AVIF vs JPEG: File Size, Quality, and Compatibility Compared
JPEG has been the universal image format since the 90s. It opens on every device ever made, every browser ever shipped, and every photo frame. That kind of compatibility is unmatched, and JPEG isn't going anywhere soon.
But JPEG is old. It was designed for a different era of storage and bandwidth. Modern image formats produce dramatically smaller files at the same quality. AVIF is the leader in that pack today: at the same visible quality, AVIF photos are typically 50-70% smaller than JPEG.
This guide compares the two formats on the things that actually matter: file size, image quality, and where each one is supported.
File Size: How Much Smaller Is AVIF?
We took 50 reference photos and saved each one as a JPEG and an AVIF at quality settings that produced visually identical results.
| Photo Type | JPEG | AVIF | AVIF Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight landscape | 4.2 MB | 1.4 MB | 67% |
| Indoor portrait | 3.8 MB | 1.3 MB | 66% |
| Low light / night scene | 5.0 MB | 2.0 MB | 60% |
| 48 MP photo | 12.5 MB | 4.2 MB | 66% |
| Screenshot | 1.4 MB | 0.4 MB | 71% |
| Logo / line art | 0.6 MB | 0.1 MB | 83% |
A library of 10,000 photos averaging 3.5 MB each (35 GB in JPEG) drops to roughly 12 GB in AVIF. That can move a phone from "almost full" back to comfortable, or drop an iCloud subscriber from a paid tier to free.
Image Quality
Where AVIF clearly wins:
- Smooth gradients. JPEG often shows visible banding in skies and out-of-focus backgrounds. AVIF eliminates this almost entirely.
- Text and graphics. JPEG can soften thin lines and add faint halos around sharp edges. AVIF handles them cleanly.
- Bright highlights. JPEG clips bright detail aggressively. AVIF retains more headroom.
Where JPEG holds up:
- Very high quality. At the top of the quality range, JPEG and AVIF look essentially identical, with JPEG paying a 30-40% size penalty.
HDR Support
JPEG: none.
AVIF: full HDR. It carries the same vivid highlights and color depth your iPhone captured, and renders that HDR correctly across modern devices and browsers.
If your photos contain HDR information from a modern iPhone, Pixel, or Samsung, AVIF is the right format to keep it.
Transparency
JPEG: none. AVIF: yes.
If you have a PNG with transparency you want to shrink, AVIF often beats PNG dramatically while keeping the transparency intact.
Compatibility
This is JPEG's last clear advantage, and it's a real one.
| Platform | JPEG | AVIF |
|---|---|---|
| Every device made since 1995 | ✓ | ✗ |
| Modern iPhone / iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Older iPhones | ✓ | ✗ |
| Modern Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Older Mac | ✓ | ✗ |
| Windows 11 | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows 10 | ✓ | ✓ (codec) |
| Older Windows | ✓ | ✗ |
| Modern Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Older Android | ✓ | ✗ |
| Chrome, Firefox, Edge | ✓ | ✓ |
| Safari (modern) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Most email clients | ✓ | Mostly ✓ |
| Older print services / kiosks | ✓ | Mixed |
| WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok | ✓ | ✓ |
| Random 2018-era upload form | ✓ | Maybe |
Rule of thumb: if your audience is on hardware and software from the last few years, AVIF works. If you're emailing a photo to a relative's old Windows PC, send JPEG.
Saving Speed
JPEG saves instantly. AVIF takes a little longer because it works harder to make the file smaller. For batch conversion, this doesn't matter: queue your library overnight and you wake up to a 60-70% smaller version of every photo.
HEVCut converts JPG, HEIC, and PNG to AVIF on iPhone, on-device. No upload, no quality loss.
Try freeUse Case Recommendations
Use JPEG when:
- You are emailing a photo to an unknown audience.
- You are uploading to a service that lists JPG as a requirement.
- You are printing through a service that doesn't support AVIF.
- You are sharing with someone you know runs older hardware.
Use AVIF when:
- You are archiving your own library.
- You are publishing to a modern website.
- You are putting photos in iCloud, Google Drive, or any cloud service where storage costs money.
- You are working with HDR images.
Mixed Workflow
- Capture in HEIC or JPEG (whatever your camera defaults to).
- Share single photos as JPEG when needed.
- Archive your library as AVIF, recovering 60-70% of the storage.
Will Browsers Show AVIF By Default?
Yes. Every major browser displays AVIF without any configuration. If you publish photos on a website, AVIF is the modern default.
Common Questions
Why not WebP?
WebP is slightly better than JPEG but much worse than AVIF. Use AVIF if you have the choice.
Will AVIF eventually replace JPEG?
For new content, very likely. For the trillions of JPEG files already out there, no. JPEG will keep working forever, just as GIF still does.
Bottom Line
JPEG is the universal language of digital photos and will keep being that for a long time. AVIF is what JPEG would be if it were designed today: half to a third the size, with real HDR and transparency. For new photos and for archiving an existing library, AVIF is the clear winner. JPEG remains the safe fallback when you don't know what's on the other end.