PNG to AVIF Converter
Convert PNG to AVIF online, free
Transparent PNGs are heavy, and converting them to JPG kills the transparency. AVIF fixes both: it keeps the see-through background and still shrinks the file hard. This converts PNG to AVIF right in the browser, and yes, the alpha channel survives.
Drop images here or click to upload
PNG only — up to 50MB each
- Files never leave your device
- Runs in your browser
- Free, no signup
How it works
- 1
Drop your PNG files
Drop a single PNG or up to 100 files together. Transparent cutouts, photographic PNGs, screenshots, and exported graphics are all supported.
- 2
Pick a quality level
Quality 80 is the sweet spot. Photos can go lower for extra savings; logos and hard-edged graphics do better at 85 to keep lines crisp.
- 3
Download AVIF files
Single files download immediately, batches arrive as a ZIP. Transparency is preserved and names are kept with the new .avif extension.
Why AVIF beats both PNG and JPG for transparent images
Keeps the transparency
Unlike JPG, AVIF supports a full alpha channel, so the see-through background in your PNG stays transparent in the AVIF. You get a small file and a working cutout, not a white box.
Much smaller than PNG
A photographic transparent PNG can drop 80 percent or more as AVIF, with the alpha channel intact and no visible change. Even flat graphics shrink while keeping crisp edges.
Works on every browser
Chromium encodes AVIF natively. On Safari and Firefox a built-in WebAssembly encoder takes over, so you always get a real transparent AVIF, not a renamed file.
Where this helps
Product cutouts for the web
Product shots exported as transparent PNG are heavy. AVIF keeps the cutout's transparency so it drops onto any page background, while cutting most of the file size for faster catalogue loads.
Hero graphics and overlays
Decorative graphics meant to float over a coloured section need transparency. AVIF preserves it and shrinks the file, so a rich overlay no longer drags down the page it sits on.
Photographic PNGs
Any photo that got saved as PNG is far larger than it should be. AVIF crushes it, and if there is an alpha channel it survives automatically, so you keep transparency without paying PNG's size.
Illustrations and stickers
Illustrations and stickers with soft transparent edges stay clean in AVIF, which holds hard boundaries far better than JPG, while landing at a fraction of the PNG size.
Tips that help
- 1
AVIF keeps transparency, JPG does not
This is the whole point. If your PNG has a see-through background you need to keep, AVIF preserves it while shrinking the file. Convert to JPG only when you do not need the transparency.
- 2
Quality 80 for photos, 85 for graphics
Photographic PNGs look great at 80 and shrink hard. Logos and hard-edged artwork are less forgiving, so lean to 85 to keep type and lines crisp around the transparent edges.
- 3
Keep PNG if you need it lossless
AVIF defaults to lossy. For a logo or technical graphic that must be pixel-exact, keep the PNG and compress it losslessly instead of converting formats.
- 4
Use WebP if you need wider support
AVIF is the smallest, but support is newer. If a transparent image needs to work in more places today, WebP keeps the alpha channel and is supported far more broadly.
- 5
Serve AVIF with a fallback on the web
Older browsers cannot read AVIF. Use a picture element offering AVIF first and PNG or WebP second, so modern browsers get the small transparent file and the rest stay covered.
PNG to AVIF: keep the transparency, lose most of the file size
PNG is the format people reach for when they need transparency, but they pay for it in bytes. A transparent PNG, especially a photographic one, is often huge, and the usual fix, converting to JPG, throws the transparency away. AVIF breaks that compromise. It keeps the alpha channel exactly like PNG does, while compressing the image far harder than PNG ever could. You get a transparent file that is a fraction of the size. This guide covers where the savings come from, why transparency survives the trip, the compatibility you trade, and when PNG to AVIF is the right move versus when to keep the PNG. imgkilo encodes AVIF in your browser, with no upload and no signup, on batches of up to 100 files at 50 MB each.
Why a transparent PNG is so heavy
PNG was built to be lossless, storing every pixel exactly with no detail discarded. That is perfect for a flat logo with a handful of colours, where the file stays tiny, but it is brutal for anything photographic. A PNG of a photo records nearly every pixel byte for byte, so the file balloons.
Transparency adds to the weight. Each pixel carries an extra alpha value describing how see-through it is, and PNG stores that channel losslessly alongside the colour. A complex transparent image, like a product cutout with soft edges, ends up carrying a lot of data.
The common pain is the photographic PNG with a transparent background. Designers export product shots, hero cutouts, and illustrations as transparent PNG because they need the alpha channel, and the files routinely run into the multiple megabytes. On a web page, that is dead weight.
The instinct is to convert to JPG to shrink it, but JPG cannot hold transparency, so the cutout gets a white box around it. That is the trap PNG users fall into, and it is exactly the trap AVIF was built to escape.
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How AVIF keeps transparency and still compresses hard
AVIF is built on the AV1 video codec, which is extremely good at compressing pixel data, and crucially it supports a full alpha channel. So it can store the transparent regions of your PNG and apply modern compression to the colour at the same time.
