Is WebP better than PNG?

For web delivery, yes, and not marginally — it keeps transparency and lossless capability while cutting most of the bytes. For files that leave the browser, PNG is still the safer choice because some desktop software never added WebP support.

Does WebP lose quality compared to PNG?

Only if you use lossy mode. WebP also has a lossless mode that is pixel-identical to PNG and still smaller. The quality slider is what chooses between them.

Why will nothing open my WebP file?

Older versions of Office, Photoshop and various image viewers never added support. Convert it to PNG and it will open anywhere.

PNG vs WebP

WebP wins for anything delivered over the web: it does everything PNG does, including transparency and lossless mode, at 60–80% of the size, and every current browser supports it. Keep PNG when the file leaves the web — an email attachment, a print handoff, or an upload to software that still refuses WebP.

	PNG	WebP
File size	Baseline	60–80% smaller, typically
Transparency	Yes	Yes
Lossless mode	Always lossless	Yes, optional
Lossy mode	No	Yes
Animation	APNG, rarely used	Yes
Browser support	Universal	Universal in current browsers
Desktop software	Opens everywhere	Some older apps refuse it

Use PNG for

·Email attachments
·Print and design handoff
·Uploads to systems you do not control
·Maximum compatibility

Use WebP for

·Images on a website
·Anywhere page speed matters
·Transparent images that must be small

Convert PNG to WebP Convert WebP to PNG

Other comparisons

PNG vs JPG JPG vs WebP PNG vs SVG