JPG vs JPEG: What is the Difference Between both formats

When it comes to storing, sharing, or uploading image files, you may have come across different image formats. Among various image types, JPG and JPEG are the most commonly found and used formats. No matter what kind of task you are executing with images, it must have piqued your interest whether JPG and JPEG are the same or if there is any difference between these formats.

Even if you haven’t thought about it, you still should be aware of such things in order to choose a suitable format for uploading, storing, or sharing your images. Specifically, an image in the right format can help you save space on your device or allow you to improve your website loading speed.

In this blog, you can get to know the real difference between JPG and JPEG the two most widely used image formats.

So, let’s delve into it without any further ado!

 Difference Between JPG and JPEG

Let’s distinctively define both these formats to help you clear your thoughts and find the right format to use for your images! 

JPG

JPG is just a 3-word variant of JPEG file extension, and its existence came into place due to the restriction of older Windows systems that require a 3-character extension to read and store files. However, this case is no longer valid, and the newer Windows and Mac systems accept the longer character extension, i.e., JPEG. JPG is still an option to save images on your device, as most devices provide you with an option to get your pictures in this format. 

JPEG

JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, and it is the most widely used image file extension all across the globe due to its compatibility with the most advanced digital cameras, photo editing, and sharing tools. Whenever you save an image on your device, you’ll get an option to save it in the ‘.jpeg’ extension. As such, there isn’t much of a difference between JPEG and JPG file extensions, except for the fact that the latter specifically came into existence for the systems that require the extensions based on three characters only. 

JPEG uses a lossy compression technique, which implies that some information from the original image is discarded in order to compress the image size. Images can be stored and transmitted more easily thanks to this compression technique's potential for reduced file sizes. However, due to the lossy compression, there may be a minor loss of detail and visual degradation, especially at high compression levels.

Which is better – JPG or JPEG?

Images in JPG and JPEG files are pixel-based. So, changing the size can result in a decline in the effectiveness and attractiveness. Yet, the compression ratio has a significant impact on how perceptible this change is. So the difference between JPG and JPEG is only about the number of characters in their respective file extensions. Therefore, you cannot term JPG or JPEG better than one another. If you still want to know the better option, then you should go for JPEG. It is because JPG was a mandatory format to view images on the older version computers. On the other hand, JPEG files can be viewed from any device without any hassle. 

Does JPEG Affect the Image Quality?

JPEG is a widely used format due to its compression and smaller size. However, some large files still need to be compressed in order to get them in the required size. For this reason, you can rely on an online image compressor, which makes sure to retain the image quality. Your JPEG will remain the same, and its quality won’t be affected in any way. 

What is the Best Size to Save a JPEG?

The best size to save a JPEG is 2400x1600Px. When it comes to posting pictures on a website, it becomes quite essential for webmasters to reduce image size. It is because the higher resolution images can affect the loading speed of a site. If you don’t want to suffer such a setback, you can compress JPEG to 100KB without compromising on the image quality.