What does AVIF stand for and where did it come from?
AVIF stands for AV1 Image File Format. It was introduced in 2019 and is derived from the AV1 video codec, which was developed by the Alliance for Open Media — an industry group that includes Google, Netflix, Mozilla, and others. In short, AVIF takes a single frame of cutting-edge video compression and stores it as a still image. Because AV1 is royalty-free, AVIF is too, so anyone can use it without licensing fees.
Why is AVIF so small?
AVIF inherits the advanced compression techniques of the AV1 codec, which were designed to shrink high-resolution video down to a fraction of its size. Applied to a single image, that means AVIF can hold the same visual quality as JPG or WebP in a much smaller file — often the smallest of any common format at a given quality. Those savings translate directly into faster page loads and better Core Web Vitals.
What can AVIF do?
Quite a lot. AVIF supports both lossy and lossless compression, so you can trade detail for size or preserve every pixel. It has a full alpha channel for transparency, just like PNG, plus support for HDR and 10- or 12-bit wide-gamut colour for richer, more accurate images. It can even hold animation, making it a compact alternative to GIF. If you have an existing AVIF file, you can convert AVIF to PNG without losing a transparent background.
What are AVIF's downsides?
AVIF isn't free of trade-offs. Encoding is slow and CPU-heavy, because the format does the same demanding analysis as the AV1 video codec — generating an AVIF takes noticeably longer than a PNG or JPG. Browser support also arrived gradually: Chrome added it in version 85, Firefox in 93, and Safari in 16.4 in 2023. Some older browsers and desktop software still can't open AVIF at all, so it's wise to keep a more universal copy on hand.
When should you use AVIF?
Reach for AVIF when you want the smallest possible web images and your audience uses modern browsers — it's ideal for photos, hero images, and anything where load speed matters. Keep PNG for lossless editing masters and maximum compatibility. For a head-to-head look, see PNG vs AVIF, or compare the other modern option in what is WebP. If you're new to the basics, start with what is a PNG.
Frequently asked questions
- Is AVIF smaller than WebP?
- Usually, yes. At the same quality AVIF tends to produce smaller files than WebP, and noticeably smaller files than JPG and PNG, thanks to its modern AV1-based compression.
- Does AVIF support transparency?
- Yes. AVIF has a full alpha channel, so it preserves transparent backgrounds exactly like PNG while still compressing far more efficiently.
- Why is AVIF encoding so slow?
- AVIF squeezes files down using the same heavy analysis as the AV1 video codec. That extra work makes encoding CPU-intensive and slower than PNG or JPG, even though the resulting file is tiny.
- Can every browser open an AVIF file?
- Most modern browsers can — Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari all added AVIF support, with Safari arriving in version 16.4 in 2023. Older browsers and some desktop apps still can't open it, so keep a PNG fallback when wide compatibility matters.