JPG
The everyday .jpg extension for compressed photographic images on the web and cameras.
Conversion tools
Compression tools
Format details
What is JPG?
JPG is the common file extension for JPEG, the lossy compression standard used for photographs across the web, cameras, and phones. It excels at natural photos with smooth gradients, producing small files that load quickly. JPG does not support transparency or animation and is not ideal for text, screenshots, or line art.
Specifications
- Typical file size
- Web photos: 80-400 KB. Camera JPGs: 2-8 MB. High-resolution or minimally compressed exports: 8-20 MB.
- Quality
- Good visual quality at moderate compression levels, but detail and edges soften as compression increases. Repeated re-saving causes cumulative loss.
- Transparency support
- No — Transparent regions are flattened to a solid background, usually white.
- Animation support
- No — JPG is a still image format.
- Compression type
- Lossy (DCT-based)
- Browser support
- Universal across all browsers and platforms.
- Compatibility
- Supported everywhere: cameras, phones, editors, web platforms, print, and email.
Advantages
- Very small files for full-color photographs
- Universal support across every device and browser
- Fast to encode and decode
- Good quality-to-size balance at 70-85% quality
Disadvantages
- Lossy compression, quality degrades on re-save
- No transparency
- Poor for text, screenshots, and hard edges
- Visible artifacts at low quality settings
Common uses
- Website hero and product photos
- Camera and phone photography
- Email attachments and social media uploads
- Blog post imagery
- Marketplace listings
Common conversions
- JPG to PNG
- JPG to WebP
- JPG to PDF
- PNG to JPG
- WebP to JPG
Compression tips
- Export at 75-85% quality for a strong size-to-quality balance
- Resize to the largest actually displayed dimension before exporting
- Use progressive JPG for faster perceived load on web
- Avoid re-saving the same JPG repeatedly, edit from an original
- For modern sites, offer WebP or AVIF alongside JPG as fallback
Frequently asked questions
No. JPG and JPEG are the same format, just different file extensions. .jpg is common on Windows because of a historical three-letter limit, while .jpeg is the original full spelling.
Every save re-applies lossy compression, so small artifacts accumulate. Keep an original in PNG or the editor's native format and export a fresh JPG only for the final delivery.
No. JPG has no alpha channel. If you need a transparent background, save as PNG or WebP instead.
75-85% is usually enough for hero photos and product shots. Higher than 90% mostly increases file size without a visible quality gain.