Converts JPG to WebP, which is usually 25–35% smaller at the same apparent quality. Worth doing for anything served over the web, where those bytes are paid for on every visit.
It is a second lossy compression
If you still have the camera original or the PNG master, convert from that instead — the result will be both smaller and better.
Serving both, for the browsers that need it
<picture><source srcset="photo.webp" type="image/webp"><img src="photo.jpg" alt=""></picture>
Every current browser takes the WebP; anything that does not falls back to the JPEG. Keep both files, which is why converting a folder at once is the useful shape here.
Metadata is removed, which is usually the point
For a photo you are about to publish this is a feature. A JPEG straight off a phone can carry the exact coordinates of where it was taken, and stripping that before it goes anywhere public is good practice — the conversion does it as a side effect.
The one piece of metadata that is honoured before being dropped is the orientation flag. Phones store photos in the sensor's native orientation with a tag saying which way is up; ignoring it produces sideways pictures. It is applied to the pixels, so the result is upright without needing the tag.
If you need the EXIF preserved, this is the wrong tool — a converter that re-encodes cannot keep it.
Other names for this
Also searched as “jpeg to webp”, “convert jpg to webp”.
Questions
- How much smaller is WebP really?
- 25–35% at equivalent visual quality is the usual range for photographs. Images with flat colour and hard edges do better still.
- Should I convert from the JPEG or the original?
- From the original if you have it. Converting a JPEG is a second lossy pass, which the original avoids.
- Is WebP safe to use on a public site?
- Yes. Every browser released since 2020 supports it, and a
element covers anything older. - Can I convert a whole folder of images?
- Yes. Drop as many files as you like, or a whole folder. Each keeps its original name with the new extension —
IMG_4032.heicbecomesIMG_4032.jpg, neverconverted_1.jpg— and you can download them individually or as a ZIP. - Are my photos uploaded?
- No. The decoding and re-encoding happen in this tab using the browser’s own image support. Photos are personal in a way most files are not, and none of them is transmitted. Turn your Wi-Fi off and the converter keeps working.