GoKawiilBenchmark finds AVIF beats JPEG XL on file size across most web image types
A new comparison testing JPEG XL now that it has landed in all major browsers found that AVIF produces smaller files than JPEG XL for lossy photos, screenshots, illustrations and transparent images in the vast majority of cases. The gap ranges from about 6-25% for photos at maximum effort to 30-90% for screenshots and illustrations, with AVIF also decoding faster. The analysis compared two JPEG XL encoders, libjxl and jixel, noting jixel usually makes smaller files except when images have detailed transparency.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The findings suggest that despite JPEG XL's recent arrival across major browsers, developers choosing a web image format for most everyday use cases may still get better compression and decode speed from AVIF. The benchmark indicates JPEG XL's advantages are limited to specific outlier images, meaning broad adoption claims for JPEG XL should be weighed against practical performance data rather than format support alone.
- AVIF typically produces 6-25% smaller files than JPEG XL for lossy photos, and far smaller files for screenshots, illustrations and transparent images.
- The choice of JPEG XL encoder matters significantly, with jixel usually beating libjxl except on images with detailed transparency.
- AVIF is generally faster to encode and decode and uses less memory relative to file size, though JPEG XL narrows the decode gap at very high quality.
Source: jakearchibald.com, 2026-10-16
Published there as: “JPEG XL vs. AVIF for web use-cases”
Read the original report → The summary and analysis above are GoKawiil's own, written from reporting by the source above. Facts and quotes belong to the original publisher.