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JPEG XL vs. WebP: Image Quality, File Size, and Browser Support

By Freedom251 Team · · 10 min read

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There is no universal winner. WebP is the safer default when broad browser coverage and a mature conversion workflow matter. JPEG XL is worth testing for large images, high-bit-depth or HDR assets, progressive rendering, and lossless JPEG transcoding. Choose from measurements on your own images, then serve JPEG XL with a WebP, JPEG, or PNG fallback through <picture>.

What the comparison actually means

JPEG XL (JXL) and WebP are both modern raster-image formats. Each can encode lossy or lossless images, and both support transparency and animation. That overlap makes a simple “which is better?” answer misleading: the result changes with the source image, the encoder, the visual-quality target, and the browsers that must display the result.

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JPEG XL adds capabilities that are important in specialist workflows: high bit depths, wide color gamuts, HDR, progressive decoding, and lossless transcoding of an existing JPEG while retaining the ability to reconstruct the original JPEG file. WebP’s practical advantage is reach: the current MDN image-format guide lists it for all versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Safari. The same guide lists JPEG XL in Chrome 155, Edge 155, Firefox 158, and Safari 17, with a Safari limitation for progressive download. Browser support tables change as releases move, so treat those versions as a deployment checkpoint rather than a permanent guarantee.

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The right decision is therefore conditional:

  • Use WebP as a broadly compatible baseline when your audience includes browsers without JPEG XL support.
  • Evaluate JPEG XL for large photographs, HDR or wide-gamut masters, progressive loading, and archives of JPEG originals.
  • Use content negotiation with <picture> so capable clients can receive JXL while every other client receives a conventional fallback.

Capabilities at a glance

Decision axis JPEG XL WebP
Compression modes Lossy and lossless; can losslessly transcode JPEGs and later reconstruct the original JPEG. Lossy and lossless.
Transparency and animation Supported in the format. Supported in lossy and lossless WebP.
Color and precision Supports high bit depths, wide color gamuts, and HDR. The reviewed references establish transparency and animation, but do not establish equivalent JXL-level high-bit-depth, wide-gamut, and HDR capabilities.
Progressive decoding Supported. An image can become clearer as more data arrives; MDN notes that Safari does not progressively download a JXL file. The reviewed references do not establish WebP progressive rendering as a feature comparable to JPEG XL’s.
Browser support in MDN’s current table Chrome 155, Edge 155, Firefox 158, and Safari 17; verify deployed versions before shipping. All versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Safari are listed.
Conversion workflow documented in the references JPEG lossless-transcoding capability is documented; check encoder and pipeline compatibility for your environment. Google publishes downloadable cwebp and dwebp command-line tools.

Image quality and file size: what the evidence shows

Why a universal percentage is not credible

There is no comprehensive, independent benchmark in the cited material that compares JPEG XL directly with WebP across representative photographs, screenshots, illustrations, transparency, and animation at matched perceptual quality. A setting such as “quality 80” is not a common quality scale between codecs: each encoder maps that number differently. A fair test holds the visual target constant, not the numeric quality parameter.

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Mozilla’s 2026 examples illustrate why the ordering changes. The examples compare JPEG XL primarily with AVIF and include lossless WebP in one case; they are not a universal JPEG XL-versus-WebP ranking.

Example and target AVIF JPEG XL WebP What it demonstrates
Fox image, SSIMULACRA 2 score 62.8, lossy 116 kB 134 kB Not stated At this target, JXL used more bytes than AVIF.
Fox image, SSIMULACRA 2 score 80, lossy 227 kB 264 kB Not stated At a higher target on the same example, the ordering remained AVIF before JXL.
Fox image, lossless 1.76 MB 1.45 MB 1.55 MB JXL was smallest, WebP was close, and AVIF was largest in this example.
Screenshot image, SSIMULACRA 2 score 78, lossy 11.6 kB 23.8 kB Not stated On this screenshot target, JXL used substantially more bytes than AVIF.
Screenshot image, lossless 164 kB 92 kB Not stated On this lossless screenshot, JXL was smaller than AVIF.

These values are specific outputs from Mozilla Hacks’ August 24, 2026 article and its chosen images, encoders, and targets. They show that image content and the lossy-versus-lossless goal can reverse the result; they do not justify saying that JPEG XL or WebP always produces the smallest file.

What WebP’s published percentages do—and do not—say

Google’s WebP documentation reports that lossy WebP images are 25–34% smaller than comparable JPEG images at equivalent SSIM quality. It also reports that lossless WebP files are 26% smaller than PNG files. Both figures are WebP-versus-another-format comparisons, not direct JPEG XL-versus-WebP tests. They are useful when replacing JPEG or PNG, but they cannot be converted into a claimed JXL advantage or disadvantage.