That combination is what PNG and JPG each only half-deliver. PNG keeps transparency but stays large. JPG gets small but drops transparency. AVIF keeps the transparency and gets small, which is why it is the natural upgrade for any transparent image headed to the web.
The size difference is stark. A photographic transparent PNG of several megabytes can drop to a few hundred kilobytes as AVIF with the alpha channel fully intact and no visible change. Even simpler graphics shrink meaningfully while keeping their crisp edges.
AVIF is also gentler than JPG on the hard edges that transparency tends to create, the boundary where a cutout meets nothing. JPG would smear and halo those edges. AVIF holds them cleanly, so the transparent outline of your subject stays sharp.
When PNG to AVIF is the right move
Transparent images bound for a modern website are the clearest case. Product cutouts, hero graphics, decorative overlays, and illustrations that need to sit over a coloured background all keep their transparency in AVIF while shedding most of their weight, so pages load faster without any visual compromise.
Photographic PNGs are the next. Any photo that ended up as PNG, whether it has transparency or not, is far larger than it needs to be. AVIF crushes it, and if there is an alpha channel it is preserved automatically, so you never have to choose between size and transparency.
Large screenshots with transparency or rounded corners fit too. AVIF compresses the photographic content hard while keeping any transparent regions intact, which JPG cannot do. The result is a small file that still drops cleanly onto any background.
The common thread is a transparent or heavy PNG headed somewhere modern. When the destination is a current website or app and you want both small size and a working alpha channel, AVIF is the format that gives you everything PNG promised without the file size that PNG charges.
When you should keep the PNG instead
If the image must be perfectly lossless, keep the PNG. AVIF defaults to lossy compression, and while it is gentle, a logo or technical graphic that has to be pixel-exact is safest as PNG. You can shrink it losslessly with a dedicated PNG compressor instead of converting formats.
If broad compatibility matters more than size, PNG is still safer. PNG opens in essentially everything, while AVIF is rejected by older software, many apps, and a lot of upload forms. For a file that has to work everywhere, the larger PNG is the dependable choice.
If the image is a tiny, simple graphic, the savings may not be worth it. A small icon of a few flat colours is already tiny as PNG, and AVIF's overhead can make conversion pointless. Reserve AVIF for images where the file size is actually a problem.
And if you need transparency but also need wide support today, WebP is the middle ground. It keeps the alpha channel, compresses well, and is supported far more broadly than AVIF, so it splits the difference between PNG's reach and AVIF's efficiency.
The compatibility trade, stated plainly
AVIF's one real weakness is its age. Current Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari decode it, along with recent phones, covering most web traffic. But older browsers, older operating systems, and much desktop and office software cannot read it at all.
For the open web, a fallback solves this. A picture element can offer AVIF first and a PNG or WebP second, so modern browsers take the small transparent AVIF and everything else gets a format it understands. Visitors never see a broken image.
Be cautious anywhere you do not control the reader. Upload forms, email clients, and print software may reject AVIF. If a transparent file is headed somewhere like that rather than onto a web page, PNG or WebP is the safer thing to send.
So the decision is about destination. AVIF is right for transparent images you publish on a modern site with a fallback. It is the wrong format to submit to a form or email to someone on dated software. Match the format to where the file will actually be opened.
Choosing a quality setting for transparent AVIF
AVIF holds quality far better than JPG, so you can compress harder than instinct suggests and still get a clean result, including around the transparent edges where artifacts would otherwise show.
For photographic PNGs, a quality of 75 to 80 looks excellent and shrinks the file dramatically. For graphics and logos with hard edges, lean a little higher, 85 or so, to keep type and lines crisp, since flat artwork is less forgiving than a photo.
If the graphic absolutely must stay sharp and exact, that is the signal to keep it as PNG rather than push AVIF quality to its limit. AVIF is a brilliant fit for transparent photos and rich graphics; it is not the tool for a logo that has to be mathematically lossless.
Start at 80, look closely at the edges of your transparent subject, and adjust from there. For most transparent images the default already looks identical to the PNG at a fraction of the size.
How the conversion works and batching a folder
When you drop a PNG, your browser decodes it into raw pixels, alpha channel included, and draws them onto an HTML canvas. Because AVIF supports transparency, the canvas is not flattened onto white the way a JPG conversion would be; the transparent pixels are carried straight into the encoder.
The encoder is the browser's native AVIF support on Chromium, or a WebAssembly build of libavif on Safari and Firefox. Either way the alpha channel is preserved, and the finished AVIF is a smaller, transparent copy of your PNG. Everything runs locally, so no file ever leaves your device.
For batches, drop a whole folder of transparent PNGs at once. Up to 100 files at 50 MB each are encoded in parallel across your CPU cores and bundled into a single ZIP, names preserved, transparency intact on every one.
Because nothing uploads, there is no per-file fee, no watermark, and no plan to buy. The only limit is your device's memory. If you also want a PNG or WebP fallback for a picture element, keep your originals and serve both, AVIF first for the browsers that can take it.
Frequently asked questions
Honest answers to what people ask before using this tool.
Further reading
Independent references if you want to go deeper on the formats and tradeoffs.