← Today's brief

Tools · Updated 16 Oct, 09:42 pm IST

Analysis: JPEG XL vs AVIF for web images

Image: Hacker News (100+ points)

Why it matters for readers: If you care about faster pages and smaller downloads, this shows when AVIF or JPEG XL is better.

  • For lossy photos on the web, AVIF almost always produces smaller files than JPEG XL, with JPEG XL typically 15–25% larger at default effort settings.1
  • At maximum effort settings the size gap narrows, with JPEG XL typically 6–20% larger than AVIF, and there are outliers where JPEG XL can match or beat AVIF.1
  • The JPEG XL encoder matters: the newer jixel encoder usually produces smaller files than libjxl, except for images with detailed transparency.1
  • For screenshots and illustrations, AVIF is much better than JPEG XL, with JPEG XL being 30–90% larger at default effort and 20–70% larger at maximum effort.1
  • For images with transparency, AVIF outperforms JPEG XL, with libjxl versions 31–44% larger at default effort and 61–70% larger at maximum effort.1

Get a brief like this every morning

Uzha reads hundreds of sources and gives you the stories that matter for your work, with every source linked. Free.

Get started