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A 2023 study of web image formats reported that, in its sampled sites and test setup, WebP and AVIF versions improved Page Load Time by 21% and 15%, respectively, compared with compressed JPEG. The same crawl found WebP in 4% of observed image formats. Those are study-specific observations, not a current universal share or guaranteed speed improvement for every site.

Quality is more than a byte count

Compare decoded images at the display dimensions your users receive. Look for ringing around high-contrast edges, banding in skies and gradients, loss of fine texture, halos around text, color shifts, and transparency fringes. For photographs, inspect faces, foliage, fabric, and shadow detail. For screenshots and diagrams, inspect one-pixel lines, small type, and flat-color boundaries. A smaller file that visibly damages those areas is not a better result.

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Use a perceptual metric such as SSIMULACRA 2 as one signal, not as a substitute for visual review. The Mozilla examples use SSIMULACRA 2 scores of 62.8, 78, and 80 to align comparisons; the score itself does not make files from different images interchangeable.

Browser support and delivery strategy

Current support boundaries

MDN’s current image-format guide lists WebP for all versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Safari. It lists JPEG XL for Chrome 155, Edge 155, Firefox 158, and Safari 17. The guide specifically says Safari does not support progressive download of JPEG XL, even though Safari 17 supports the format. Because browser versions and feature flags evolve, check your analytics for the versions your visitors actually use before removing fallbacks.

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Mozilla’s August 24, 2026 “Intent to Ship: JPEG XL” article provides dated rollout context, while the newer MDN compatibility table is the more direct version reference. WebKit announced JPEG XL support for Safari 17 beta and showed a <picture>-based fallback pattern.

Serve JXL with a fallback

The HTML <picture> element lets the browser select the first supported source. Put JPEG XL first, then WebP if you use it, and finish with a JPEG or PNG fallback. The final <img> remains important for clients that do not understand <picture> or any supplied source type.

<picture>
  <source type="image/jxl" srcset="hero.jxl">
  <source type="image/webp" srcset="hero.webp">
  <img src="hero.jpg" alt="Description of the image" width="1600" height="900">
</picture>

Use the actual MIME type image/jxl for the JPEG XL source and image/webp for WebP. Keep the fallback visually equivalent and provide intrinsic dimensions so layout does not depend on which source wins. If your site generates responsive variants, provide matching width descriptors in each srcset rather than offering a large JXL file to a small-screen client.

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Which format fits each image type?

Photographs

Test both formats at the visual quality your design requires. WebP is a sensible baseline because of its broad listed browser support. JPEG XL may be attractive for large photographic assets when progressive decoding, high precision, HDR, or wide-gamut delivery is part of the requirement. Do not infer the winner from a single hero image: include portraits, foliage, low-light scenes, skies, and images with fine texture.

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Graphics, screenshots, and text-heavy images

Screenshots can react differently from photographs. Mozilla’s screenshot example had a lossless JXL file of 92 kB versus 164 kB for lossless AVIF, while its lossy JXL output was 23.8 kB versus 11.6 kB for AVIF at SSIMULACRA 2 score 78. Compare your own interface screenshots at lossless and near-lossless targets, and inspect text at 100% zoom.

Transparent and animated assets

Both formats support transparency and animation, so those requirements do not by themselves decide the choice. Measure file size, edge quality, decode behavior, and the browsers represented in your analytics. For animated assets, test the complete sequence rather than one still frame.

HDR, wide gamut, and high bit depth

JPEG XL explicitly supports high bit depths, wide color gamuts, and HDR. If those properties must survive delivery, verify your full pipeline—from source export through encoder, server, browser, and display—rather than assuming that a file extension guarantees correct rendering. Provide a conventional fallback for clients that cannot consume the intended color and precision.

Existing JPEG libraries

JPEG XL can losslessly transcode existing JPEGs while preserving a path to reconstruct the original JPEG. That can reduce storage or delivery bytes without first decoding and re-encoding the image, which would introduce another generation of loss. The practical benefit depends on whether your image-management, CDN, backup, and editing tools understand the JXL representation, so validate the round trip before converting an archive.

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A repeatable test plan for a real website

1. Define the audience and constraints

  1. Export a browser report showing the versions used by your visitors, with separate attention to mobile and desktop traffic.
  2. Mark assets that require transparency, animation, HDR, wide gamut, high bit depth, progressive rendering, or exact losslessness.
  3. Decide whether the fallback must be JPEG, PNG, or an already-supported WebP asset for each class.

