Quick Verdict
Use APNG when…
Use APNG when you need animations with full lossless PNG quality, or when targeting Safari which had better early APNG support. APNG is excellent for sprite animations and graphics with exact colour requirements.
Use Animated WebP when…
Use animated WebP for most web animation use cases — smaller files than APNG, good quality, and universal modern browser support. WebP animations are a practical GIF replacement with much better compression.
APNG vs Animated WebP: Feature Comparison
| Feature | APNG | Animated WebP |
|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossless (PNG DEFLATE per frame) | Lossy or lossless (VP8/VP8L) |
| File size (same animation) | Larger (lossless) | Smaller (lossy) or similar (lossless) |
| Colour depth | Full 24-bit + alpha | 24-bit + alpha |
| Transparency | Full alpha per pixel | Full alpha per pixel |
| Browser support | All modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari) | Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari 14+ |
| Fallback for non-support | First frame shown as PNG | Nothing — broken if unsupported |
| Tool support | GIMP, Photoshop plugin, APNG assembler | Limited native tool creation |
| Max colours per frame | 16.7 million (24-bit) | 16.7 million (24-bit) |
When APNG wins
- ✓Compression: Lossless (PNG DEFLATE per frame)
- ✓File size (same animation): Larger (lossless)
- ✓Colour depth: Full 24-bit + alpha
When Animated WebP wins
- ✓Compression: Lossy or lossless (VP8/VP8L)
- ✓File size (same animation): Smaller (lossy) or similar (lossless)
- ✓Colour depth: 24-bit + alpha
Frequently asked questions
Which is smaller: APNG or animated WebP?
For lossy content: animated WebP is significantly smaller — WebP's inter-frame compression discards quality for small files. For lossless: WebP lossless and APNG are similar, with WebP sometimes edging ahead. For animations with transparency and exact colour requirements, APNG is the standard choice despite larger files.
Can I create APNG in Photoshop?
Not natively in standard Photoshop. Plugins like APNG Edit or third-party tools like APNG Assembler (free, CLI) or online tools create APNG from frame sequences. GIMP can export APNG natively via File → Export As → PNG (check 'Save as APNG' if animated layers are present).
More comparisons
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