PNG file format (.png)
Lossless with transparency. The safe default for graphics and screenshots.
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What is a PNG file?
In short: A PNG file (.png) is an image file in the PNG format. PNG stores every pixel exactly as it was, using a compression method that throws nothing away. It can be converted to JPG or WEBP for free in a web browser with iHateFiles, without uploading it.
Published in 1996 by an ad-hoc group formed after Unisys began enforcing its patent on the compression inside GIF.
PNG stores every pixel exactly as it was, using a compression method that throws nothing away. It carries a full alpha channel, so a pixel can be any degree of transparent rather than simply on or off, and it handles up to 16 bits per colour channel.
What PNG is good at
- Nothing is lost, no matter how many times you re-save it
- Real transparency with soft edges, not a single keyed-out colour
- Sharp text and hard edges stay sharp
- Opens everywhere without exception
Where PNG falls short
- Photographs come out several times larger than JPG or WEBP
- No support for animation on its own; that is APNG
- No native way to store a colour profile for print work
When to use PNG
Reach for PNG when the image has text, lines, screenshots or transparency, and when it matters that the file survives repeated editing unchanged.
How to open a PNG file
Every browser, every operating system, every image editor. There is no software that reads images and does not read PNG.
| Windows | Opens everywhere. |
|---|---|
| macOS | Opens everywhere. |
| Linux | Opens everywhere. |
| Phone | Opens everywhere. |
| In a browser | Every browser displays PNG. |
The thing that usually goes wrong
People save photographs as PNG and wonder why an email bounces. A photo that is 400 KB as a JPG is routinely 4 MB as a PNG, because lossless compression cannot do much with the noise in a real photograph.
Questions
What is a PNG file?
Lossless with transparency. The safe default for graphics and screenshots. Files use the .png extension.
How do I open a PNG file?
Most image software opens PNG directly. If yours does not, convert it here to something more common. It takes a few seconds and nothing is uploaded.
Can I convert PNG for free?
Yes. Every conversion here is free and unlimited, because your own device does the work rather than a server we have to pay for.
Is PNG lossless?
Yes. PNG stores every pixel exactly, at the cost of a larger file.