What Is an AVIF File? The Next-Generation Image Format

Why AVIF is so efficient

AVIF borrows the intra-frame compression of AV1, a modern video codec designed to beat older ones like the technology behind JPEG. In practice that means AVIF can hold detail, smooth gradients and fine texture at file sizes that JPG cannot match — savings of 50% or more over JPG at comparable quality are common, and it also handles the dark, subtle gradients where JPG tends to show banding. It supports both lossy and lossless modes, an alpha channel for transparency, high dynamic range and wide colour gamuts, and even animation.

That combination — smaller files plus more capability — is why AVIF is positioned as a successor to both JPG and WebP for web imagery. When page weight and image quality both matter, it usually wins on both at once.

AVIF vs WebP vs JPG

Compared with JPG, AVIF is dramatically more efficient and adds transparency, animation and better colour — but JPG opens on literally everything, which AVIF still does not. Compared with WebP, AVIF is usually a bit smaller again and better in dark and gradient-heavy images, though WebP encodes faster and has slightly broader support in older software. WebP has been around since 2010 and is safely universal in browsers; AVIF is newer and, while now supported in all current browsers, is more likely to trip up older devices and non-browser apps.

A practical rule: for maximum efficiency on a site you control, AVIF is the leading edge, ideally served with a JPG or WebP fallback for older visitors. WebP is the safe modern default. JPG remains the choice when a file must open absolutely everywhere with no risk.

The catch: support and encoding

AVIF's youth is its only real weakness. Every current web browser now displays it, but older browsers, many desktop image viewers, some social platforms, older phones and plenty of editing tools still cannot open an AVIF — so a file downloaded outside a modern browser may simply refuse to open. Encoding an AVIF is also more computationally intensive than a JPG, which is invisible on a web server but can make batch conversion slower.

The upshot is the same caution that applied to WebP a few years ago: AVIF is excellent for publishing to the web, but if you are handing a file to someone to open, edit or print outside a browser, a JPG or PNG is still the safer bet until support becomes truly ubiquitous.

How to open and convert AVIF

To view an AVIF, open it in any up-to-date web browser — drag it onto a tab and it displays. If a program refuses it, convert it to JPG (for photos and universal compatibility) or PNG (for transparency or lossless graphics) with an image converter. Going the other way, converting your JPGs and PNGs to AVIF before publishing them is one of the biggest page-weight savings you can make, provided you offer a fallback for older visitors. OfficePad's converter runs in the browser, so nothing is uploaded.

Frequently asked questions