2. Build a representative image set

Include enough samples to expose codec behavior: large and small photographs, high-detail and smooth images, screenshots, illustrations, transparent graphics, and at least one difficult low-light or gradient-heavy image. Keep the original files and record dimensions, color space, bit depth, and animation status.

3. Encode at matched visual targets

Do not compare arbitrary quality numbers. Produce several outputs per image at defined perceptual targets—such as a visually lossless target, a normal photographic target, and a deliberately smaller target. Use production encoders and record their versions and settings. For WebP, Google provides the downloadable cwebp encoder and dwebp decoder. A basic conversion invocation is:

cwebp input.jpg -q 80 -o output.webp
dwebp output.webp -o decoded.png

The numeric -q 80 value is only an encoder setting; it is not equivalent to a JPEG XL quality value. Use the JPEG XL encoder supported by your deployment environment and document its exact settings alongside the WebP settings.

4. Measure bytes and rendered quality

  • Record compressed bytes for every output, including metadata if it will be delivered.
  • Decode each file and compare it at the actual CSS display size and at 100% zoom.
  • Use a perceptual metric consistently, then review problem areas by eye.
  • Measure decode time and memory on representative low-end devices if the images are large or numerous.
  • Test first-paint and progressive behavior on a throttled connection; JXL progressive support may not be realized in Safari.

5. Test the fallback matrix

Open the same page in the browser versions that matter to your audience. Confirm that a JXL-capable client receives JXL, a client without JXL receives WebP when available, and an older or restricted client reaches the JPEG or PNG fallback. Verify that the selected source keeps the same dimensions, crop, alt text, and color intent.

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6. Roll out without losing observability

Start with a subset of templates or a small percentage of traffic. Log which source type is selected, transfer bytes, image errors, and user-visible performance. Keep the fallback available until the browser data and error rate show that removing it would not strand a meaningful audience.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Declaring a winner from one benchmark

A single fox or screenshot cannot represent every image class. Mozilla’s own examples switch the relative result between lossy and lossless targets. Use a corpus that resembles your site.

Treating quality numbers as portable

“Quality 80” in one encoder is not a perceptual match for “quality 80” in another. Match rendered quality or a documented metric, and retain the encoder version in your test record.

Confusing WebP-versus-JPEG numbers with a JXL comparison

The 25–34% lossy and 26% lossless reductions published by Google compare WebP with JPEG and PNG. They do not establish a percentage difference between WebP and JPEG XL.

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Shipping JXL without a fallback

JPEG XL support is narrower than WebP in the cited MDN table, and support can differ by browser version or implementation detail. Use <picture> and retain a conventional image.

Assuming Safari has every JXL feature

MDN lists Safari 17 support but explicitly notes that Safari does not progressively download JPEG XL. If progressive appearance is part of the experience, test Safari separately and choose a fallback behavior that remains acceptable.

Converting a JPEG archive destructively

JPEG XL’s lossless transcoding can preserve recoverability, but only if your tools and storage pipeline retain the required metadata and reconstruction information. Test restore, edit, and export operations before deleting the source JPEGs.

A practical decision matrix

Your priority Starting choice Why What to verify
Maximum browser reach with one modern format WebP MDN lists WebP for all versions of the major browsers named in its table. Your actual audience, transparency or animation behavior, and byte savings against your current JPEG or PNG.
Progressive rendering for large images Test JPEG XL with a fallback JXL supports progressive decoding. Whether the target browsers, especially Safari, perform progressive download as expected.
HDR, wide gamut, or high bit depth Evaluate JPEG XL first Those capabilities are explicitly part of JXL’s feature set. End-to-end color management, display support, and fallback appearance.
Lossless JPEG archive migration Evaluate JPEG XL transcoding JXL can transcode JPEGs losslessly and reconstruct the original. Encoder, CMS, CDN, backup, and restore compatibility.
Smallest lossy file at a chosen visual target Benchmark JXL and WebP on your corpus The available examples do not establish a universal winner. Perceptual score, visual artifacts, bytes, decode cost, and browser delivery.
Smallest lossless file Benchmark both, plus your current PNG/JPEG workflow Mozilla’s examples put JXL close to WebP and ahead of AVIF in one fox example, but results depend on content. Exact source characteristics and whether metadata is included.

Bottom-line recommendation

For most websites, make WebP the dependable baseline and keep JPEG or PNG as the final fallback. Add JPEG XL when testing shows a meaningful benefit for your assets—especially large images, progressive delivery, HDR or wide-gamut content, or lossless JPEG transcoding. Serve it conditionally with <picture>, measure real browser behavior, and choose the format per asset class instead of imposing one codec on the entire site.

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