Do all browsers support AVIF?

All current major browsers do; very old browsers (like Safari before 16) don't.

Should I use AVIF or WebP for my website?

Either is a big improvement over JPG/PNG. For the best result, serve AVIF with a WebP or JPG fallback.

AVIF vs WebP: Which Is Better?

AVIF and WebP are both modern formats that beat JPG and PNG on file size. AVIF usually compresses more; WebP encodes faster and is supported by more apps.

AVIF vs WebP

AVIF for the smallest files when you control the website; WebP when you want good savings with the widest support. Many sites serve AVIF with a WebP or JPG fallback.

Convert AVIF to WebP Convert WebP to AVIF

AVIF vs WebP at a glance

Property	AVIF	WebP
Compression	Lossy or lossless	Lossy or lossless
Transparency	Yes	Yes
Animation	Yes	Yes
Opens in	Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari 16+; many apps can't open it yet	All modern browsers; some older apps and upload forms don't accept it
Best for	The smallest high-quality images for the web	Fast-loading website images

Use AVIF for

The smallest possible images
Photos and graphics on performance-critical pages
HDR and wide-color images

Use WebP for

Broad compatibility with good savings
Fast encoding for large image libraries
Animated images

File size test

How big are the files?

We saved the same two images in both formats with our converter at default settings (quality 85 for lossy formats).

Test image	AVIF	WebP	Difference
1600 × 1200 photo	56 KB	92 KB	AVIF 39% smaller
1200 × 800 screenshot with text	9 KB	17 KB	AVIF 50% smaller

Key differences

File size

In our tests AVIF was 39% smaller than WebP for a photo (56 KB vs 92 KB) and 50% smaller for a screenshot (9 KB vs 17 KB).

Support

Both work in current Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari (AVIF needs Safari 16+). Outside browsers, WebP is supported by more apps.

Speed

AVIF takes longer to encode, which matters when converting thousands of images.

AVIF

What is an AVIF file?

The AVIF (AV1 Image File Format) is an open, royalty-free raster image container specified by the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia) in ISO/IEC 23000-12. It encapsulates image sequences or still images compressed with the AV1 video codec within the HEIF (High Efficiency Image File Format) container structure. AVIF supports high dynamic range (HDR) utilizing Perceptual Quantizer (PQ) or Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG) transfer functions, wide color gamut (WCG), and 4:2:0, 4:2:2, or 4:4:4 chroma subsampling, offering superior compression efficiency over JPEG and WebP.

How to open an AVIF file

Native support for AVIF is available in modern web browsers including Google Chrome (v85+), Mozilla Firefox (v93+), and Safari (v16+). For local viewing, Windows 10 and 11 require the installation of the free 'AV1 Video Extension' from the Microsoft Store to enable support in the Photos app and File Explorer. macOS 13 (Ventura) and iOS 16 provide system-level support. Graphics editors like GIMP, Paint.NET, and Adobe Photoshop (via plugin) can also decode and edit these files.

Full Name: AV1 Image File Format
Developed By: Alliance for Open Media
Initial Release: 2019
MIME Type: image/avif

WebP

What is a WebP file?

WebP is a raster graphics file format developed by Google specifically for web optimization, utilizing the Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF) container. It employs predictive coding based on the VP8 video codec for lossy compression and the LZ77 algorithm with entropy coding for lossless compression. WebP supports transparency (alpha channel) in both lossy and lossless modes, as well as animation, often achieving file sizes 26-34% smaller than comparable JPEG or PNG files while maintaining high structural similarity (SSIM) index scores.

How to open a WebP file

WebP is natively supported by all modern web browsers, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Apple Safari. For offline viewing, Windows 10 and 11 support WebP via the Photos app (often requiring the Webp Image Extensions package), while macOS users can view them in Preview (macOS Big Sur and later). Legacy systems or incompatible editors require conversion tools or third-party viewers like IrfanView to render the image data.

Full Name: Web Picture
Developed By: Google
Initial Release: 2010
MIME Type: image/webp