How to convert PNG to WebP
- Drop one or more PNG files onto the box above, click to browse, or paste from your clipboard.
- Set the WebP quality slider, 85% balances size and sharpness; push it to 100% for near-lossless output on text and line art.
- Download each WebP individually, or use Download all to save the whole batch at once.
Why convert PNG to WebP?
PNG is lossless, so it never blurs an edge, but that fidelity comes at a cost the web feels sharply. A detailed PNG hero image or product shot commonly weighs well over a megabyte. WebP re-encodes it with far more modern compression, and the same picture typically lands 60-80% smaller: a 1.5 MB PNG frequently becomes a 300-500 KB WebP that looks identical on screen.
Crucially, WebP does this without giving up transparency. It has a full alpha channel, so logos, icons, badges and UI overlays keep their see-through backgrounds, the one thing you'd lose by converting a PNG to JPG. That combination of small size and transparency is exactly why WebP has become the default image format for websites, online stores, themes and blogs.
The payoff is concrete: lighter pages load faster, Google's Core Web Vitals (especially Largest Contentful Paint) improve, and visitors on mobile data burn through less of it. If your site is still shipping PNGs, converting them is one of the cheapest speed wins available.
Lossy vs near-lossless WebP: reading the quality slider
WebP has two modes, and the slider chooses between them:
- Lossy (anything below 100%): the source of the big savings. At 85% the loss is imperceptible on photos, screenshots and rich graphics, this is where most images should sit.
- Near-lossless (100%): preserves every hard edge perfectly at a larger file size. Use it for logos, diagrams, pixel art and screenshots dominated by fine text, where a stray artifact would be obvious.
A good habit: leave the slider at 85% and only raise it if you can actually see a difference in the preview. Need to go the other direction and open a WebP in older software? Convert it back to PNG.
Frequently asked questions
Why should I convert PNG to WebP?
WebP was built for the web, and it shows: a PNG that weighs 1.5 MB often drops to 300-500 KB as WebP, a 60-80% cut, with no visible difference. Smaller images mean faster pages, better Core Web Vitals, and lower bandwidth bills, and WebP keeps the transparent background PNG is prized for, so logos and UI graphics survive the trip.
Does WebP keep my PNG's transparency?
Yes. WebP has a full alpha channel just like PNG, so logos, icons, badges and any graphic with a see-through background convert cleanly. This is the big advantage over converting a PNG to JPG, which would flatten transparency onto white.
What does the quality slider actually do?
Below 100% the tool uses lossy WebP, which is where the dramatic size savings come from; 85% is imperceptible for most images. At 100% it switches to near-lossless mode, keeping sharp edges perfect at a larger size, the right choice for text-heavy graphics or line art.
Is WebP smaller than PNG for everything?
Almost always, but the gap is widest on complex or photographic PNGs. A flat two-colour icon is already tiny as PNG and may only shrink a little. Detailed screenshots, gradients and photos exported as PNG are where WebP delivers the biggest reductions.
Do all browsers and CMSs support WebP?
Every current browser, Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge, displays WebP, and WordPress, Shopify and most modern platforms accept it. A few older desktop apps and legacy tools still don't; if you hit one, convert the WebP back to PNG.
Are my files uploaded?
No. The PNG is decoded and re-encoded as WebP entirely in your browser using its native image engine, so your images never touch a server. Convert as many as you like, for free.