How to Use the Free Image Converter (JPG, PNG, WEBP, AVIF and More)

Changing an image from one format to another sounds simple, until the details show up. A transparent PNG needs a background when it becomes a JPG. An animated GIF can lose its movement. A small icon can come out stretched or blown up. This guide walks through the free Image Converter on InstantToolsPro and shows what each setting really does. Every result below comes from a test on dummy files, and we opened the downloaded files to check them.

What the Image Converter does

The tool reads nine formats (JPG, PNG, WEBP, AVIF, GIF, BMP, TIFF, ICO and HEIC) and converts to eight of them. HEIC can be uploaded, but it is not offered as an output format. You can add up to 20 files at once, each up to 20 MB, and you do not need to sign up.

1: the supported input formats and the limits (up to 20 MB, max 20 files). 2: the button that opens your file picker. 3: the summary line and the nine format labels.

• Input: JPG, PNG, WEBP, GIF, BMP, TIFF, AVIF, ICO and HEIC.
• Output: JPG, PNG, WEBP, AVIF, GIF, BMP, TIFF and ICO.
• Limits: 20 MB per file and 20 files per batch.

How to convert an image, step by step

1. Open the Image Converter and click Choose Images, or drop your files on the box.
2. Under Convert To, pick the output format. The page labels them JPG (Universal), PNG (Lossless), WEBP (Modern), AVIF (Next-gen), GIF (Animation), BMP (Lossless), TIFF (Print) and ICO (Favicon).
3. Adjust the Quality slider if it appears, and turn on Resize before converting only if you need a new size.
4. Click Convert Images.
5. Download each file, or use Download All (ZIP) when you converted more than one.

PNG to JPG: what happens to transparency

A JPG cannot store transparency, so the tool fills the clear area with white. We tested this with a dummy PNG: a coral circle on a fully transparent background. After converting it to JPG we opened the file and checked the corner pixels. They were pure white (255, 255, 255) and the circle was unchanged. The page also warns you before you convert: “Converting PNG to JPG will add a white background to transparent areas.”

We repeated the test with Resize switched on (width 150) and got the same white background at 150×100. A transparent WEBP converted to JPG also came out white. When we converted the same transparent PNG to WEBP instead, the corner pixel stayed fully transparent.

1: the transparent PNG, drawn over a checkerboard so the clear area is visible. 2: the JPG the tool produced, with a white background.

The Quality slider

For JPG, WEBP and AVIF the page shows a Quality slider. It starts at 85, and the hint under it says that a higher value means better quality and a larger file. The hint also names the format it applies to: “Applies to JPG”, “Applies to WEBP” or “Applies to AVIF”. When we chose PNG or ICO, the slider was not shown at all.

1: the slider and its current value, 85. 2: the hint that says which format the slider affects. 3: the resize switch, which sits right below.

Resize before converting

Turn on Resize before converting and two boxes appear: Width (px) and Height (px). The page tells you to leave one field empty to keep the aspect ratio. We tested both ways with a 300×200 dummy image.

1: the switch that turns resizing on. 2: the width box. 3: the height box. 4: the page’s own tip about the aspect ratio.

• Only width (150): the output was 150×100. The proportions stayed the same.
• Width and height (100 and 100): the output was 100×100. The picture is squeezed to fit, so our round circle became an oval. We measured the circle at 151×151 pixels before and 50×75 after.

1: the 300×200 image before converting. 2: the 100×100 PNG after converting. The picture is squeezed into a square, so the circle is now an oval.

To avoid this, fill in only one of the two boxes.

Animated GIFs: what you keep and what you lose

We converted a three-frame dummy GIF (coral, navy and green frames, numbered 1 to 3, 400 ms each):

• WEBP and GIF: the animation stays. The downloaded files still had three frames, each lasting 400 ms.
• JPG and PNG: you get one picture, the first frame (the coral one). The page shows a yellow note: “Animation is kept for GIF and WEBP output. Other formats use the first frame only.”

1: converting to WEBP shows no warning. 2: converting to JPG shows the note about the first frame. 3: the three frames inside the WEBP file we downloaded.

One detail about the cards: the green percentage in each corner compares a three-frame GIF with the new file, so for the JPG it is not a real compression figure.

ICO: a square icon from any image

Choose ICO and the page explains what it will do: “ICO output is placed on a square transparent canvas, up to 256×256 px. Small images are not enlarged.” We tested two dummy files.

• 400×200 PNG: the output was a 256×256 icon. The picture was scaled down to fit and placed in the middle, with transparent space above and below. The corner pixels we checked were fully transparent.
• 64×64 PNG: the output stayed 64×64. It was not enlarged.

1: the ICO button. 2: the note under the format buttons. 3: the 400×200 image became a 256×256 icon with transparent bars above and below. 4: the 64×64 image stays 64×64.

Photos that look sideways

Many phone cameras save a photo with its pixels turned and add a small tag that tells apps to rotate it upright. We made a dummy JPG stored as 300×400 with a 90-degree rotation tag, so it shows upright as 400×300 in a photo viewer. After converting it to WEBP, the file was 400×300 and the word TOP was at the top. Converting the same JPG to JPG gave the same upright result. The rotation tag itself is not kept in the new file, because the picture has already been turned.

We tested one case (a 90-degree rotation tag) on a dummy file, not photos from many different phones.

1: the pixels exactly as stored in the dummy JPG (300×400) plus its rotation tag. 2: how a photo viewer shows the original. 3: the converted WEBP, the same upright 400×300 picture.

WEBP or AVIF: one real size test

We converted one 1.88 MB illustration, full of gradients, with the default quality of 85. The converted files are 941×1672 pixels.

• WEBP: 143.7 KB
• AVIF: 165.2 KB

For this image, AVIF came out about 21 KB larger than WEBP. Both files were more than 90% smaller than the original (the page showed −92.5% and −91.4%). This is a single image, so do not treat it as a rule. If file size matters, convert your own image to both formats and compare the numbers on the result cards.

1: the WEBP result, 143.7 KB. 2: the AVIF result, 165.2 KB. 3: the size of the original file, 1.88 MB.

Converting many files and downloading a ZIP

You can add up to 20 files in one go. We converted three dummy files to PNG together. Each file gets its own card with a Download button, and a Download All (ZIP) button appears below the cards. We also downloaded a ZIP from a separate two-file batch. It opened normally and contained both converted files.

1: one card per converted file. 2: the Download All (ZIP) button. 3: the note about automatic deletion.

What happens to your files

The conversion runs on our server, not in your browser. Converted files are deleted automatically, usually within about an hour, because a clean-up task runs every ten minutes and removes files older than 60 minutes. Each download link contains a random code, but anyone who has the exact link can open the file until it is deleted, so do not share it.

After you convert

• If the new file is still too big, try Compress Image.
• If you need an exact pixel size, use the Image Resizer.
• If you need to cut away part of the picture first, use the Image Cropper.
• For photo sizes used in India, read our guide on passport-size photo dimensions.