image-file-formats.json

{
  "name": "Image file formats compared (JPEG, PNG, HEIC, WebP, GIF, TIFF)",
  "description": "How the common image file formats compare — compression type, transparency, animation support, file extension and what each is best for. A quick reference for JPG vs PNG vs HEIC vs WebP.",
  "identifier": "https://alice51849.github.io/ios-app-guide/data/image-file-formats.json",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "creator": "Lumi Apps",
  "dateModified": "2026-07-10",
  "formats": [
    {
      "format": "JPEG",
      "extension": ".jpg / .jpeg",
      "compression": "Lossy",
      "transparency": "No",
      "animation": "No",
      "bestFor": "Photographs and web images where small file size matters most."
    },
    {
      "format": "PNG",
      "extension": ".png",
      "compression": "Lossless",
      "transparency": "Yes (alpha)",
      "animation": "No",
      "bestFor": "Logos, icons, screenshots and any graphic that needs transparency or crisp edges."
    },
    {
      "format": "HEIC / HEIF",
      "extension": ".heic",
      "compression": "Lossy or lossless",
      "transparency": "Yes",
      "animation": "No",
      "bestFor": "iPhone photos — about half the size of JPEG at similar quality (limited older-device support)."
    },
    {
      "format": "WebP",
      "extension": ".webp",
      "compression": "Lossy or lossless",
      "transparency": "Yes",
      "animation": "Yes",
      "bestFor": "Modern web images — can replace JPEG, PNG and GIF, but not supported everywhere."
    },
    {
      "format": "GIF",
      "extension": ".gif",
      "compression": "Lossless (256 colours)",
      "transparency": "Yes (1-bit)",
      "animation": "Yes",
      "bestFor": "Short simple animations; poor for photographs due to the 256-colour limit."
    },
    {
      "format": "TIFF",
      "extension": ".tif / .tiff",
      "compression": "Lossless or lossy",
      "transparency": "Yes",
      "animation": "No",
      "bestFor": "Printing, archiving and professional photography where maximum quality matters."
    },
    {
      "format": "PDF",
      "extension": ".pdf",
      "compression": "Varies (can embed any)",
      "transparency": "N/A",
      "animation": "No",
      "bestFor": "Multi-page documents and scans; not an image format but the usual target for scanned photos."
    }
  ]
}