PNG Format Guide & Converter

Portable Network Graphics is a lossless raster image format with full alpha transparency, introduced by W3C / PNG Development Group (1996). PNG keeps every pixel intact and supports translucent edges — ideal for screenshots, UI, and logos. Photos are safer as JPG/WebP/AVIF when you care about download size.

Full name

Portable Network Graphics

Kind

lossless raster image

File extension

.png

MIME type

image/png

Developer / standard

W3C / PNG Development Group · 1996

Compression

Lossless DEFLATE (PNG)

Quality model

Lossless

Container

No / single bitstream typical

Common codecs

PNG

Technical sources

W3C: Portable Network Graphics

Transparency

Supported

Animation

No (still / non-animated typical use)

Typical size

Larger than JPG for photos; excellent for graphics with flat color

Browser support

All modern browsers

Compatibility

Universal across browsers, phones, and design tools — the safest lossless web raster alongside JPG for photos

PNG compresses without discarding pixels, so screenshots and logos stay crisp. Photos often become larger than JPEG/WebP/AVIF at similar visual quality — pick PNG for fidelity and alpha, not for smallest photo delivery.

Quality: Pixel-perfect; no quality slider needed

Typical size: Larger than JPG for photos; excellent for graphics with flat color

PNG supports full 8-bit (and more) alpha transparency — ideal for soft edges, overlays, and logos on any background.

PNG is a still-media or non-animated format in typical use. Use GIF, APNG, video, or animated WebP when you need motion.

Can store textual tEXt/iTXt chunks and sometimes color profiles; camera EXIF is less central than in JPEG but may appear after conversions. Remove metadata when shipping public assets if needed.

Related tools: image metadata viewer · metadata remover

• Screenshots
• Logos and icons
• UI graphics with soft alpha
• Lossless intermediates before further edits

• Huge photo libraries for the web
• Long animations (use video/GIF carefully)
• Print CMYK workflows that want TIFF/PDF
• Situations needing tiny photo bytes

• Lossless
• Full alpha transparency
• Sharp text and UI
• Safe re-saving

• Larger than JPG for photographs
• Not ideal for long photo animations
• Infinite scaling still needs SVG for true vectors
• Careless exports can stay unnecessarily huge

Universal across browsers, phones, and design tools — the safest lossless web raster alongside JPG for photos

Browsers: All modern browsers

• Photoshop
• Figma
• GIMP
• Preview
• Chrome

• Windows
• macOS
• iOS
• Android

Double-click in any OS image viewer, drop into a browser tab, or place in Figma/Photoshop. PNG needs no special codec pack.

Use Format Convertly’s PNG converters in your browser to make JPG for photos, WebP/AVIF for lighter web pages, or keep PNG when you need lossless alpha — nothing is uploaded.

• Pick a target format from popular conversions or the full list below.
• Your file is read into browser memory — not uploaded to a server.
• Download the result when conversion finishes.

Incoming conversions strengthen the PNG cluster — e.g. JPG → PNG, PNG → PNG.

Compare PNG with related formats to pick the right container for quality, size, and compatibility.

Decision pages that cite PNG — the next hop after a vs comparison.

Tools extend the format graph beyond one-off conversion — compression, metadata, and utilities for real workflows.

Uploading sensitive PNG files to a random converter creates a third-party copy you cannot control. Format Convertly keeps processing on-device so photos, contracts, and exports stay private.

• Portable Network Graphics (PNG) Specification (Third Edition) — W3C