How to use it
- Choose a quality, or tick Lossless for an exact copy.
- Drop in your images.
- Download the .jxl files and compare the sizes.
What JPEG XL is good at
JPEG XL was designed to cover everything from web delivery to archival masters. At high quality it keeps fine texture better than AVIF or WebP, and its lossless mode is typically well ahead of PNG. It supports transparency, wide colour, HDR, very large images and progressive loading.
Where you can use it
Support is still uneven. Safari has read JPEG XL since version 17, and other browsers have been adding it, but many apps, upload forms and older operating systems cannot open it. For now it is best suited to archives, personal libraries and workflows where you control the software, rather than as the only copy you send someone.
Lossless versus quality
Lossless reproduces the source pixels exactly and is a strong alternative to PNG for storage. Quality mode is lossy, like JPG; 80 is a good starting point for photos. Note that converting from a JPG re-encodes its pixels: the lossless option copies those pixels exactly, but cannot remove the original JPG's artefacts.
JPG and JPEG XL compared
| JPG | JPEG XL | |
|---|---|---|
| First released | 1992 | 2022 |
| Compression | Lossy | Lossy or lossless |
| Transparency | No | Yes |
| Animation or pages | No | Animation |
| Best for | Photos for sharing, email and print | High-quality photos and archiving |
| Support | Universal | Safari 17+; arriving in other browsers; patchy in apps |
Questions people ask
Is JPEG XL better than AVIF?
Each has strengths. JPEG XL tends to preserve detail better at high quality and has a strong lossless mode; AVIF is often smaller at low quality and has wider browser support.
Can every browser show JXL files?
Not yet. Check that your audience or software supports it before relying on it.
Does lossless JXL beat PNG?
Usually, often by 20 percent or more.