What is a PNG file?
PNG is a lossless image format from 1996, created as a patent-free replacement for GIF. It preserves every pixel exactly and supports a full alpha channel, which makes it the right choice for screenshots, logos, UI assets and any image that will be edited repeatedly.
At a glance
- Full name
- Portable Network Graphics
- Extensions
- .png
- Type
- Image
- Introduced
- 1996
- Created by
- PNG Development Group / W3C
- Compression
- Lossless
- MIME type
- image/png
Strengths
- Lossless, so quality never degrades across saves
- Full 8-bit alpha transparency
- Excellent for text, screenshots, logos and flat colour
Limitations
- Much larger than JPG or WebP for photographs
- No native animation support in practice (APNG is a separate extension)
When to use PNG
Screenshots, logos, icons, images with transparency, or any master file you will edit again.
Publishing large photographs to the web, where WebP or AVIF will be far smaller at the same quality.
Convert PNG files
Every tool below runs in your browser unless it is labelled otherwise, so the file stays on your device.
SVG to PNG
Rasterizes SVG vector files into crisp, high-DPI PNG images at whatever output resolution your website or app design needs.
ICO to PNG
Extracts every embedded resolution stored inside a .ico icon file and saves each one as its own separate, downloadable PNG image.
PNG conversions
Each page states what the target format cannot carry before you run it.
PNG compared
Related image formats
Last updated 2026-08-03