Does WebP keep the transparent background?
It does. WebP stores an alpha channel in both its lossy and lossless modes, which is the same thing that makes a PNG transparent. Google's WebP documentation says lossless WebP files are about 26% smaller than PNGs, and that lossy WebP with transparency is typically around three times smaller than the PNG it replaces. Those are Google's figures, not a measurement on your image; the converter shows you the real numbers for your file.
A converter only loses transparency if it paints a background colour behind the image before saving. The one on this page does not: it draws your PNG onto an empty canvas and exports that canvas as WebP, so transparent pixels stay transparent.
Convert PNG to WebP in your browser
- Choose your PNG in the converter at the top of this page. The file is read inside the tab; nothing is uploaded and you do not need an account.
- Leave the target format on WebP.
- Press convert. The original size and the WebP size appear next to each other.
- Check the preview on a dark background, then download the WebP before you close the tab. The converted file is not stored anywhere.
If you would rather work on a full page, the same tool lives at the free PNG to WebP converter. It accepts images up to 12,000 px on a side and 48 megapixels in total, which covers phone photos and large exports.
What a fixed 90% quality means
The converter writes lossy WebP at 90% quality. For photos, product shots, logos with soft edges and most web graphics, that is hard to tell apart from the PNG at normal viewing size, and the file is much smaller. The transparent area is kept; the colours inside the image are what get compressed.
Where you can see it is in hard, one-pixel detail: pixel art, small text in screenshots, thin line drawings and QR codes. Zoom in on the preview. If edges look soft, keep the PNG for that image, or shrink it with the image compressor instead.
When to keep the PNG
- Source files you will edit again. Re-saving a lossy file adds a little loss each time. Keep the PNG as the master and export WebP for the web.
- Apps and marketplaces that refuse WebP. Some older apps, upload forms and print services still ask for PNG or JPG. The same converter can turn a WebP back into PNG or JPG.
- Favicons. Browsers and phones expect ICO and PNG sizes; use the favicon generator for that set.
My PNG has a white background, not a transparent one
Converting cannot invent transparency that was never there. If the PNG has a solid white or coloured background, remove it first with the transparent PNG maker, then convert the result to WebP. A clean cut-out on a transparent background is also the best input for turning one image into 3D; see why you should crop before you generate.
FAQ
Will the WebP still be transparent in every browser?
Current Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari all display WebP with transparency. Writing WebP is a different matter: a few browsers, notably older Safari versions, cannot encode WebP from a canvas and hand back a PNG instead. If the output is not smaller than the original, try the converter in Chrome, Edge or Firefox.
Is the converted file uploaded to a server?
No. The PNG is decoded and re-encoded inside your browser tab, and the download comes straight from the tab.
Can I convert many PNGs at once?
The converter handles one image at a time. For a whole folder, a build step or a command-line encoder such as Google's cwebp is the better fit.
Why is my WebP bigger than the PNG?
That happens with tiny, flat-colour graphics that PNG already compresses very well. Keep the PNG in that case; the size comparison in the converter tells you straight away.
Next step
Convert one PNG in the tool above and compare the sizes. If the image is going on a product page, a smaller transparent WebP loads faster on phones without changing how it looks.