PNG is great for graphics and transparency but terrible for file size, especially on photos. AVIF fixes that: it supports transparency too, yet produces dramatically smaller files. Converting PNG to AVIF with avif.tools can shrink a heavy PNG by 70% or more while keeping the alpha channel intact — perfect for modern, fast-loading sites. Need a universal format instead? Try AVIF to PNG to reverse it.
AVIF keeps PNG transparency, loses the bloat
One reason designers stick with PNG is transparency — and AVIF supports it natively, so a transparent logo or cut-out converts cleanly with no white box behind it. The difference is size: a PNG stores image data losslessly and can't compress photographic regions well, while AVIF's modern compression slashes the file. For transparent graphics on the web, AVIF gives you the best of both worlds, with WebP as a wider-support fallback.
Lossy and lossless AVIF
AVIF can encode both lossy and near-lossless, letting you tune the balance between size and fidelity. For screenshots and flat-colour graphics where edges must stay razor-sharp, a higher-quality setting keeps them crisp while still beating PNG on size. For photographic PNGs, a moderate setting delivers huge savings with no visible loss. Either way you'll want a fallback for older browsers — convert a copy with this tool and keep the PNG as backup.