WEBP to PNG or JPG: Why You Need to Convert and How

You saved an image from a website and it won't open in Photoshop. Or you tried to upload it somewhere and got a "format not supported" error. Check the file extension. If it ends in .webp, that's your problem. WEBP is everywhere on the web now, but not every program knows what to do with it.

What WEBP Is

WEBP is an image format developed by Google. They released it in 2010 as a replacement for JPG and PNG that produces smaller file sizes at comparable quality. A WEBP image is typically 25-35% smaller than an equivalent JPG. Google pushed it hard because smaller images mean faster-loading web pages, and faster web pages mean better search rankings and user experience.

Websites adopted WEBP aggressively because of those bandwidth savings. When you right-click and save an image from most modern websites in Chrome, you often get a .webp file instead of the .jpg or .png you expected.

Why You End Up With WEBP Files

It's usually from saving images in Chrome, Edge, or Firefox. When a website serves images in WEBP format and you right-click and "Save image as," you get a WEBP file. The website might have both JPG and WEBP versions of the image, but your browser downloads the WEBP version because it's the one being displayed.

Safari on Mac is an exception. Safari has historically had limited WEBP support, so some websites serve JPG to Safari users and WEBP to Chrome users. This is becoming less common as Safari's WEBP support has improved.

Why Some Programs Reject WEBP

Older versions of Photoshop (before CC 2022) don't support WEBP without a plugin. Some CMS platforms and website builders only accept JPG, PNG, and GIF. Social media upload forms sometimes reject WEBP. Email clients may not display WEBP images inline. Print services almost never accept WEBP.

The format is less than 16 years old, which sounds old enough, but JPEG has been around since 1992 and PNG since 1996. The software ecosystem has had decades to build JPG and PNG support into everything. WEBP is still catching up.

WEBP format not supported error in older software application

WEBP to PNG vs. WEBP to JPG: When to Choose Which

This choice depends on what the image contains.

Convert to PNG when the image has transparency (a transparent background or semi-transparent elements). PNG supports transparency, JPG doesn't. If you convert a transparent WEBP to JPG, the transparent areas become white (or sometimes black). Also choose PNG for screenshots, logos, text-heavy images, and anything with sharp edges and solid colors. PNG handles these without compression artifacts.

Convert to JPG when the image is a photograph or an image with lots of gradients and color variation. JPG handles photographic content efficiently, producing smaller files than PNG for this type of image. JPG is also more universally accepted by online services and print workflows.

When you're not sure: PNG is the safer choice because it's lossless (no quality loss during conversion). The files will be larger than JPG, but you won't lose any detail. You can always convert the PNG to JPG later if you need to reduce the file size.

Step-by-Step: Convert WEBP With FilesFlow

1. Go to filesflow.net.

2. Upload the WEBP file.

3. Choose PNG or JPG as your output format.

4. Convert and download.

For multiple files, you can batch convert. Upload all your WEBP files, set the output format, and convert them together.

Does Converting Lose Quality?

WEBP to PNG: No quality loss. PNG is lossless, so the conversion preserves every pixel exactly. The file will be larger than the WEBP (remember, WEBP is more efficient), but the image is identical.

WEBP to JPG: Minimal quality loss. JPG uses lossy compression, so there's a small amount of detail reduction. For photographs, this is negligible. For images with text or sharp edges, you might notice very slight blurring around the edges. In most cases, the difference is invisible at normal viewing sizes.

WEBP vs PNG vs JPG file size and quality comparison same image

The Reverse: When to Convert TO WEBP

If you're running a website, converting your images to WEBP makes your pages load faster. The smaller file sizes mean less bandwidth usage and quicker rendering. Most modern browsers support WEBP, so compatibility is less of an issue on the web side. FilesFlow can handle JPG-to-WEBP and PNG-to-WEBP conversions too.

Browser Support for WEBP

As of 2026, WEBP is supported by Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari (14+), and Opera. Basically all current browsers handle it. The compatibility issues are with older browser versions and non-browser software (image editors, document processors, CMS platforms, email clients).

If you're sharing images with people who might open them in non-browser software, or if you're uploading to a service that hasn't updated its accepted formats, converting from WEBP is still necessary.

WEBP format browser support compatibility table 2026

FAQ

Can I just rename a .webp file to .jpg?

No. Renaming the file extension doesn't convert the format. The file data is still in WEBP format, and programs that don't support WEBP won't be able to open it regardless of the extension. You need an actual converter to change the format.

Why is my PNG file so much bigger than the WEBP?

That's expected. PNG is less efficient than WEBP at compression. A WEBP file is typically 25-35% smaller than the equivalent PNG. The image quality is the same; the WEBP format just stores the same data more compactly.

Does WEBP support animation like GIF?

Yes. WEBP supports animation and does it more efficiently than GIF. Animated WEBP files are smaller than equivalent GIFs. If you need to convert an animated WEBP, make sure the converter supports animation, otherwise you'll just get the first frame.

What about AVIF? Should I care about that format?

AVIF is the next-generation image format after WEBP, developed by the Alliance for Open Media. It offers even better compression than WEBP. Browser support is growing but not yet universal. You might start seeing .avif files in the same way you started seeing .webp files. When that happens, the same conversion logic applies.

Is there a way to save images from websites as JPG instead of WEBP?

Some browser extensions do this by intercepting the image save and converting on the fly. But the simpler approach is to save the WEBP and convert it. Trying to trick the browser into requesting a different format doesn't always work because many sites only serve WEBP to modern browsers.