AVIF vs PNG: Complete Comparison Guide 2025 - Which Format to Choose? | AVIF2PNG Blog

AVIF vs PNG: The Ultimate Comparison

Choosing between AVIF and PNG can significantly impact your website's performance, user experience, and compatibility. This comprehensive guide compares both formats across all critical dimensions to help you make informed decisions.

In the evolving landscape of web image formats, AVIF represents cutting-edge compression technology, while PNG remains the battle-tested standard for lossless quality. Understanding the strengths and limitations of each format is essential for developers, designers, and content creators who want to optimize their digital assets.

This in-depth comparison examines every aspect of both formats - from technical specifications to real-world performance metrics - helping you choose the optimal format for your specific needs.

File Size and Compression: A Deep Dive

AVIF: Superior Compression Efficiency

AVIF's primary strength lies in its exceptional compression efficiency, achieved through advanced algorithms inherited from the AV1 video codec:

50-90% smaller than JPEG at equivalent visual quality
30-50% smaller than WebP for photographic content
80-95% smaller than PNG for complex photographic images
20-40% smaller than HEIC in most test scenarios
Uses advanced AV1 codec algorithms including sophisticated prediction models, transform coding, and context-adaptive entropy coding

Real-World Example: A 5MB PNG photograph can be compressed to approximately 250-500KB as AVIF while maintaining perceptually identical quality. This 90-95% size reduction translates directly to faster page loads, reduced bandwidth costs, and improved user experience, especially on mobile devices.

PNG: Predictable Lossless Compression

PNG prioritizes perfect quality over file size, using DEFLATE compression (the same algorithm as ZIP files):

Lossless compression - preserves every pixel exactly as encoded
Larger file sizes - typically 2-10x larger than AVIF lossy compression
Better for simple graphics - logos, icons, and illustrations with large areas of solid color compress efficiently
Worse for photographs - photographic content with complex gradients results in large files
Predictable compression ratios - typically achieves 50-70% compression on average images
Fast compression and decompression - minimal CPU overhead

Real-World Example: A simple logo with solid colors (100KB as PNG) might only compress to 80KB as AVIF - a modest 20% savings. However, the same logo as PNG works universally across all platforms, making PNG the practical choice for such graphics.

Compression Technology Comparison Table

Feature	AVIF	PNG
Compression Type	Lossy & Lossless	Lossless only
Algorithm	AV1 (Intra-frame)	DEFLATE
Typical Photo Size	50-200 KB	500-5000 KB
Typical Logo Size	10-50 KB	5-40 KB
Compression Speed	Slow (10-20x slower than JPEG)	Fast
Decompression Speed	Moderate (hardware accelerated)	Very Fast

Image Quality and Visual Fidelity

AVIF: Perceptual Quality Optimization

AVIF employs sophisticated perceptual modeling to maintain visual quality while achieving aggressive compression:

Perceptually lossless: At quality settings 85-95, differences are imperceptible to human eyes
Better detail preservation: Maintains fine details better than JPEG at equivalent file sizes
Reduced artifacts: Minimal blocking, banding, or mosquito noise compared to JPEG
HDR support: Preserves wide color gamuts and high dynamic range
Bit depth flexibility: Supports 8-bit, 10-bit, and 12-bit color depth

PNG: Perfect Pixel Accuracy

PNG guarantees mathematically identical reproduction of the original image:

Zero quality loss: Every pixel value preserved exactly
Perfect for text: Sharp, clear text rendering without artifacts
Ideal for editing: No degradation through multiple save cycles
Transparency excellence: 8-bit alpha channel with 256 levels of transparency
8-bit color: 256 colors (PNG-8) or 16.7 million colors (PNG-24)

Quality Comparison by Content Type

Content Type	AVIF Quality	PNG Quality	Winner
Photographs	Excellent (lossy) to Perfect (lossless)	Perfect but large files	AVIF (file size)
Logos/Icons	Good to Excellent	Perfect	PNG (compatibility + quality)
Screenshots	Very Good	Perfect	PNG (text clarity)
Illustrations	Good to Excellent	Perfect	Tie (depends on complexity)
Product Photos	Excellent	Perfect but massive	AVIF (web delivery)

Browser and Device Support: Compatibility Analysis

PNG: Universal Compatibility (100%)

