JPG and PNG use completely different compression, which is why converting between them is not simply a re-save. It is also why the result can surprise people. This page explains exactly what a JPG to PNG conversion does, what it cannot do, and when it is the right choice.

JPG vs PNG

Converting JPG to PNG does not restore lost quality

The same reasoning applies to any "improve" step you might try afterwards. Sharpening a JPG, denoising it, upscaling it, or saving it into a lossless format will not restore detail that is not in the pixels. If you need more detail than a JPG contains, you need the original source - a RAW file from the camera, a scanner at a higher DPI, or the original layered design file.

• JPG is lossy: it permanently discards detail at the moment it saves
• PNG is lossless: it preserves every pixel it is given, exactly
• Converting JPG to PNG adds no new artifacts, but it recovers no old ones
• No image format can reconstruct data that a lossy encoder deleted

Converting to PNG does not create transparency

PNG as a format does support transparency through an alpha channel, and that is one of the main reasons to work in PNG. But transparency is a property of the pixels, and a JPG has no alpha channel at all - every pixel in a JPG is fully opaque. There is no hidden transparency to uncover. Converting a JPG to PNG produces an image that is still completely opaque, and the file is simply a lossless picture with no transparent regions.

Making a background transparent is a different operation. It needs the source artwork - a PNG with an alpha channel, a SVG, or a layered design file - or a tool that performs background removal by analysing edges and deciding what is foreground. A JPG-to-PNG conversion does none of that.

When PNG is the right choice - and when it is not

PNG wins on sharp edges, flat colours and text, which is why it is the default for logos, icons, screenshots, diagrams and line art. A screenshot of a user interface is usually a PNG in the first place, and an icon scaled up stays clean in PNG where a JPG would show ringing around the edges. It is also the better working format if you plan to edit the image repeatedly, because each save in a lossless format does not degrade it further.

For a photograph, PNG is usually the wrong choice. A camera JPG of a 12-megapixel image is often around 4 MB; the same picture as PNG can be 10 MB or more, because deflate is not designed for the smooth gradients and fine noise that make up a photograph. If your goal is a smaller file, convert to JPG or WebP instead. If your goal is a crisper image, note that the crispness was never in the JPG to begin with.

• Good reasons to convert: a logo or icon that needs clean edges at any size
• Good reasons: a graphic with flat colours and hard boundaries, or line art and diagrams
• Good reasons: you will re-edit and re-save the file several times
• Good reasons: an editor or design tool that expects an alpha-capable format
• Poor reason: making a photograph look better or larger - the detail is not there
• Poor reason: reducing file size - PNG will be bigger than the JPG for a photo

How to convert JPG to PNG

Open the JPG to PNG converter, upload your .jpg file, keep PNG as the output format and convert. The download is a PNG at exactly the same pixel dimensions as the original.

What to expect from this converter

• Writes the image with lossless compression, adding no new quality loss
• Keeps the exact pixel dimensions and every colour value of the source
• Useful for logos, icons, screenshots and line art with sharp edges
• Free, with no account and no watermark

JPG to PNG FAQ