WebP vs AVIF: Which Should You Use in 2026?

WebP and AVIF are the two formats worth caring about when you want images that load fast without looking degraded. Both beat JPEG by a wide margin, but they are not interchangeable.

Compression

AVIF, built on the AV1 video codec, typically produces the smallest files — often 30–50% smaller than JPEG and noticeably smaller than WebP at the same perceived quality, especially for photographic content and low-bitrate images. WebP usually lands 25–35% below JPEG.

Browser support

WebP is supported by effectively every browser in use today. AVIF support is now broad (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) but slightly behind WebP on older devices. If you cannot serve a fallback, WebP is the safer single-format choice.

Encode speed and tooling

AVIF encoding is slower and more CPU-intensive than WebP. For a build pipeline that converts thousands of images, that cost adds up. For one-off conversions it is irrelevant.

The practical rule

Serve AVIF with a WebP fallback if you control the markup. If you need a single format that "just works" everywhere, use WebP. Either way, convert to AVIF or convert to WebP here — server-side, no signup.