Format capabilities
JPEG is a long-established lossy format for photographs. It cannot store transparency or animation. WebP supports lossy and lossless still images, transparency and animation, although tools differ in which features they expose.
Both formats can show artifacts when encoded with lossy compression. A format's name alone does not tell you visual quality; compare results at matched dimensions and an appropriate quality level.
Pick for your audience and workflow
For a modern website, WebP is often a practical choice when it produces a good-looking smaller file and all supported clients decode it. JPEG is useful when an asset must travel through older applications and services.
Keep a source master. Treat compressed outputs as derivatives rather than editable originals, especially when they use lossy encoding.
Frequently asked questions
Which format gives better quality?
Neither is inherently better at every file size. The output depends on encoder, settings, image content and viewing conditions.