AVIF vs JPEG: Is It Worth Switching From the Old Default?
By Andrew Butson · July 2, 2026 · 7 min read
AVIF wins on file size by a wide margin, often two to three times smaller than a JPEG at matching quality, but JPEG wins on the one thing that counts everywhere else: it opens on absolutely everything.
AVIF is the newer, more efficient format; JPEG is the three-decade-old default every browser, phone, printer, email client and photo app already understands. Use AVIF where you control the audience and want the smallest possible file; keep JPEG for anything that has to survive contact with software, hardware or people you don't control.
JPEG has been the default photo format since 1992, which is either its greatest strength or its biggest limitation depending on what you need from it. It compresses photographs well enough that, three decades on, nothing about it feels obviously broken, until you put it next to AVIF, a format built in 2019 using compression techniques JPEG's original committee had no way to anticipate.
The comparison isn't really about which format is 'better' in the abstract. It's about whether the bytes AVIF saves are worth the compatibility JPEG guarantees, and that trade-off looks different depending on who's actually going to open the file.
| AVIF | JPEG | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2019 | 1992 |
| Developed by | Alliance for Open Media | JPEG committee (ISO/IEC & ITU-T) |
| Compression basis | AV1 video codec | Discrete cosine transform (DCT) |
| Typical file size | Often a third to a half of JPEG at matching quality | Baseline |
| Lossless mode | Yes | No |
| Transparency | Yes | No |
| HDR / wide colour | 10- and 12-bit support | 8-bit only |
| Encode speed | Slow — computationally heavy | Fast |
| Software & device support | Strong in browsers, patchier elsewhere | Near-universal |
| Best for | Web delivery where you control the pipeline | Anything that has to open anywhere |
Why AVIF's savings are so large
JPEG compresses each 8×8 block of pixels with a discrete cosine transform devised in the 1970s and standardised in 1992, effective for its time but blunt by modern standards. AVIF instead borrows the intra-frame prediction and transform tools from AV1, a video codec finished in 2018 with far more sophisticated ways to predict and encode each block. The result is that an AVIF can often match a JPEG's visual quality at a third to a half of the file size, and sometimes less on detailed photographic images. On a site serving thousands of images a day, or a photo library eating into phone storage, that difference is real bandwidth and real space.
AVIF also does things JPEG structurally can't: it supports transparency, high-dynamic-range colour with 10- and 12-bit depth, and lossless encoding in the same container. JPEG has none of that. It's 8-bit, lossy only, and has no alpha channel, because none of it existed as a requirement when the format was designed.
Why JPEG still wins everywhere else
None of that matters if the file won't open. JPEG's advantage isn't technical, it's universal: every browser released this century, every digital camera, every printer and print shop, every email client, and huge amounts of software still running on decades-old systems all understand a .jpg without question. AVIF's browser support is now strong, but 'every current browser' isn't the same as 'every piece of software that might open this file': desktop editors, print workflows, older devices and plenty of business software still don't decode it reliably.
That makes JPEG the safer choice for anything leaving your control: an attachment to someone whose setup you can't check, a file handed to a print shop (professional printing workflows are still built around JPEG and TIFF, not AVIF), an upload to a form that might reject something unfamiliar, or a photo you want to be able to open in twenty years regardless of what software still exists by then.
Encoding cost and the one-way street
AVIF's compression advantage comes at a real cost in encoding time: AV1 is computationally heavy, and encoding an AVIF takes noticeably longer than encoding the equivalent JPEG. That's a fine trade for an image you'll encode once and serve to thousands of visitors; it's a worse one for a workflow that needs to churn through a large batch quickly.
It's also worth knowing that Morphr's conversion between the two only runs one way. The engine can decode an AVIF and re-encode it as JPEG, which is what most people actually need, turning a file their software refuses to open into one it will. It can't do the reverse: there's no AVIF encoder in Morphr, so turning a JPEG into an AVIF isn't something the tool offers. If you need to produce AVIF files rather than open ones you've already received, that has to happen in different software.
Choose AVIF when…
- You control the delivery pipeline (a website, an app) and want the smallest file for a fixed visual quality.
- The image needs HDR, wide colour or transparency, none of which JPEG supports.
- You can afford the extra encoding time in exchange for smaller files served many times over.
Choose JPEG when…
- The file is going to email, an upload form, a print shop, or anyone whose software you don't control.
- You need guaranteed compatibility with old devices, cameras, or software that will still be around in years to come.
- You've received an AVIF and just need something that opens everywhere — Morphr converts it to JPEG in seconds.
Decodes the AVIF and re-encodes it as JPEG locally, no upload, batches come back as one ZIP.
Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Frequently asked questions
- How much smaller is AVIF than JPEG?
- Roughly a third to a half the size at matching visual quality is typical, and the gap can be wider on detailed photographs. The exact saving depends on the image and the settings used to encode both files.
- Can I convert a JPEG to AVIF with Morphr?
- No. Morphr can decode an AVIF and convert it to JPEG, PNG or WebP, but it doesn't include an AVIF encoder, so it can't produce an AVIF file from a JPEG or anything else.
- Will an AVIF open on an old phone or in an email client?
- Not reliably. Browser support for AVIF is now strong, but plenty of older devices, email clients and desktop software still don't decode it. Converting to JPEG is the safe fix when you need a file to open everywhere.
- Does converting AVIF to JPEG lose quality?
- A little, since JPEG re-compresses the image and can't match AVIF's HDR range or transparency, so a very high-contrast or transparent AVIF will look slightly different once flattened to JPEG. For ordinary photos the difference is minor.