Convert AVIF to JPG

Why this conversion exists at all

AVIF is an excellent web format that a lot of software still cannot open. If you have inherited AVIF files from a designer, a CMS export, or a modern capture device, the practical problem is often simply getting to look at them. Converting to JPG solves that immediately, because JPG opens in essentially everything. On a website there is no reason to do it, since serving the AVIF with a JPG fallback is better than replacing it.

MDN: image file type and format guide

The quality cost of coming back from AVIF

AVIF is a lossy format, so the file you are converting is already a reconstruction. Re-encoding to JPG discards a little more, and the result is generally softer than the AVIF it came from, though at typical sizes the difference is hard to see. The practical rule is the same as elsewhere: one conversion is fine, keep the AVIF if you might need it again, and if quality really matters, go back to the original source file rather than converting an already converted file.

• One conversion is acceptable at normal viewing sizes.
• The JPG will be larger than the AVIF at matched quality. That is the format difference.
• Keep the AVIF as the master if you may need it again.
• For real quality work, return to the original source file.

Transparency and colour depth

Two AVIF capabilities exceed what JPG can hold, and both are lost. Smooth partial transparency is flattened to a solid colour, which matters for a logo on a dark page. And a 10-bit AVIF carries more colour precision than an 8-bit JPG, so a subtle gradient or a wide skin tone range can shift slightly when it is reduced. Neither is usually visible in a photograph, and both are reasons to keep the AVIF if the destination can be changed.

• Smooth alpha is flattened to a solid fill. Irreversible.
• A 10-bit source becomes 8-bit, which can shift a subtle gradient slightly.
• Photographs are usually unaffected at normal size.
• If the destination is flexible, keep the AVIF.

When PNG is the better intermediate

If the real problem is that the file will not open, JPG is one answer and PNG is often a better one, because PNG is lossless and will keep whatever quality the AVIF held. JPG re-compresses a lossy source; PNG simply repackages it. The cost is a much larger file. So the choice is: smallest file that still opens, which is JPG, or best quality that still opens, which is PNG. For viewing and sharing, JPG is fine. For an image you intend to edit again, use PNG.

• Smallest usable file: JPG, at the cost of a second lossy pass.
• Best quality that still opens: PNG, at the cost of size.
• Editing an AVIF further: use PNG, not JPG.
• Email and quick sharing: JPG is entirely adequate.