Why convert PNG to WebP?
- Big size savings. Often 50%+ smaller for the same image — PNG pays a heavy tax for lossless encoding that WebP doesn't.
- Transparency intact. WebP supports an alpha channel, so transparent backgrounds and gradients survive.
- Faster sites. Smaller image payloads = better Core Web Vitals = better Google rankings.
Quality default is 80 (lossy WebP). For most web use cases the visual difference is imperceptible. Keep the PNG if you need pixel-perfect fidelity (archival, prepress, ML datasets).
How it works
- Open the converter. Go to the Formatly converter — no signup required.
- Drop your PNG files. Drag and drop one or more PNGs into the upload box.
- Choose WebP as the output. Pick WebP from the dropdown.
- Convert and download. Click Convert; download links appear for each WebP.
Good for
- Shipping graphics, icons, and UI screenshots on a production website.
- PNG-heavy blog posts or documentation where the pages feel slow.
- Mobile apps and PWAs that bundle images and care about payload.
FAQ
How much smaller is WebP than PNG? Often 50% or more for photos and complex images. For flat-color graphics (logos, simple UI), savings can be smaller. WebP's lossy compression with alpha is the headline win here — PNG has to encode transparency losslessly, which is expensive.
Does this preserve transparency? Yes. WebP supports an alpha channel just like PNG, so transparent backgrounds and partially-transparent pixels survive intact. This is the main reason people pick WebP over JPG when starting from PNG.
Will I lose quality going from PNG to WebP? A small amount, yes — WebP defaults to lossy at quality 80. For most use cases (web images, UI assets, photos) the difference isn't visible. If you need perfect fidelity (medical imaging, archival masters, ML training data), keep the PNG.
When should I NOT convert PNG to WebP? When the image is going somewhere that doesn't reliably read WebP — print tooling, very old desktop apps, some social-media uploaders. Also avoid for archival masters where quality must be exact. For everything else on the modern web, WebP is the better default.
Is the PNG to WebP converter free? Yes. No signup, no watermark, no payment. Free for personal and commercial use.
Related
- WebP → PNG → the reverse trip when you need lossless
- JPG → WebP → the same savings for JPG sources
- PNG → JPG → if you don't need transparency
- PNG vs JPG vs WebP: which to choose →
- Compress images without losing quality →
- All supported formats →