JPG is the web's default image format — small, widely supported, and perfect for photos. But there is one thing it cannot do: transparency. If you need a logo on a coloured background to look right, or you want crisp text on a graphic, JPG will give you a white box where the transparency should be. PNG will not.
When you should convert JPG to PNG
- Logos and icons — you need the transparent background intact.
- Screenshots with text — PNG is lossless, so text stays sharp; JPG compression blurs it.
- Graphics with flat colours — PNG handles large areas of solid colour far better than JPG.
- Images you plan to re-edit — every time you save a JPG, quality drops slightly. Save your working copy as PNG.
When to stick with JPG
For real photographs — people, landscapes, food — JPG is almost always the right choice. PNG files of photos are 3-5x larger with no visible quality gain. Use JPG for photos, PNG for graphics.
How to convert JPG to PNG on FormatNest
- Open the JPG to PNG converter.
- Drag your JPG onto the upload area, or click to browse.
- Click Convert.
- Download your PNG — done. No account required for your first 10 conversions.
Does converting JPG to PNG restore lost quality?
No. Once a JPG is saved, the compression artefacts are baked in. Converting to PNG locks in the current quality without further loss, but it cannot recover detail that was already discarded. If quality matters, always start from the original source file.
File size: what to expect
Your PNG will be noticeably larger than the original JPG — often 2-4x bigger. This is normal. PNG is lossless, so it stores every pixel precisely. If file size is a concern and you do not need transparency, consider keeping the JPG or converting to WEBP instead.