Convert PNG to WebP — Free PNG to WebP Converter
Free PNG to WebP conversion, batches included — everything runs on your device.
This is the conversion that usually pays. Lossless WebP averages around 26% smaller than the same PNG with the alpha channel kept byte-exact, and our smart mode encodes at quality 80 if you let it choose. The one thing to check is your subject: WebP stores color at quarter resolution in lossy mode, so screenshots full of colored text do better on the lossless setting.
How to Convert PNG to WebP
Select your PNG files
Drop images in — every common format works.
Convert to WebP
Runs automatically; open advanced settings to tune quality.
Download
Save files singly or as one ZIP.
Why Convert PNG to WebP?
WebP delivers the same visual quality as PNG at 25–40% smaller file sizes, making it the preferred format for websites and web applications. Converting your PNG files to WebP means faster page loads, lower bandwidth costs, and better performance scores on tools like Google PageSpeed Insights.
WebP supports both lossy and lossless compression, plus transparency — so you get all the benefits of PNG with significantly smaller files. Every major browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) supports WebP, making it safe to use across the web.
Conversion is done by your browser alone. From selection to download the files remain on your computer — which is what makes the tool private, and it stays free with no sign-up.
If you are optimizing images for a website, this is one of the most impactful changes you can make. After converting, use our compressor for additional savings. Need even more compression? Try PNG to AVIF for the latest in image efficiency.
What changes going from PNG to WebP
This page writes lossy WebP and only lossy WebP. The slider runs from 1 to 100 with 80 as the default, and every position on it is the VP8 coder, so even 100 re-quantizes your pixels; there's no lossless toggle here. Color goes through 4:2:0 chroma subsampling on the way, which photographs absorb without complaint and colored text on a flat background does not.
Transparency is the good news. The alpha plane is handed to the encoder with its alpha quality left at 100, so the mask itself is stored without loss even while the color underneath is being compressed, and soft edges survive as drawn. A 16-bit PNG is reduced to 8 bits per channel first, and PNG text chunks and the embedded color profile are dropped, since the encoder receives raw pixels and nothing else.
On photographic PNGs the saving is large, because PNG was storing continuous tone at full cost. On flat graphics it's smaller, and a tiny two-color icon can come out bigger than it went in. Every browser since Safari 14 in 2020 renders the result, which leaves desktop software as the main compatibility gap. Keep the PNG when it's a master you'll keep editing, or when it's a screenshot whose text has to stay crisp.
PNG vs WebP
| Feature | PNG | WebP |
|---|---|---|
| File Size | Large | 25–40% smaller |
| Transparency | Yes | Yes |
| Compression | Lossless | Lossy or lossless |
| Browser Support | Universal | All modern browsers |
| Best For | Graphics, editing | Web delivery |
| Animation | No | Yes |
What is a WebP file?
Google announced WebP in September 2010, built from the VP8 keyframe coder, and the IETF later published it as RFC 9649. One container holds two unrelated codecs — lossy VP8 intra-frame coding and a separate lossless LZ77 mode — which is why quality 100 lossy is still lossy. Google measures roughly 30% off JPEG at matching quality and about 26% off PNG for lossless. The catch: lossy WebP is locked to 4:2:0 chroma, so saturated reds and syntax-highlighted screenshots can look worse than a JPEG of the same size.
| Released | 2010 by Google. RFC 9649 since 2024 |
| Compression | Lossy VP8 intra coding, or a separate lossless LZ77 mode |
| Transparency | 8 bit alpha in both modes, stored losslessly even in a lossy file |
| Animation | Yes, with 24-bit color and alpha per frame |
| Color depth | 8 bits per channel. No 10-bit or HDR WebP exists |
| Max dimensions | 16,383 pixels per side, from the 14-bit fields in both bitstreams |
How to open a WebP file
Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge all decode WebP, including transparency and animation. macOS opens it natively in Preview and Quick Look from Monterey onward. Windows is the friction point: the Photos app only gained WebP in a 2023 update. On Linux, GIMP reads and writes it, and the reference cwebp and dwebp command-line tools ship in the webp package on essentially every distribution.
Convert other formats to WebP
Convert PNG to other formats
Frequently Asked Questions
How to convert PNG to WebP?
Hand the converter your PNG files and it returns WebPs in one go — encoding included, nothing leaving the machine. Free, no login, multiple files at once.
Is it safe to convert PNG to WebP online?
It is. The encoder is compiled to WebAssembly and executes locally, so the images stay under your control for the entire operation — no transmission, no retention.
How to convert PNG to WebP on Windows?
Nothing Windows-specific is required: browse to the converter in Chrome, Edge, or Firefox, add PNGs, and take the WebP files. Works the same on Windows 10, 11, or older.
Does WebP support transparency like PNG?
It does — alpha channels survive the trip intact, including partial transparency. The difference is that WebP reproduces them in a fraction of the bytes PNG needs.