You save an image from a website and discover it's an .avif file. Your photo editor won't open it, or a form refuses to upload it. AVIF is a newer image format that is gradually spreading across the web, and it's worth knowing what it is, because you will meet it more and more.
What AVIF is
AVIF stands for AV1 Image File Format. It's built on AV1, a modern video-compression technology developed as a royalty-free alternative to older video codecs. Applied to still images, it produces files that are often substantially smaller than JPG at comparable visual quality, and it supports features JPG lacks, including transparency and higher color depth.
That efficiency is why websites like it. Smaller images load faster, which improves page speed and saves bandwidth.
How AVIF compares with JPG, PNG and WebP
- JPG is the universal standard for photos. It's compatible with everything, but it is the least efficient of the group.
- PNG is lossless and supports transparency, which makes it great for graphics and screenshots, but files are large for photos.
- WebP improved on JPG and PNG years ago and now enjoys broad support.
- AVIF usually compresses even further than WebP, particularly for photos at lower file sizes, though results vary from image to image.
If you want the full comparison of every format, see our image formats guide.
The catch: compatibility is still patchy
Current versions of the major web browsers can display AVIF, so images on websites usually look fine. The trouble starts outside the browser. Some photo editors, older operating systems, print services, email clients, document tools and plenty of upload forms don't recognize AVIF yet. Encoding AVIF is also slower than encoding JPG, which is a minor consideration for people who create images in bulk.
So the practical rule is: AVIF is great for serving images on a website, but it is often the wrong format for sharing a file with a person or uploading it to a form.
When you should convert AVIF
Convert it when:
- an app or website says the file type is unsupported,
- you want to edit the image in software that doesn't read AVIF,
- you need to send it to someone and want to be sure it opens for them.
Which format to convert to
- Choose JPG for photos and anywhere small size and maximum compatibility matter. Use the AVIF to JPG converter.
- Choose PNG when the image has transparency you want to keep, or when you want to avoid another round of lossy compression before editing. Use the AVIF to PNG converter. Expect a larger file.
One note on transparency: JPG has none, so if your AVIF has a transparent background, converting to JPG fills it with white. If you need the transparency, choose PNG.
How the conversion works
Photopik asks your browser to decode the AVIF image, then re-saves it in the format you chose. That means your browser has to support AVIF itself, and any current major browser does. Nothing is uploaded: the conversion runs on your device, so the image never leaves it.
If a file can't be read, the converter shows a clear message instead of failing silently.
Quick summary
- AVIF is a modern, very efficient format, often smaller than JPG and WebP.
- It displays well in current browsers but is poorly supported elsewhere.
- For sharing, editing or uploading, convert to JPG (small, universal) or PNG (lossless, keeps transparency).