JPEG XL vs WebP
Comparing JPEG XL and Web Picture Format — which format should you use?
| JPEG XL | WebP | |
|---|---|---|
| Full Name | JPEG XL | Web Picture Format |
| Extension | .jxl | .webp |
| MIME Type | image/jxl | image/webp |
| 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
WebP Pros
- +25-35% smaller than JPEG at same quality
- +Supports transparency (like PNG)
- +Supports animation (like GIF)
- +Supported by all modern browsers
WebP Cons
- -Not universally supported in older software
- -Lossy mode can produce different artifacts than JPEG
- -Limited support in print workflows
- -Some social media platforms don't accept WebP
Use JPEG XL when...
- -Archival photography (lossless mode)
- -JPEG file size reduction (lossless transcode)
- -Web images (as browser support grows)
- -Professional photography workflows
Use WebP when...
- -Website images (best format for web)
- -Progressive web apps
- -Replacing both PNG and JPEG on websites
- -Animated images (better than GIF)