PNG has been a web standard since 1996 and enjoys truly universal support:

Every browser ever made - from Internet Explorer 4 to the latest Chrome
All operating systems - Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, ChromeOS
All devices - desktop, mobile, tablets, smartwatches, e-readers
All image editing software - Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, Sketch, Figma, Affinity Photo
Email clients - Outlook, Gmail, Apple Mail, Thunderbird
Social media platforms - automatically accepted everywhere
Office suites - Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, LibreOffice
Embedded systems - digital signage, kiosks, industrial displays

AVIF: Growing Modern Support (92% Global Coverage)

AVIF support has expanded rapidly since 2020, but gaps remain:

Desktop Browser Support:

Chrome/Chromium: Full support since version 85 (August 2020)
Microsoft Edge: Full support since version 85 (August 2020)
Firefox: Full support since version 93 (October 2021)
Safari: Full support since version 16.0 (September 2022, macOS 13+)
Opera: Full support since version 71 (September 2020)
Brave: Full support (Chromium-based)

Mobile Browser Support:

Chrome Android: Fully supported since version 85
Safari iOS: Supported since iOS 16 (September 2022)
Samsung Internet: Supported since version 15
Firefox Android: Fully supported since version 93
Opera Mobile: Fully supported

Notable Gaps in AVIF Support:

Email clients: No major email client supports AVIF as of 2025
Internet Explorer: No support (obsolete but still in use in some enterprises)
Older iOS versions: No support before iOS 16 (released 2022)
Adobe Creative Suite: Limited native support, plugin required in some versions
Windows Photo Viewer: No native support without codec pack
Many desktop applications: Sporadic support across productivity software

Browser Support Strategy Table

Platform/Application	PNG Support	AVIF Support
Modern Web Browsers (2023+)	100%	~92%
Email Clients	100%	0%
Image Editing Software	100%	~30%
Mobile Devices (2023+)	100%	~95%
Legacy Systems	100%	0-5%
Social Media Platforms	100%	Varies (often converted)

Transparency Support: Alpha Channel Comparison

PNG: The Transparency Standard

PNG was designed from the ground up with transparency in mind:

8-bit alpha channel: 256 levels of transparency (0 = fully transparent, 255 = fully opaque)
Universal support: Works in every application and browser
Perfect gradients: Smooth transparency transitions
Separate compression: Alpha channel compressed independently
Matting-free: No color fringing or artifacts around semi-transparent edges

AVIF: Advanced Transparency

AVIF supports transparency with additional advanced features:

8-bit alpha channel: 256 transparency levels, same as PNG
Better compression: Alpha channel benefits from AV1 compression (typically 40-60% smaller than PNG)
Browser support: Transparency works in all browsers that support AVIF
Software gaps: Many desktop applications don't render AVIF transparency correctly

Pro Tip: For logos, graphics, and any image requiring transparency that will be used across multiple platforms (web, print, software), PNG remains the safer choice in 2025 due to universal compatibility.

Performance Metrics: Encoding and Decoding Speed

Encoding Performance

AVIF Encoding:

Extremely slow compared to other formats (10-20x slower than JPEG)
High CPU usage during encoding
Not suitable for real-time or near-real-time encoding
Best for pre-processing during build time or batch conversion
Speed setting: 0 (slowest, best compression) to 10 (fastest, larger files)

PNG Encoding:

Fast encoding (2-5x faster than AVIF)
Low CPU overhead
Suitable for real-time workflows
Multiple compression levels (0-9) with minimal speed difference

Decoding Performance

AVIF Decoding:

Moderate decoding speed (comparable to JPEG in modern browsers)
Hardware acceleration available on many devices (M1/M2 Macs, recent Android devices)
Higher memory usage than PNG
Can cause stuttering on older devices

PNG Decoding:

Very fast decoding
Minimal CPU overhead
Low memory usage
Performs well even on low-end devices

Performance Benchmark Table (1920x1080 Image)

Metric	AVIF	PNG
Encoding Time	5-15 seconds	0.5-2 seconds
Decoding Time (modern browser)	50-150ms	30-80ms
Memory Usage During Decode	15-30 MB	8-15 MB
CPU Usage During Decode	Moderate to High	Low

Use Cases: When to Choose Each Format

Choose AVIF For:

