What is WebP and Why Did It Matter?
Google introduced WebP in 2010 as a direct answer to JPEG's aging compression algorithm. The goal was straightforward: smaller file sizes at equal visual quality, with support for both lossy and lossless compression and — critically — transparency in a single format. JPEG can't do transparency. PNG can, but PNG files are large. WebP threaded that needle.
By 2016, Chrome, Opera, and Android had full support. Firefox held out until 2019, Safari until 2020. That slow rollout was the main friction point for the first decade of WebP's life — you couldn't safely use it as your primary format without a JPEG fallback in the <picture> element.
Today, WebP sits at 97%+ global browser support. The fallback era is over.
WebP vs AVIF in 2026
AVIF — derived from the AV1 video codec — is the format that most directly competes with WebP for the "best modern format" title. In side-by-side compression tests, AVIF typically achieves 20–50% smaller file sizes than WebP at equivalent perceptual quality. That's a real gap.
Compression efficiency
At high-quality settings (where you'd use either format for photos), AVIF wins convincingly. At medium settings (web thumbnails, social images), the gap closes. For small icons and logos — simple shapes with flat colors — WebP's lossless mode is still competitive with AVIF lossless, and WebP encoding is dramatically faster (AVIF encoding is computationally expensive).
AVIF encoding a 4 MP photo on a mid-range server takes ~800ms. The same image in WebP: ~120ms. If you're encoding on the fly per user request — as most online converters do — encoding speed matters as much as output size.
Browser support
WebP: 97.4% global support (caniuse, June 2026). AVIF: 91.3%. The gap sounds small, but it represents 6% of active users — likely older Android devices and some Samsung Internet versions. If your audience skews mobile-emerging-markets, WebP is still the safer default.
- Chrome / Edge / Opera: both WebP and AVIF fully supported since 2021+
- Firefox: both fully supported since 2021+
- Safari / iOS: WebP since 14.0 (2020); AVIF since 16.0 (2022)
- Samsung Internet: WebP since 4.0 (2016); AVIF since 16.0 (2022)
What About JPEG XL?
JPEG XL (JXL) is the third contender. It offers excellent compression (competitive with AVIF), near-lossless quality at high bitrates, and a unique feature: lossless JPEG recompression that can reduce a JPEG by ~20% with byte-perfect reconstruction. This makes it interesting for archival workflows, not just web delivery.
<picture>
<source srcset="image.jxl" type="image/jxl">
<source srcset="image.avif" type="image/avif">
<source srcset="image.webp" type="image/webp">
<img src="image.jpg" alt="Description" width="800" height="600">
</picture>The layered <picture> pattern above is correct — browser picks the first format it supports. In practice, most teams stop at AVIF + WebP + JPEG fallback.
Browser support is the sticking point. Chrome removed its experimental JXL flag in 2023, then re-added it via a separate trial in 2024. As of mid-2026, JXL has ~78% support — still below what most production web deployments would call "safe default."
When to Use WebP in 2026
WebP still earns its place in specific situations:
- Animated images — WebP animated files are consistently smaller than GIF and often smaller than AVIF. The animation ecosystem around WebP (tooling, CMS support) is more mature.
- Broad device compatibility requirement — if you can't afford a 6% miss on older Android/Samsung devices, WebP is the safe default.
- Server-side encoding speed matters — on-demand conversion pipelines where you're encoding per request should default to WebP; AVIF is too slow without a dedicated encoder queue.
- Transparent images (icons, logos, UI elements) — WebP lossless + alpha gives you PNG-quality transparency at smaller sizes, faster encoding than AVIF lossless.
The Verdict
WebP is not dead. It's not even "legacy" — 97% support and a mature toolchain make it a safe, fast choice for most web projects. If you're building a new image pipeline in 2026 and can absorb the encoding overhead, default to AVIF with a WebP fallback. If you need simplicity, speed, or broad compatibility, WebP alone is still the right call.
For most content creators and marketers: convert your PNGs and JPEGs to WebP. Your pages load faster. You don't need to think about AVIF until you're doing high-volume encoding at scale.