What Is an AVIF File, and How to Convert AVIF to JPG or PNG
What an AVIF file is, why websites send you AVIF images, which apps open them, and how to convert AVIF to JPG or PNG and keep transparency.
Updated October 14, 20265 min read
To convert AVIF to JPG, drop the file into an AVIF-to-JPG converter, keep the quality around 80–85 and download the JPG. Choose PNG instead if the image has a transparent background you need to keep. AVIF is a newer image format that produces much smaller files than JPG, which is why more and more websites send it to you — and why the image you saved may not open in the app or upload form you need. This guide explains what AVIF is, where it still causes trouble, and how to convert it without losing more quality than necessary.
What is an AVIF file?
AVIF stands for AV1 Image File Format. It stores a still image using the same compression as AV1, a royalty-free video codec developed by the Alliance for Open Media — a group that includes Google, Mozilla, Microsoft, Apple, Netflix and Amazon. The format was finalised in 2019. In effect, an AVIF is a single frame of modern video compression, saved as a picture.
That compression is the point. At similar visual quality, an AVIF is often around half the size of a JPG, and usually smaller than a WebP too. It also supports things JPG cannot: transparency, high dynamic range and wide colour, more than 8 bits per colour channel (so smoother gradients without banding), and animation.
| JPG | WebP | AVIF | |
|---|---|---|---|
| File size at similar quality | Largest | Smaller | Usually smallest |
| Transparency | No | Yes | Yes |
| Animation | No | Yes | Yes |
| HDR and 10/12-bit colour | No | No | Yes |
| Opens everywhere | Yes | Almost | Not yet |
Why you keep getting AVIF files
When your browser requests an image, it tells the website which formats it can display. Chrome since version 85, Firefox since 93 and Safari since version 16 all include AVIF in that list. Websites and image delivery networks use it to send the smallest file your browser accepts — increasingly AVIF. The photo may have been a JPG on the site's server; it became an AVIF only on the way to you, and "Save image as" kept exactly what arrived.
Renaming photo.avif to photo.jpg does not convert it. The bytes inside are still AVIF, and an app that refused it before will refuse it again, often with a more confusing error. The image needs re-encoding, which is what a converter does.
Where AVIF still fails
- Windows. The Photos app needs Microsoft's free AV1 Video Extension from the Microsoft Store before it can show AVIF files, and File Explorer thumbnails depend on it too.
- Upload forms. Job portals, exam applications, government sites and marketplaces commonly accept only JPG, JPEG or PNG.
- Older editing software and office suites, which may not open AVIF at all or may drop its transparency.
- Messaging and email, where the recipient's app may show the attachment as a file rather than a picture.
- Printing services, which almost universally expect JPG or TIFF.
If the image only needs to be viewed on a current phone or computer, keep it as AVIF — it is the smaller file. Convert when something downstream refuses it.
JPG, PNG or WebP?
| Your AVIF is… | Convert to | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A photo | JPG | Opens everywhere, reasonable size |
| A logo, icon or cut-out on transparency | PNG | JPG cannot store transparency |
| A screenshot or graphic with text | PNG | Keeps edges sharp |
| For a website, with transparency | WebP | Smaller than PNG, widely supported |
| Animated | GIF, in the image converter | JPG and PNG keep only one frame |
JPG has no transparency, so the AVIF-to-JPG converter places transparent areas on white. That is right for a product photo on a clear background and wrong for a logo going onto a dark header — use PNG for that. The full comparison of everyday formats is in PNG vs JPG vs WebP.
Drop an AVIF, set the quality, download the JPG. It all runs on your device, not our servers.
Convert AVIF to JPGStep by step
Open the converter
Use AVIF to JPG for photos or AVIF to PNG for anything with transparency.
Add the file
Drop the AVIF on the page or browse for it. It is decoded on your device.
Set the quality
For JPG, around 80–85 looks the same as the source for most photos.
Download
Save the JPG and keep the original AVIF, which is the better-quality copy.
Quality and file size
AVIF to JPG goes from one lossy format to another, so the JPG is encoded from pixels that were already compressed once. Nothing can bring back what the AVIF discarded; the aim is not to lose any more.
- Expect the JPG to be noticeably larger than the AVIF — often around twice the size. That is AVIF's efficiency working in reverse, not a fault.
- Quality 80–90 is the useful range. Going to 100 inflates the file without restoring any detail.
- HDR AVIFs are flattened. JPG is an 8-bit, standard-range format, so the extra brightness range of an HDR image is mapped down. The result looks like a normal photo.
- PNG loses nothing further but produces a much larger file for photographs.
If the result has to fit under a limit — a 200 KB form field or an email attachment cap — convert first, then run the JPG through the image compressor, which finds the highest quality that fits a KB target. Resizing images in KB for online forms walks through the common form limits.
Converting many AVIF files
On the free plan the converters handle one image at a time, up to 25 MB, and export up to 4096 pixels on the longest side — anything larger is scaled down to fit. Pro converts up to 100 files in one pass with no imposed size cap or dimension ceiling. Sort mixed folders first: photos to JPG in one batch, anything with transparency to PNG in another.
WebP and HEIC cause the same problems for the same reasons: see converting WebP to JPG and HEIC to JPG.
Frequently asked questions
What is an AVIF file?
An image saved in the AV1 Image File Format. It uses modern video compression to make files much smaller than JPG at similar quality, and supports transparency, HDR and animation.
How do I convert AVIF to JPG for free?
Open the AVIF to JPG converter, add the file, keep the quality around 80–85 and download. One image at a time is free; batches are a Pro feature.
How do I open AVIF files on Windows?
Install Microsoft's free AV1 Video Extension from the Microsoft Store, after which the Photos app can show AVIF. Current versions of Chrome, Edge and Firefox open AVIF directly. To use the image in software that refuses it, convert a copy to JPG or PNG.
Is AVIF better than JPG?
For file size, yes: an AVIF is often around half the size of a JPG of similar quality. But JPG opens everywhere, so it is still the safer choice for forms, printing and sharing with people on older software.
Does converting AVIF to JPG lose quality?
Slightly, because the JPG re-compresses an already compressed image. At quality 80–90 the difference is usually not visible. Converting to PNG avoids further loss but makes a larger file.
Does AVIF to JPG keep transparency?
No. JPG has no transparency, so transparent areas become white. Convert to PNG or WebP to keep them transparent.