Freelance designers deal with this weekly: the working file is AVIF, the deliverable has to be PNG. Photoshop can do it, but opening a 2 GB app to change a file extension is overkill. A browser tab does the same job in seconds — here's how, and what to watch.
The two formats, side by side
| Format | Compression | Transparency | Animation | Support (2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AVIF | Lossy and lossless | Yes | Yes | over 93% of browsers in 2026, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge |
| PNG | Lossless | Yes | No | every browser since the early 2000s |
The table explains the conversion before any tutorial does: people move files toward the column that matches their destination — usually broader support or features the source format lacks.
Why AVIF files end up needing to be PNG
AVIF (AV1 Image File Format) is a lossy and lossless format made for next-generation web images, high-quality compression. Its weak spots — slower encoding, limited browser support in older versions — are exactly where PNG steps in.
PNG (Portable Network Graphics) handles logos, transparency, screenshots, web graphics, and in 2026 its support looks like this: every browser since the early 2000s. On size, the practical picture: a 1080p screenshot is typically 150-400 KB; a 12-megapixel photo can exceed 15 MB.
Typical triggers: an upload form that rejects AVIF, a teammate on different software, or a page-speed audit flagging your images.
How to do it (no software installed)
Open the PNG converter and drop your AVIF file onto the upload area. Multi-select works, so a whole folder of files goes in at once — useful when a shoot or an export produced dozens of them.
Start the conversion and watch the size readout: the page shows the output weight before you commit to downloading. That single number answers most of the questions people bring to guides like this one.
Single files download directly; batches come back as one ZIP, which keeps a 50-file job tidy instead of raining downloads on your browser.
If a file fails — it happens with corrupted exports — re-saving it once from any viewer and retrying usually clears it. Genuinely broken files fail everywhere, including in Photoshop.
Three checks before you start
Keep the original. Conversions into lossy formats are one-way; the AVIF you started from is your archive copy, so it never gets deleted or overwritten.
Check the destination's rules. If a platform or print shop asked for PNG, it often also has size or resolution limits — knowing them now saves a second round trip.
Group the batch. Converting fifty files in one upload beats fifty single conversions, and the ZIP you get back keeps the set together with its filenames intact.
What actually happens to quality
AVIF uses lossy and lossless compression; PNG uses lossless. The rule of thumb: converting into a lossless format never loses data; converting into a lossy one trades a little fidelity for a lot of kilobytes.
For scale: roughly half the size of a comparable JPEG, and about 20% under WebP. After conversion to PNG, expect the relationship to shift — a 1080p screenshot is typically 150-400 KB; a 12-megapixel photo can exceed 15 MB.
Photoshop's "Save for Web" gives the same result with more dials; if you don't already pay for Adobe, you don't need to start for this.
One settings rule covers 90% of cases: keep images destined for screens at standard quality, and only reach for maximum-quality output when the file is headed to print or further editing.
A worked example, with numbers
Take a typical case: roughly half the size of a comparable JPEG, and about 20% under WebP. Convert that to PNG and the format's profile takes over: a 1080p screenshot is typically 150-400 KB; a 12-megapixel photo can exceed 15 MB. The percentages vary with image content — flat-color graphics and detailed photos compress very differently — so trust the size readout on your own files over any blog's average.
Mistakes that cost quality
Don't upscale before converting — extra pixels invent nothing and inflate the file. Don't convert a screenshot with text into a heavily lossy format if crisp edges matter. And keep the AVIF originals archived; storage is cheaper than regret.
None of these ruin a file instantly — they compound across a library, which is why they go unnoticed until the damage is wholesale.
When something looks wrong
Colors shifted. Usually a color-profile story: the source carried a wide-gamut profile and the viewer assumes sRGB. Convert from an sRGB master when the destination is the web, and the shift disappears.
The file will not open. Nine times out of ten the viewer is the limitation, not the file. Try a second viewer before blaming the conversion, or convert to PNG — if that copy opens, the original was fine all along.
Transparent areas turned white. The target format has no alpha channel; flattening is the documented behaviour, not a bug. Re-convert to PNG or WebP if transparency must survive.
The file got bigger. Some content genuinely compresses worse in the new format — flat graphics in photo-oriented codecs, photos in graphics-oriented ones. The size readout before download is the early warning.
Quick Answers
Can I convert several AVIF files at once?
Yes — drop the whole selection into the PNG converter and you get the results back as one ZIP. Batch jobs of 30-50 files are routine; the per-file time stays in the seconds.
Is the converted file bigger or smaller than the AVIF?
It depends on content, but the baselines are: roughly half the size of a comparable JPEG, and about 20% under WebP, while for PNG: a 1080p screenshot is typically 150-400 KB; a 12-megapixel photo can exceed 15 MB. Flat graphics and photographs sit at opposite ends of every compression curve, so check the size shown before downloading.
Do I need Photoshop for this?
No. Photoshop, Canva and Adobe Express can all export PNG, but for a pure format change a browser converter does the identical job without the subscription or the wait.
Can I convert the PNG back to AVIF later?
Yes, the reverse converter exists — but a round trip through a lossy format does not restore discarded data. Treat the original AVIF as the master copy and convert from it each time, rather than chaining conversions.
Does converting change the image dimensions?
No. Width and height in pixels stay exactly the same; only the encoding changes. If you also need resizing, do it as a separate, deliberate step — and always downscale, never upscale.
Next step: open the PNG converter, feed it one real AVIF from your project, and judge the size readout with your own eyes. That number settles the debate faster than any guide.
Written by Giovanni Picaro, a web developer who has been building image tools and optimizing sites since 2019. Sources: MDN image format reference and Google web.dev. Last reviewed: 2026.