PNG vs AVIF
| Property | PNG | AVIF |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Portable Network Graphics | AV1 Image File Format |
| File extensions | .png | .avif |
| Created by | PNG Development Group (W3C Recommendation) | Alliance for Open Media (Google, Netflix, Apple, Microsoft and others) |
| Introduced | 1996 | 2019 |
| Compression | Lossless: every pixel is kept exactly | Lossy or lossless (AV1); often smaller than WebP at the same quality |
| Transparency | Yes, full alpha channel with soft edges | Yes |
| Animation | Only as APNG, which few apps play | Yes |
| Typical size | Often 3–10× larger than JPG for photos; small for flat graphics | — |
| Opens on | Every browser, phone, computer and image editor | Chrome 85+, Firefox 93+, Safari 16+; many desktop apps and upload forms cannot open it yet |
| Best for | Screenshots, logos, text and graphics with transparency | The smallest high-quality images on the web |
Why convert PNG to AVIF?
PNG is lossless, which is perfect for editing but wasteful on a website. A product photo on a transparent background can easily be 2–5 MB as PNG; as AVIF it is usually a few hundred KB, still with smooth transparent edges. That makes PNG to AVIF one of the biggest single savings you can make on an online shop or portfolio.
AVIF is lossy here, so pick the quality with the content in mind. Photos and gradients look right at 75–85. Screenshots, charts and graphics with small text need a higher setting, around 90, or they can show soft edges around letters. For pixel-exact graphics, PNG to WebP in lossless mode is the better choice.
AVIF encoding is slower than PNG or WebP, so allow a few seconds per large image. Keep the PNG originals for editing, and remember that some apps and email clients cannot show AVIF yet.