JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
JPG is the lossy photographic format that has been the default for digital cameras and the web since 1992.
- File extension
- .jpg, .jpeg, .jpe, .jfif
- MIME type
- image/jpeg
- Compression
- Lossy
- Transparency
- No
- Animation
- No
- Type
- Raster (pixels)
Where JPG files come from
Photos from cameras, phones, and almost any website.
Universal. If a program can open an image at all, it can open a JPG.
What JPG is good at
- Opens in literally every image viewer, editor, printer and web form ever made
- Very small files for photographs, with a quality dial you control
- Hardware-accelerated decoding on every phone and camera
Where JPG falls short
- No transparency — transparent areas have to be flattened onto a solid colour
- Lossy: each re-save discards a little more detail permanently
- Blocky artefacts around sharp edges, text and flat colour
Should you use JPG?
Use it for photographs, where its compression is doing exactly what it was designed to do. Avoid it for screenshots, diagrams and anything containing text — flat colour and sharp edges are precisely what lossy compression handles worst.
Convert from JPG
Convert to JPG
Frequently asked questions
What is JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)?
JPG is the lossy photographic format that has been the default for digital cameras and the web since 1992. Universal. If a program can open an image at all, it can open a JPG.
How do I open JPG files?
Any tool that lists JPG support will open one. If yours will not, the quickest fix is to convert it to a format your software already understands — the converters linked on this page do that in your browser without uploading the file.
Is JPG lossy or lossless?
JPG is lossy: it discards detail the eye is unlikely to notice in exchange for a much smaller file. Every re-save loses a little more, so keep an untouched original if the image matters.
Does JPG support transparency?
No. JPG has no alpha channel, so transparent areas must be filled with a background colour when you convert into it. White is the usual choice.