AVIF vs WebP: Which Compresses Better?

AVIF and WebP are both modern image formats built to replace JPEG. They both compress better. They both support transparency. They both produce smaller files.

So which one should you actually use?

The short answer: it depends on your priorities. AVIF compresses smaller. WebP encodes faster and works everywhere. This guide compares them side by side so you can pick the right format for your project.

How Much Smaller Are AVIF Files Compared to WebP?

AVIF wins on file size. Consistently.

In real-world tests, AVIF files are 20-30% smaller than WebP at the same visual quality. Compared to JPEG, AVIF is roughly 50% smaller. WebP is about 25-35% smaller than JPEG.

Here's what that looks like with actual numbers:

Image Type	JPEG (80%)	WebP (80%)	AVIF (80%)
Product photo (1200px)	180 KB	130 KB	95 KB
Blog hero image	220 KB	160 KB	110 KB
Landscape photo	250 KB	180 KB	125 KB
UI screenshot	340 KB	200 KB	150 KB

Those savings add up fast. A page with 10 images could save 300-500 KB by switching from WebP to AVIF. That's real speed improvement, especially on mobile connections.

AVIF achieves this through more advanced compression algorithms. It's based on the AV1 video codec, which was designed by a consortium including Google, Apple, Mozilla, and Netflix. Years of video compression research went into making AV1 efficient. AVIF brings that same efficiency to still images.

For a deeper look at how WebP compares to older formats, check out our article on why WebP compression beats JPEG.

Which Format Has Better Browser Support?

WebP wins here. And it's not close.

WebP has near-universal browser support. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera. Every modern browser handles it. Even older versions going back several years support WebP. Over 97% of global users can view WebP images without issues.

AVIF support is strong but not complete. Chrome and Firefox support it fully. Safari added AVIF support in version 16 (late 2022). Edge supports it. But some older browsers and certain email clients still can't display AVIF images.

Current browser support (as of 2026):

Browser	WebP	AVIF
Chrome	Yes (since 2014)	Yes (since 2020)
Firefox	Yes (since 2019)	Yes (since 2021)
Safari	Yes (since 2020)	Yes (since 2022)
Edge	Yes (since 2018)	Yes (since 2020)
Samsung Internet	Yes	Yes
Older browsers	Mostly yes	Often no

For websites, both formats work for the vast majority of visitors today. But if you need guaranteed compatibility, WebP is the safer choice. If you serve images via a CDN that handles format negotiation, you can serve AVIF to browsers that support it and fall back to WebP for the rest.

Which Format Encodes Faster?

WebP is significantly faster to encode. This matters more than you might think.

Encoding an image as WebP takes milliseconds. AVIF encoding can take 5-20 times longer. For a single image, the difference is barely noticeable. But when you're compressing hundreds of images for a website, AVIF's slow encoding adds up.

Here's a rough comparison for a 1200px photo:

Operation	WebP	AVIF
Encode time	50-100ms	500-2000ms
Decode time	~10ms	~15ms
Re-encode batch of 100	~8 seconds	~2 minutes

Decoding speed (how fast browsers display the image) is similar for both formats. Your visitors won't notice a difference when viewing images. The speed gap is only during compression.

This matters for:

• Build pipelines that process many images during deployment
• Real-time compression where images are processed on upload
• CDN transformations that generate images on the fly

If your workflow involves compressing images once and serving them many times, AVIF's slow encoding is a minor trade-off. If you need fast, on-the-fly compression, WebP is the better fit.

Does Image Quality Differ Between AVIF and WebP?

At the same file size, AVIF generally looks better. But the differences are subtle and depend on the image content.

AVIF excels at:

• Photos with smooth gradients and soft transitions. It handles skin tones and skies beautifully.
• Low-bitrate compression. When you push file sizes very low, AVIF maintains quality better than WebP.
• Color accuracy. AVIF supports wider color gamuts and HDR content.