Web delivery of photographs: Hero images, product photos, marketing images where file size directly impacts page load times and user experience
Performance-critical applications: Progressive Web Apps, mobile-first websites, applications targeting users on slower connections
Large-scale platforms: Social media platforms, content delivery networks, any service serving millions of images daily where bandwidth savings are significant
Modern web projects: Sites targeting users on recent browsers (2021+)
E-commerce product imagery: High-quality product photos that need to load quickly without sacrificing visual appeal
Image-heavy portfolios: Photography portfolios, design showcases where numerous high-quality images are displayed
Mobile app assets: Reducing app download size and memory footprint
Responsive images: Serving multiple resolutions where bandwidth savings multiply across breakpoints

Choose PNG For:

Logos and branding assets: Company logos, brand marks, any graphic requiring universal compatibility and perfect quality
Screenshots and diagrams: Technical documentation, tutorials, any image containing text that must remain sharp
Image editing workflows: Working files that will undergo multiple editing stages without quality degradation
Email marketing: Newsletter graphics, promotional images sent via email
Legacy platform support: Government websites, enterprise applications, any platform supporting older systems
Print preparation: Images destined for print production where lossless quality is essential
Archival purposes: Long-term storage where format longevity and universal readability matter
UI elements and icons: Interface graphics, toolbar icons, any graphics with sharp edges and solid colors
Transparent graphics: Any graphic requiring transparency that will be used across diverse platforms
Simple illustrations: Flat design graphics, vector-style illustrations with limited color palettes

Real-World Use Case Examples

E-commerce Website:

Product photos: Use AVIF with PNG fallback for massive bandwidth savings
Logo: Use PNG for universal compatibility
Icons and UI elements: Use PNG or SVG
Email marketing: Use PNG (AVIF not supported in email)

Photography Portfolio:

Gallery images: Use AVIF with PNG/JPEG fallback for fast loading
Thumbnail images: Use AVIF for smallest possible file sizes
High-res downloads: Offer PNG for client downloads (lossless quality)

Corporate Website:

Marketing photos: Use AVIF with fallbacks
Company logo: Use PNG (or SVG for vector graphics)
Team headshots: Use AVIF for faster page loads
Infographics: Use PNG for text clarity and universal sharing

When to Convert AVIF to PNG

Converting from AVIF to PNG is necessary in several scenarios:

1. Software Compatibility Requirements

When working with desktop software that doesn't support AVIF:

Importing into Adobe Photoshop (versions without AVIF plugin)
Using images in Microsoft Office documents
Editing in legacy graphics software
Preparing images for clients who may use diverse software

2. Email Marketing Campaigns

Email clients universally support PNG but not AVIF. Always convert AVIF to PNG (or JPEG) before embedding images in email campaigns to ensure they display correctly for all recipients.

3. Long-Term Archival

For images you want to preserve for decades, PNG's maturity and universal support make it a safer archival format. While AVIF will likely remain readable, PNG has proven its longevity over 25+ years.

4. Editing Workflows

If you need to edit images without quality loss across multiple sessions, convert AVIF to PNG. This ensures perfect quality preservation through every save cycle.

5. Cross-Platform Sharing

When sharing images with unknown recipients who may use diverse devices and software, PNG guarantees the image will open and display correctly.

6. Printing Requirements

Print shops and professional printing software often work better with PNG's lossless format, especially for graphics requiring sharp edges and solid colors.

Implementation Best Practices

Progressive Enhancement with Picture Element

The ideal approach serves AVIF to supporting browsers while falling back to PNG for others:

<picture>
  <source srcset="hero-image.avif" type="image/avif">
  <source srcset="hero-image.webp" type="image/webp">
  <img src="hero-image.png" alt="Descriptive alt text" loading="lazy">
</picture>

This approach provides:

Smallest possible file sizes for modern browsers (AVIF)
Excellent compatibility layer (WebP)
Universal fallback (PNG)
No JavaScript required
SEO-friendly with proper alt text

Build-Time Optimization

Generate multiple formats during your build process:

// Example with Sharp (Node.js)
await sharp('input.png')
  .avif({ quality: 70, effort: 9 })
  .toFile('output.avif');

await sharp('input.png')
  .webp({ quality: 80 })
  .toFile('output.webp');

await sharp('input.png')
  .png({ compressionLevel: 9 })
  .toFile('output.png');

