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WebP vs AVIF: Which Should You Use?

TinyForge Blog · Image optimization guides

Both WebP and AVIF beat JPEG/PNG on size. But which one should you ship? Here's the 2026 breakdown.

File size

AVIF typically produces files 20–50% smaller than WebP at the same visual quality, and ~50% smaller than JPEG. WebP is ~30% smaller than JPEG.

Quality

AVIF handles gradients, skin tones, and fine detail better (less banding). WebP is close but can show blockiness in smooth gradients at low quality.

Browser support

• WebP: ~97% global (all modern browsers including Safari 14+).
• AVIF: ~93% global (Safari 16+, Chrome 85+, Firefox 93+). IE/old Safari need fallbacks.

Encoding speed

WebP encodes fast. AVIF encoding is 5–10x slower — matters if you compress on the fly. Pre-compress at build time and it's a non-issue.

Recommendation

Ship AVIF first, WebP fallback, JPEG last resort using <picture>. If you only want one format for simplicity, choose WebP — universal enough and a huge win over JPEG.

Convert any image to WebP or AVIF instantly with TinyForge — free, in-browser.