How to convert and compress AVIF
- Add your images. Drag and drop JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF or AVIF files onto the dropzone, click to browse, or paste from your clipboard. You can add several at once.
- Pick a quality level. AVIF's quality scale runs lower than JPEG's — a default around 55 already looks great. Raise it for near-lossless results or lower it for the very smallest files.
- Let the AV1 encoder run on your device. Each image is encoded locally to AVIF. AV1 is intensive, so large photos may take a few seconds — that is expected, and it is what makes the files so small.
- Download your AVIF files. Save images one at a time, or grab everything as a ZIP. Adjust the quality and re-encode anytime to find your ideal size.
Why convert images to AVIF?
AVIF is the smallest mainstream image format available today. Built on the royalty-free AV1 video codec, it routinely produces files 30–50% smaller than WebP and often half the size of a comparable JPEG — at the same perceived quality. For photo-heavy websites, that translates directly into faster page loads, better Core Web Vitals, lower bandwidth bills, and a smoother experience on slow mobile connections.
Beyond raw size, AVIF brings genuinely modern features to still images: full alpha transparency like PNG, wide color gamut and HDR (10- and 12-bit) support, and both lossy and lossless modes in one format. Because this converter runs entirely on your device, it is also the private way to adopt AVIF — unlike typical online converters, your photos are encoded with a WebAssembly AV1 build right in the page and never travel to a server.
Quality, the AVIF scale, and encoding speed
AVIF is normally used as a lossy format, discarding detail the eye is least likely to miss — but it does so far more cleverly than JPEG, avoiding the blocky artifacts you get when you push older formats too hard. One thing to know up front: the quality numbers read differently. A setting near 50–60 on AVIF typically looks excellent, where the same value on a JPEG would look rough. That is why this tool defaults to around 55 — it is a sweet spot, not a compromise.
The honest trade-off is speed. AV1 does a great deal of computation per pixel to reach those tiny sizes, and running it in the browser through WebAssembly is slower than a JPEG or WebP encode. A typical photo finishes in a few seconds; a very large 20+ megapixel image can take noticeably longer, and a big batch adds up. This is expected — it is the cost of AVIF’s efficiency, not a bug. Resizing before you encode is the single biggest speed-up, and it shrinks the output even further.
What is AVIF, and when should you use it?
AVIF (AV1 Image File Format) stores one or more AV1-encoded frames in an ISO base media container — the same family as MP4. It supports transparency, animation, wide color, and HDR, which makes it a strong single replacement for JPEG, PNG, and even animated GIF in many cases. You can read the full breakdown of capabilities and browser support on MDN’s AVIF image documentation.
AVIF is an excellent default for photographs and rich web imagery destined for modern browsers. It is less ideal when you need universal compatibility with older software, when files must be re-edited many times (each lossy pass loses a little), or for simple flat graphics where lossless PNG can rival it. If you want slightly broader support with still-great compression, WebP is the natural middle ground, and our image converter lets you compare formats side by side. To trim oversized source images before encoding, reach for the image resizer.
Tips for the best AVIF results
- Trust the lower numbers.Don’t set AVIF quality to 80–90 out of JPEG habit — start near 55 and only raise it if you can actually see a difference at your display size.
- Resize before encoding. Shipping a 6000px image that displays at 1200px wastes both file size and encoding time. Resizing first makes the slow AV1 pass dramatically faster.
- Keep a JPEG or WebP fallback. For maximum reach, serve AVIF inside a
<picture>element with a JPEG or WebP source so older clients still get an image. - Be patient with big batches.AVIF’s savings are worth the wait. Queue your files, let the encoder work through them one by one, and download everything as a ZIP at the end.