Which image formats open where
A file that opens on your phone may fail on a form, an old computer or a friend's laptop. Use this table to see what to expect, and what to convert it to.
The quick table
| Format | Web browsers | Windows | Mac and iPhone | Android | Accepted by most upload forms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPG | All | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PNG | All | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| WebP | All current ones | Recent versions, older ones may need an extension | Yes (macOS 11+, iOS 14+) | Yes | Often not |
| AVIF | Current Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari 16+ | Needs a codec in some versions | Recent versions | Recent versions | Rarely |
| HEIC | Safari only | Needs the HEVC codec | Yes | Recent versions in some gallery apps | Often not |
| GIF | All | Yes | Yes | Yes | Often |
| TIFF | Safari only | Yes | Yes | No | Rarely |
| SVG | All | Browsers only | Browsers, Preview | Browsers | Rarely |
| All | Yes | Yes | Yes | For documents |
Support changes with updates, so treat “recent versions” as “if the system is up to date”. The last check of this page is dated at the bottom.
What to do when a format doesn’t open
- HEIC (iPhone photo): convert HEIC to JPG, or follow how to open HEIC on Windows.
- WebP (saved from a website): convert WebP to JPG or to PNG.
- AVIF: convert AVIF to JPG.
- SVG as a picture: convert SVG to PNG.
- PDF page as an image: save PDF pages as JPG.
When in doubt, JPG for photos and PNG for graphics are the two formats that almost nothing rejects.
Why so many formats?
Each was created to fix something. JPG (1992) made photos small. PNG (1996) added lossless quality and transparency. WebP and AVIF squeeze files further for the web, and HEIC does the same for phone cameras. They are efficient, but they arrive on devices and websites at different speeds, and that gap is what this page describes. For the background of each, read what is HEIC, what is WebP and what is AVIF.
Choosing a format for sharing
- Sending to someone you don’t know the device of: JPG.
- Posting on a website you control: WebP or AVIF with a JPG fallback, if file size matters.
- Anything with transparency: PNG or WebP. See PNG or JPG.