AVIF vs JPG: What's the Difference?
The short version
| Feature | AVIF | JPG |
|---|---|---|
| Compression efficiency | Excellent (often 50% smaller than JPG) | Standard |
| Image quality at low sizes | Better — fewer artifacts | More artifacts at high compression |
| Transparency | Yes | No |
| Animation | Yes | No |
| HDR support | Yes | Limited |
| Browser support (2026) | All major modern browsers | Universal |
| Desktop app support | Limited | Universal |
| Upload form support | Often rejected | Accepted everywhere |
What is AVIF?
AVIF stands for AV1 Image File Format. It was developed by the Alliance for Open Media — a consortium that includes Google, Mozilla, Apple, Netflix, and others — and is based on the AV1 video codec that was originally designed to stream video efficiently.
Applying video compression technology to still images produces dramatically better results than JPEG's older algorithm. At the same visual quality, AVIF files are often 40–60% smaller than their JPEG equivalents.
Why does AVIF produce better quality at smaller sizes?
JPEG uses a compression algorithm called DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform) which was designed in the 1980s. At high compression ratios, it produces characteristic “blocky” artifacts — you can see squares appear in smooth gradients and around edges.
AVIF uses a more modern algorithm that handles these problem areas better. At equivalent file sizes, AVIF typically shows smoother gradients, cleaner edges, and less visual noise.
Where do AVIF files come from?
You encounter AVIF files when:
- Websites serve AVIF automatically to supported browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari) to save bandwidth
- You download an image that was saved in AVIF by the source website
- A design tool or image editor exports AVIF
- An AI image generator saves output as AVIF
If you right-click to save an image from a modern website, there is a good chance it is AVIF. Many users don't notice until they try to open or upload it somewhere.
Why would you need to convert AVIF to JPG?
Despite modern browsers supporting AVIF, it is not universally accepted:
- Older desktop applications (older Photoshop, Windows Photo Viewer) cannot open AVIF
- Upload forms on websites typically accept only JPG, PNG, or occasionally WebP
- Government and institutional portals almost always expect JPG
- Email attachments may not display correctly as AVIF on all clients
- Printing services typically require JPG or PNG input
How to convert AVIF to JPG
ToolKB's AVIF to JPG converter handles this in your browser using WebAssembly. No upload, no account. Select the AVIF file, choose an output quality, and download the resulting JPG.
If the converted JPG needs to fit a specific file size limit, use the image compressor to reduce it to your target.