Strictly speaking, every PNG to JPG conversion loses some information, because JPG is a lossy format. In practice, you can choose settings where the loss is invisible at normal viewing sizes. Here is how, and how to tell when JPG is the wrong choice.
What actually gets lost
JPG splits the image into small blocks and stores each block in a way that keeps broad shapes and discards fine variation. At high quality the discarded information is below what you can see. At low quality you get blocky patches, ringing around edges and smeared colors. JPG also stores color at lower resolution than brightness (chroma subsampling), which can soften thin colored lines such as red text on a white background.
Settings that keep it clean
- Quality 90 to 92 is the sweet spot for photographs. Differences from the original are very hard to spot, and files are still far smaller than PNG.
- Quality 95 and above grows the file quickly for almost no visible benefit. Reserve it for images headed to print or further editing.
- Quality 75 to 85 is fine for web pages where speed matters, as long as you've checked the result at full size.
- Don't resize and convert in one step unless you mean to. Resizing is its own loss of detail.
Avoid the common traps
- Re-saving JPGs repeatedly. Each save compresses again. Keep your PNG or another lossless original and export a fresh JPG from it each time.
- Converting graphics and text. Logos, UI screenshots and diagrams develop fringing around edges. Keep these as PNG, or use WebP if you need a smaller file.
- Forgetting about transparency. JPG can't store it. See how to convert a transparent PNG to JPG and choose a background that matches where the image will appear.
- Judging on a small preview. Zoom to 100 percent and look at edges and flat color areas, where artifacts show first.
When JPG isn't the right answer
If you need a smaller file but can't accept any loss, use lossless WebP, or keep PNG and compress it. If you need transparency, use WebP or keep PNG. If you need a universal photo format, JPG is still the right call.
Step by step
- Open the PNG to JPG converter and drop your files in.
- Set the quality to 90 for photos.
- If your PNG has transparent areas, pick a fill color that matches the destination.
- Check the result at full size, compare file sizes in the list, and adjust. The files update as you move the slider.
- Download each file, or all of them as one ZIP.
Everything happens in your browser, so your images are never uploaded.