TIFF to WebP Converter

Why TIFF files are so large

TIFF is designed for archival and print work, so it stores almost no compression by default. A 24 megapixel scan saved as an uncompressed TIFF can be 70 MB or more, and even LZW or deflate compression leaves it far larger than any web format. That is not a flaw; it is exactly why photographers and print shops use it. The size becomes a problem only at the moment you try to put that file on a website, and that is where conversion is the right answer.

NoteSizes are indicative for a detailed photograph. A flat scan can be far smaller and a complex one considerably larger.

Converting is a one way door for quality

This is the most important thing to understand about turning a TIFF into a web file. A TIFF is a master, and a lossy web file is a derivative. Converting is fine and is exactly what you should do, but keep the TIFF. If you later need a print, a crop, or a different output, convert again from the master rather than from the small web file. Working from the small file is how images degrade over successive edits, and a TIFF is exactly the kind of source you should be preserving.

• Keep the original TIFF. It is a master, not a file to be consumed.
• Convert from the TIFF every time you need a web version, never from the previous web file.
• Use a high or lossless WebP setting when quality matters, and accept a larger file.
• Use a balanced setting for ordinary web delivery, where a few hundred KB is fine.
• For archival, do not convert at all. TIFF is already the archival format.

Choosing between WebP and AVIF here

Both are dramatic improvements on a TIFF for the web, and the decision comes down to support rather than quality. WebP is supported more broadly, including on older browsers and in some design and publishing tools that will not accept AVIF. AVIF compresses better, so it gives a smaller file at the same appearance. If you can serve a fallback, use AVIF with a WebP alternative. If you can only upload one, WebP is the safer choice.

• WebP for the widest compatibility, including older browsers and many content systems.
• AVIF for the smallest file, where the audience uses current browsers.
• Serve both with a picture element if you control the page.
• Check that your content management system actually accepts the format before converting a whole set.

MDN: image file type and format guide

What is usually inside a TIFF that matters here

A TIFF is not just pixels. It commonly carries a colour profile, resolution metadata in DPI, layers, and sometimes embedded preview images. None of that transfers to a web format, which is a genuine loss: a print shop that receives only a flattened web file cannot know the intended output size. That is another reason the TIFF itself needs to be kept and sent separately when print is involved, rather than substituted with a converted copy.

• Colour profiles do not carry across, so a CMYK TIFF converted to WebP becomes a plain RGB image.
• DPI metadata is lost, so the web file no longer implies a print size.
• Layers and channels are flattened. Keep the TIFF if those matter.
• For any print job, send the original TIFF rather than a converted web file.
• For a web job, the converted file is complete and the loss does not matter.