You saved an image and got a .avif file. Here's why
The website sent your browser an AVIF, and Save image as keeps whatever the site sent. Sites switched to AVIF because the files are much smaller than JPG, so pages load faster. Chrome has displayed AVIF since version 85 in August 2020, Firefox since 93, Safari on iPhone since iOS 16 and Safari 16.4 on Mac, and Edge since 121 in January 2024. Inside a browser the image looks normal.
Outside the browser is where it goes wrong. Windows Photos can't open it, Word for Mac refuses to insert it, an upload form says it only takes JPG or PNG, and an older phone may show a blank thumbnail. The file isn't damaged. The program you opened it with just doesn't read AVIF yet.
JPG is the fix because it has worked everywhere since 1992. Convert once and the image goes wherever you need it.
How to convert AVIF to JPG
- Drop the .avif file into the box above, or tap it to choose a file. Up to 5 files at a time, each up to 300 MB.
- JPG is the target. If one file in the batch needs PNG or another format instead, change it next to that file.
- Press Convert. The files upload, our server converts them, and a download button appears for each one.
The tool is free and needs no account, and the JPG carries no watermark. There's no quality slider or resize option; the JPG is written at the converter's standard setting. If you need it smaller afterwards, run it through the image compressor.
What happens to the image when AVIF becomes JPG
Three things change, and only one of them matters for a normal photo.
Compression happens again. AVIF is lossy and so is JPG, meaning both drop some detail to save space, so the converter decodes the AVIF pixels and encodes them a second time. A photo looks the same at normal viewing size. Nothing can add back detail the AVIF already discarded, so the JPG is never sharper than the AVIF was.
Transparency is gone. JPG can't store it. A logo or sticker with a see-through background comes out with a white background instead. For those files use AVIF to PNG.
HDR is gone. AVIF can store 10- and 12-bit HDR images (extra bright, high-contrast pictures). Baseline JPG stores 8 bits per channel and standard dynamic range only, so an HDR AVIF becomes a normal image and very bright areas may look flatter than they did on an HDR screen.
Expect the JPG to be bigger than the AVIF, often by a lot. Small files are the whole point of AVIF. The size trade is worth it when the file has to open somewhere AVIF doesn't.
Where JPG works and AVIF doesn't
- Windows 10 and 11 without Microsoft's AV1 Video Extension. Photos, Paint, Explorer thumbnails and Office all depend on it.
- Word and PowerPoint for Mac, which don't accept AVIF at all.
- Photoshop releases before 26.8 from June 2025. Earlier versions can't open or save the format.
- Android 11 and older phones, which have no system AVIF decoder.
- Upload forms for job sites, exam registrations, visa applications and school portals. Many list JPG, JPEG and PNG and reject everything else.
- Photo print shops and kiosks, which were built around JPG.
JPG is defined by the JPEG standard published in 1992. Every operating system, editor, printer driver and web form written since then reads it. That track record is why JPG, and not WebP or AVIF, is still the safe answer when you don't control the other end.
Ways to open an AVIF without converting it
If you only want to look at the file, you may not need a JPG.
- Drag the .avif onto any up-to-date Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Safari window. It displays.
- On Windows, install the free AV1 Video Extension from the Microsoft Store. Photos, Paint and Explorer thumbnails then work.
- On a Mac running macOS 13 Ventura or later, Preview and Quick Look open AVIF.
- On iPhone from iOS 16 and Android from version 12, the built-in photo apps open it.
- GIMP 2.10.22 and later, and Photoshop 26.8 and later, open AVIF for editing.
Convert when the file has to leave your hands: an attachment, a form upload, a document, a print order. You can't make the other side install anything.
When PNG or another format is the better choice
JPG is right for photos. It's wrong in three cases.
The image has a transparent background. Use AVIF to PNG; PNG keeps the transparent background and JPG can't.
You want a small file for a website, and the site refuses AVIF but takes WebP. Use AVIF to WebP.
A portal wants a document rather than an image. Use AVIF to PDF, and join several pages with the merge PDF tool.
If a form demands the four-letter extension, AVIF to JPEG makes the same file with a .jpeg name. Every other AVIF option is on the AVIF converter page, and the JPG converter page covers going from JPG to other formats.
If the result isn't what you expected
The JPG has a white box where the background was transparent. That's JPG doing what JPG does. Convert the AVIF to PNG instead.
An animated AVIF came out as one still picture. Only the first frame is converted. JPG can't hold animation anyway.
The colours look flatter than on the website. The source was probably an HDR AVIF, and JPG is standard dynamic range. The detail is still there; the extra brightness range isn't.
The file was renamed to .jpg by someone and still won't open. Renaming doesn't convert. Upload it here; the converter reads the contents, not the name.
The upload sits at the same percentage. Large files on a slow connection take time to reach the server. Files over 300 MB are refused; make a smaller copy in an image editor first.