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JPEG XL vs AVIF

Comparing JPEG XL and AV1 Image File Format - which format should you use?

	JPEG XL	AVIF
Full Name	JPEG XL	AV1 Image File Format
Extension	.jxl	.avif
MIME Type	image/jxl	image/avif
Category	image	image

JPEG XL Pros

+Better compression than JPEG, PNG, WebP, and AVIF in many cases
+Lossless JPEG recompression (save 20% with zero quality loss)
+Supports both lossy and lossless
+Progressive decoding (image loads gradually)
+Royalty-free, open standard

JPEG XL Cons

-Limited browser support (Chrome re-enabled Jan 2026, Firefox behind flag)
-Very new - limited software ecosystem
-Encoding is slow for highest quality settings
-Safari support uncertain

AVIF Pros

+30-50% smaller than JPEG at same quality
+Supports transparency (alpha channel)
+Supports HDR and wide color gamut
+Royalty-free, open standard
+93% browser support in 2026

AVIF Cons

-Slower to encode than JPEG or WebP
-Not yet universal in older software
-Limited editing support in some apps
-Complex format with many options

Use JPEG XL when...

-Archival photography (lossless mode)
-JPEG file size reduction (lossless transcode)
-Web images (as browser support grows)
-Professional photography workflows

Use AVIF when...

-Web images (best compression available)
-Photography (HDR support)
-E-commerce product photos
-Any use case where WebP or JPEG is currently used

Learn more about JPEG XL Learn more about AVIF