What is AVIF Format? Complete Guide to AV1 Image Format in 2025

Introduction to AVIF Format

AVIF (AV1 Image File Format) represents a significant leap forward in image compression technology. Developed by the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia), AVIF leverages the powerful AV1 video codec to deliver exceptional image quality at remarkably small file sizes.

In 2025, AVIF has matured into a production-ready format with growing browser support and adoption across major platforms. This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about AVIF, from its technical foundations to practical use cases.

What Makes AVIF Special?

Superior Compression Efficiency

AVIF's most impressive feature is its compression efficiency. Compared to traditional formats:

50-90% smaller than JPEG at equivalent quality levels
30-50% smaller than WebP for photographic content
20-30% smaller than JPEG 2000 in most scenarios
Significantly smaller than PNG for complex images

This remarkable compression is achieved through advanced techniques inherited from the AV1 video codec, including sophisticated prediction models, transform coding, and context-adaptive entropy coding.

High Dynamic Range (HDR) Support

AVIF natively supports HDR content with wide color gamuts, making it ideal for modern displays capable of reproducing vibrant, lifelike colors. The format supports:

Multiple color spaces including BT.2020, Display P3, and BT.709
10-bit and 12-bit color depth for billions of colors
HDR metadata for optimal display rendering
Film grain synthesis for authentic photographic texture

Full Alpha Transparency

Like PNG, AVIF supports full alpha channel transparency with 8-bit precision, enabling 256 levels of transparency. The alpha channel is compressed separately using the same efficient algorithms, resulting in smaller file sizes compared to PNG while maintaining perfect transparency gradients.

Animation Support

AVIF supports animated images (similar to GIF or APNG) but with significantly better compression and quality. This makes it an excellent replacement for animated GIFs, offering:

24-bit color vs GIF's 8-bit limit
Full alpha transparency
50-90% smaller file sizes
No color banding or dithering artifacts

Browser Support in 2025

Desktop Browsers

Chrome/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)
Opera: Full support since version 71 (September 2020)

Mobile Browsers

Chrome Android: Fully supported
Safari iOS: Supported since iOS 16
Samsung Internet: Supported since version 15
Firefox Android: Fully supported

As of 2025, AVIF enjoys support across approximately 92% of global web users, making it viable for production use with appropriate fallbacks.

Technical Specifications

File Structure

AVIF uses the HEIF (High Efficiency Image File Format) container, the same container used by HEIC images on Apple devices. This mature container format provides:

Support for image sequences and animations
Metadata storage (EXIF, XMP, etc.)
Multiple image derivations (thumbnails, crops)
Auxiliary images (depth maps, alpha channels)

Encoding Parameters

AVIF encoders offer extensive control over the compression process:

Quality settings: Typically 0-100, with 60-80 recommended for photographs
Speed settings: 0-10, trading encoding time for compression efficiency
Chroma subsampling: 4:4:4, 4:2:2, or 4:2:0
Bit depth: 8, 10, or 12 bits per channel

When to Use AVIF

Ideal Use Cases

Hero images on websites: Large photographic content where file size matters
Product photography: E-commerce images requiring high quality and small file size
Mobile applications: Reducing app size and bandwidth consumption
Progressive web apps: Optimizing performance and user experience
Social media platforms: Delivering high-quality images to billions of users

When to Avoid AVIF

Legacy browser support: When supporting Internet Explorer or very old browsers
Simple graphics: PNG often performs better for logos, icons, and illustrations
Real-time encoding: AVIF encoding is computationally intensive
Offline software: Limited support in desktop applications

Why Convert AVIF to PNG?

Despite AVIF's advantages, there are legitimate reasons to convert to PNG:

1. Universal Compatibility

PNG has been supported by every major browser since the early 2000s and works with virtually all image editing software. When you need guaranteed compatibility across all platforms and devices, PNG is the safe choice.

2. Lossless Quality

While AVIF supports lossless compression, its lossless mode is less efficient than its lossy mode. PNG's lossless compression has been optimized over decades and remains the gold standard for preserving exact pixel data.

3. Editing Workflow

Most professional image editing software has robust PNG support. Converting AVIF to PNG ensures compatibility with tools like Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, Affinity Photo, and countless other applications.

4. Archival Purposes

For long-term storage, PNG's maturity and ubiquity make it a safer bet than newer formats. While AVIF will likely remain readable for decades, PNG has already proven its longevity.

5. Transparency Compatibility

PNG's transparency implementation is universally supported and battle-tested across all platforms. For graphics requiring transparency, PNG eliminates any compatibility concerns.

Performance Considerations

Encoding Performance

AVIF encoding is computationally intensive, typically 10-20x slower than JPEG encoding at equivalent quality settings. For workflows requiring real-time or near-real-time encoding, this can be a significant limitation.

Decoding Performance

Modern browsers have optimized AVIF decoding, making it comparable to JPEG in most cases. Hardware acceleration is becoming more common, further improving performance.

Memory Usage

Due to its sophisticated compression algorithms, AVIF decoding can use more memory than simpler formats. This is rarely an issue on modern devices but may matter for resource-constrained environments.

Best Practices for AVIF Adoption

Progressive Enhancement Strategy

Use the <picture> element to serve AVIF with fallbacks:

<picture>
  <source srcset="image.avif" type="image/avif">
  <source srcset="image.webp" type="image/webp">
  <img src="image.jpg" alt="Description">
</picture>

Quality Settings

Recommended quality settings for different content types:

Photographs: Quality 60-75 for web use
Graphics/Screenshots: Quality 85-95 or lossless
Hero images: Quality 70-80 depending on acceptable file size

Testing and Validation

Always test AVIF images across target browsers and devices. Visual quality can vary based on the decoder implementation, so validation with real users is essential.

The Future of AVIF

AVIF's adoption continues to grow in 2025, with major platforms like Netflix, YouTube, and Facebook using it to reduce bandwidth costs while maintaining quality. As browser support approaches universality and encoding tools become faster, AVIF is positioned to become the dominant image format for web delivery.

However, this doesn't diminish the value of PNG for specific use cases. The two formats serve complementary roles: AVIF excels at efficient web delivery, while PNG remains essential for editing, archiving, and guaranteed compatibility.

Conclusion

AVIF represents a significant advancement in image compression technology, offering dramatic file size reductions while maintaining or improving visual quality. Its growing browser support and technical capabilities make it an excellent choice for modern web development.

However, the need to convert between formats remains relevant. Our free AVIF to PNG converter provides a simple solution for compatibility, editing, and archival needs, letting you leverage the strengths of both formats according to your specific requirements.

Whether you're optimizing a website's performance or ensuring maximum compatibility, understanding AVIF's capabilities and limitations empowers you to make informed decisions about image formats for your projects.