Content Delivery Network (CDN) Optimization

Modern CDNs can automatically serve optimal formats based on browser support:

Cloudflare Polish: Automatic format conversion
Cloudinary: Format auto-detection and conversion
ImageKit: Real-time format optimization
Fastly: Image optimization with format selection

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Bandwidth Savings with AVIF

For a website serving 1 million image views per month:

PNG average size: 500 KB per image
AVIF average size: 50 KB per image (90% reduction)
Monthly bandwidth saved: 450 GB
Annual bandwidth saved: 5.4 TB
Cost savings: $50-500/month depending on hosting provider

Performance Impact

Real-world performance benefits of AVIF:

Page load time reduction: 30-60% faster on image-heavy pages
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Improvement of 1-3 seconds
Mobile data savings: Critical for users on metered connections
SEO benefits: Google rewards faster-loading pages

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 1: Using AVIF for Everything

Don't blindly convert all images to AVIF. Simple graphics, logos, and icons often compress better as PNG and benefit from universal compatibility.

Mistake 2: Serving AVIF Without Fallbacks

Always provide PNG or JPEG fallbacks for browsers and email clients that don't support AVIF. Never serve AVIF-only images in production.

Mistake 3: Using Too Aggressive Compression

AVIF at quality settings below 60 can introduce visible artifacts. Test quality settings visually before deployment.

Mistake 4: Ignoring Encoding Time

AVIF encoding is slow. Don't attempt real-time AVIF encoding - pre-process images during build time or use CDN conversion.

Mistake 5: Converting PNG Text Images to AVIF

Screenshots, diagrams, and images with text often look better as PNG. AVIF's lossy compression can blur text edges.

Future Outlook: AVIF vs PNG in 2025 and Beyond

As we move through 2025, AVIF adoption continues accelerating while PNG remains indispensable for specific use cases. Key trends include:

AVIF hardware acceleration: More devices shipping with native AV1 decode support
Improved tooling: Better AVIF support in image editing software
Broader CDN adoption: Automatic AVIF conversion becoming standard
PNG's enduring relevance: Remains essential for editing, archival, and universal compatibility
Email client gap: Still no AVIF support in major email clients

The future isn't AVIF replacing PNG, but rather both formats coexisting with clearly defined roles: AVIF for optimized web delivery, PNG for compatibility and lossless workflows.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Is AVIF better quality than PNG?

For lossy compression, AVIF can appear visually similar to PNG at 10-20x smaller file sizes. However, PNG is lossless and preserves perfect quality, making it "better" for editing and archival despite larger files.

Should I use AVIF or PNG for my website?

Use both: serve AVIF to supporting browsers with PNG fallback. This provides optimal file sizes for modern browsers while maintaining universal compatibility.

Does AVIF support transparency like PNG?

Yes, AVIF supports 8-bit alpha channel transparency just like PNG, and typically compresses transparent images 40-60% smaller than PNG.

Can I convert AVIF to PNG without losing quality?

If the original AVIF was created from a PNG using lossless compression, conversion back to PNG is perfect. If the AVIF used lossy compression, the converted PNG will retain the AVIF's quality level (which may have minor losses).

Why is AVIF not displaying in my email?

No major email client supports AVIF as of 2025. Always convert AVIF to PNG or JPEG for email marketing.

Conclusion

AVIF and PNG serve complementary roles in modern web development. AVIF excels at delivering photographic content efficiently over the web, offering dramatic file size reductions that improve performance, reduce bandwidth costs, and enhance user experience. PNG remains essential for universal compatibility, lossless editing workflows, email marketing, and situations where perfect quality preservation is non-negotiable.

The key to optimization is understanding when to use each format - and when to convert between them. For web delivery of photographs, AVIF with PNG fallback provides the best of both worlds. For logos, editing workflows, email, and archival, PNG remains the practical choice.

Our free AVIF to PNG converter makes it easy to convert between formats whenever your workflow or compatibility requirements change, ensuring you always have the right format for the right situation.

As web technologies continue evolving, staying informed about image format capabilities empowers you to make decisions that balance performance, quality, and compatibility - ultimately delivering better experiences to your users.