exactly |
| Transparency | Yes | Yes, full alpha channel with soft edges |
| Animation | Yes | Only as APNG, which few apps play |
| Typical size | — | Often 3–10× larger than JPG for photos; small for flat graphics |
| Opens on | Chrome 85+, Firefox 93+, Safari 16+; many desktop apps and upload forms cannot open it yet | Every browser, phone, computer and image editor |
| Best for | The smallest high-quality images on the web | Screenshots, logos, text and graphics with transparency |
Why convert AVIF to PNG?
AVIF files usually reach you from the web. Sites built on modern image services serve AVIF to browsers that support it, so "Save image as…" gives you a .avif file that many programs, including older versions of Photoshop, Microsoft Office and most print services, cannot open.
PNG is the safest target when the image has transparency or sharp edges: icons, logos, product cut-outs, illustrations and screenshots. It is lossless, so the PNG shows exactly what the AVIF decoded to, with no new artefacts. For photos without transparency, AVIF to JPG produces much smaller files.
Expect PNGs to be several times larger than the AVIF. AVIF is among the most compact image formats, and lossless PNG cannot match it. If you need a small file that still keeps transparency, convert the PNG on to WebP with PNG to WebP.