Why convert a JPG to AVIF
Because the AVIF is usually much smaller, and the page loads faster. AVIF compresses photos with AV1, a video codec (compression method) far newer than the 1992 JPEG method. Mozilla's format guide puts AVIF at about half the size of a JPEG with similar quality, and WordPress reports savings of up to 50% on the images it converts. Your own photos will land somewhere near that, more on big smooth photos and less on small or already crushed ones.
That size cut is what Google's page-speed report, Lighthouse, is asking for in its "Improve image delivery" check (called "Serve images in next-gen formats" in older versions). The check flags JPEG, PNG and BMP images that would be smaller as WebP or AVIF. Google Search has indexed AVIF since August 2024, so switching doesn't cost you Image Search traffic either.
How to convert JPG to AVIF
- Drop up to 5 JPG files into the box above, each up to 300 MB.
- AVIF is already the target. Press Convert. The photo is uploaded to our server and encoded there.
- Download the .avif file and put it on your site next to the original JPG.
AVIF encoding is slow work compared with JPEG or WebP, because AV1 was built for video on powerful hardware. Smaller images are quick. Photos around 24 megapixels and up take a few seconds each. There's no quality slider: the converter picks the settings, so if you want a specific size target, resize the image first with the image resizer and then convert.
What the conversion can't do: bring back detail the JPG already lost
A JPG is already lossy. When it was saved, blocks of fine detail were thrown away for good. AVIF compresses what's left; it can't invent what's gone. Convert a JPG that was saved at low quality, and you'll get a small AVIF of a blurry, blocky picture.
So the order matters. If you still have the camera original, a HEIC from an iPhone, a TIFF scan, or a PNG export from your design tool, convert that instead. Use HEIC to AVIF, TIFF to AVIF or PNG to AVIF. The AVIF will be built from clean pixels and look better at the same size.
Two more things are fixed by the input. A JPG has no transparency, so the AVIF won't either. And the output is lossy, not lossless, so this is one more compression step on top of the first. For a photo that's fine. For text on a screenshot, start from a PNG.
Which browsers can show an AVIF image
Every current major browser, but not every old one. The versions below come from caniuse.com and MDN.
| Browser | AVIF from version | Released |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome (desktop and Android) | 85 | August 2020 |
| Firefox | 93 (animated AVIF from 113) | October 2021 |
| Safari on iPhone and iPad | iOS 16 | September 2022 |
| Safari on Mac | 16.4 | March 2023 |
| Edge | 121 | January 2024 |
| Samsung Internet | 14 | 2021 |
Outside the browser, Android 12 (October 2021) and iOS 16 decode AVIF in the system, so gallery apps on those versions open the file. Windows 10 and 11 need the free AV1 Video Extension from the Microsoft Store before Photos or File Explorer thumbnails work. Edge is the one to watch: it only caught up in January 2024, so a Windows office PC that hasn't updated its browser in two years shows nothing where the AVIF should be.
Keep the JPG and use the picture element as a fallback
Don't swap the src of your img tag to the .avif and delete the JPG. Serve both and let the browser choose. The picture element tries each source in order and uses the first format it understands:
<picture>
<source srcset='hero.avif' type='image/avif'>
<img src='hero.jpg' alt='Describe the photo' width='1600' height='900'>
</picture>A browser that can't decode AVIF skips the first line and loads the JPG. Nobody sees a broken image. If you want a middle step for browsers that have WebP but not AVIF (Safari 14 and 15, Edge 18 to 120), convert the same JPG with JPG to WebP and add it as a second source line above the img.
WordPress 6.5 (April 2024) and later accept .avif in the media library, as long as the host's PHP image library supports it, which you can check under Tools, Site Health. Wix accepts AVIF uploads too. Shopify and Squarespace don't, so on those platforms upload the JPG and let the platform make its own smaller versions.
AVIF or WebP for a JPG photo?
AVIF, with a JPG fallback, for most sites in 2026. It gives the smaller file, and AVIF support has been in Chrome for six years and in iOS for four. Pick WebP instead in two cases.
- You convert thousands of images on every build and the encode time hurts. WebP encodes much faster.
- Your analytics show real traffic from Edge below 121 or Safari below 16, and you don't want to maintain a fallback.
AVIF also keeps 10-bit colour and HDR (extra bright, high-contrast images), which a JPG never had, so that advantage doesn't apply here. For a plain 8-bit JPG photo the only question is size versus support. The AVIF converter page lists every format we can turn into AVIF, and the JPG converter page covers the other targets for a JPG.
Checking the result before you publish
Open the AVIF in Chrome or Firefox and view it at 100%, next to the JPG. Look at sharp edges, skin, and any text in the photo. On a normal photo you shouldn't be able to tell them apart. If the AVIF looks worse, the JPG was probably already low quality, and the fix is a better source file, not a different converter.
Then compare file sizes. If the AVIF is only slightly smaller than the JPG, the JPG was already heavily compressed, and there's little to gain. A JPG straight from a camera or phone at high quality is where AVIF saves the most.