WebP excels at:

• Images with sharp edges and text. WebP preserves crisp details well at moderate compression.
• Lossless compression. WebP's lossless mode is competitive and sometimes smaller than AVIF lossless.
• Consistent results. WebP quality is predictable across different image types.

Where AVIF struggles:

• At very high quality settings (95%+), AVIF files can actually be larger than WebP. The format shines at moderate compression, not near-lossless.
• Fine text and sharp patterns can sometimes show slight softness at aggressive compression levels.

For most web images compressed to 75-85% quality, both formats look excellent. The quality difference is only visible in side-by-side pixel comparisons. Your visitors won't notice either way.

When Should You Use AVIF Over WebP?

Use AVIF when file size is your top priority and you control the delivery pipeline.

Best use cases for AVIF:

• High-traffic websites where every kilobyte saved reduces bandwidth costs
• Image-heavy pages like product galleries, portfolios, and media sites
• Mobile-first sites where users are on slower connections
• Sites using a CDN with automatic format negotiation (Cloudflare, Cloudinary, Imgix)

AVIF makes the biggest impact on pages with many large photos. If your homepage has 15 product images, switching from WebP to AVIF could save 500 KB or more. That directly improves your Core Web Vitals scores.

Skip AVIF when:

• You need maximum compatibility (email, older apps, embedded systems)
• Your build pipeline can't handle slower encoding times
• You're working with screenshots or graphics where WebP or PNG is more appropriate
• Your images are already small (under 50 KB), where the savings are minimal

When Should You Use WebP Instead?

Use WebP when you want a reliable, fast, universally supported modern format.

Best use cases for WebP:

• General web use where you want better compression than JPEG without compatibility concerns
• Email attachments where AVIF support is inconsistent
• Blogs and content sites where images are compressed once during upload
• CMS platforms where authors upload images through a simple interface
• Applications that need fast encoding and decoding

WebP is the practical default. It works everywhere, compresses quickly, and still offers major savings over JPEG. For most websites, switching from JPEG to WebP is the biggest win. The jump from WebP to AVIF gives diminishing returns.

If you're compressing images for the web, CompressIMG handles both formats. Upload your photos and compress them as WebP for maximum compatibility or test AVIF for the smallest possible files.

For a broader comparison of compression tools and workflows, see our honest comparison of popular compressors.

Can You Use Both Formats Together?

Yes. And for the best results, you should.

The <picture> element in HTML lets you serve different formats to different browsers. The browser picks the first format it supports:

<picture>
  <source srcset="/photo.avif" type="image/avif">
  <source srcset="/photo.webp" type="image/webp">
  <img src="/photo.jpg" alt="Product photo">
</picture>

This serves AVIF to browsers that support it, WebP to those that don't, and JPEG as a final fallback. Every visitor gets the smallest file their browser can handle.

Most CDNs and image optimization services do this automatically. They detect the browser's capabilities via the Accept header and serve the best format. No <picture> element needed.

If you're building a website from scratch, the <picture> approach gives you full control. If you're using a framework like Next.js, the built-in image component handles format negotiation for you.

The overhead of generating both formats is minimal. You compress each image twice during the build step. The storage cost is small compared to the bandwidth savings.

For a complete guide to image formats, compression types, and how to choose the right settings, read our complete guide to image compression.

What's the Bottom Line?

Choose AVIF if you want the smallest files and your delivery setup handles format fallbacks. It compresses 20-30% better than WebP and produces excellent quality at low bitrates.

Choose WebP if you want a reliable modern format that works everywhere with fast encoding. It's still 25-35% better than JPEG and has zero compatibility concerns.

Choose both if you can. Serve AVIF with WebP fallback for the best of both worlds.

Either way, both formats crush JPEG on file size. Switching from JPEG to either WebP or AVIF is the single biggest improvement you can make for your website's image performance.

CompressIMG supports JPEG, PNG, and WebP compression right in your browser. Upload your images and see how much smaller they get. No account needed.