FormatDrop
How-To Guide

How to Convert PNG to WebP (Smaller Files, Same Quality)

WebP is Google's modern image format that achieves 25–35% smaller file sizes than PNG at lossless quality, and 50–70% smaller with lossy compression — while still supporting transparency just like PNG. For web images, switching from PNG to WebP is one of the highest-impact performance optimizations available. This guide shows you how to do it for free in your browser.

Open PNG to WebP Converter

Step-by-step instructions

  1. 1

    Open FormatDrop's PNG to WebP converter

    Go to formatdrop.com/png-to-webp. The converter runs locally in your browser — no uploads, no accounts, no file size limits. Supports both lossless and lossy WebP output.

    Go to converter
  2. 2

    Upload your PNG file

    Drag your PNG onto the converter or click to browse. Transparent PNGs (logos, icons, cutout images with alpha channels) are fully supported — the transparency is preserved in the WebP output.

  3. 3

    Choose lossless or lossy WebP

    Lossless WebP: pixel-identical to PNG source, typically 26–34% smaller. Use for logos, icons, text-heavy images, screenshots — anything where pixel-perfect accuracy matters. Lossy WebP: applies compression that reduces file size by 50–70%, with minimal visible quality loss at quality 80+. Use for photographs, complex illustrations, and any image where the human eye can't detect the compression.

  4. 4

    Set quality level (for lossy WebP)

    Quality 80–85: excellent trade-off — files are dramatically smaller with no visible artifacts at normal viewing distances. Quality 90–95: near-lossless appearance, slightly larger files. Quality 60–75: aggressive compression, visible artifacts on close inspection. For production web images: quality 80–85 is the standard recommended setting.

  5. 5

    Download and integrate on your website

    Download your WebP file. To use on your website with a PNG fallback for older browsers: use the HTML <picture> element with <source type='image/webp'> pointing to your WebP and <img> pointing to your PNG as fallback. All modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) support WebP and use the WebP version automatically.

Why convert PNG to WebP?

WebP was developed by Google in 2010 and officially became cross-browser supported in 2020 when Safari added support. Today, WebP is supported by 97%+ of global browser market share (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, Opera, Samsung Internet). It uses a combination of predictive coding, block transforms, and entropy coding that is simply more efficient than PNG's DEFLATE compression algorithm from 1996. For a web project that currently serves PNG images: converting to WebP reduces image bandwidth by 25–50% depending on image content, which directly improves page load times, Core Web Vitals (LCP in particular), and Google search rankings. For a site with 1,000 PNG images averaging 200 KB each: the 200 MB of image data becomes 100–150 MB in WebP — a 25–50% reduction in image delivery bandwidth.

Your files never leave your device

FormatDrop runs the conversion engine entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly. No file upload. No server. Nothing stored. You can verify this by opening DevTools → Network tab and watching: zero upload requests.

Frequently asked questions

Does WebP support transparency like PNG?
Yes — WebP fully supports alpha channel transparency. Both lossless and lossy WebP modes maintain transparent backgrounds. Your PNG logos, icons, and cutout images with transparency will render identically in WebP, just at smaller file sizes.
Is WebP supported in all browsers?
As of 2023: yes, for all mainstream browsers. Chrome (since 2010), Firefox (since 2019), Edge (since 2018), and Safari (since 2020) all support WebP natively. The only gaps are very old browsers (IE 11 doesn't support WebP) and some obscure mobile browsers. For 99%+ of your real users, WebP works. Use the <picture> element with a PNG fallback if you need to cover IE 11 or old Safari.
Should I convert all my PNG files to WebP?
For web serving: yes — WebP is strictly better for web images in terms of file size and load performance. Keep the original PNG files as your master copies and serve WebP to browsers. For email: no — most email clients (Outlook, Gmail on some platforms) don't support WebP. Use PNG or JPG for email attachments and inline images. For print: no — use TIFF or high-quality PNG/JPG for print deliverables.
How much smaller is WebP than PNG?
Lossless WebP vs. PNG: typically 26–34% smaller. Lossy WebP vs. PNG: 50–70% smaller at quality 80. Real-world example: a 500 KB PNG icon becomes 330–350 KB as lossless WebP, or 150–250 KB as lossy WebP at quality 80. For photographs (where PNG is already large), lossy WebP at quality 85 can be 60–80% smaller than the equivalent PNG.
Convert PNG to WebP Now — Free

No account. No upload. Works in any browser.

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