Member Avatar for AccurateAG

Hi all:

I have a slight problem, and I need s little advice.

I need to know which image format loads fastest
- jpg
- gif
- png

Basically, I have all my images as .PNGs. Half of them are 40 X 40 pixels. The other half vary in size.

Does it vary with the browser, the OS, or some other factor(s)?

Does it matter? Is the loading speed for all 3 similar?

Just looking for a little input.

Thanks.

John

Edited by AccurateAG because: n/a
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  • Latest Post Latest Post by idk3danica

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Good start by and useful points from and . The format conversation is important, but most real-world speed wins come from how images are prepared and delivered rather than swapping extensions alone. Practical, repeatable improvements come from three areas: serving images at the right pixel size, reducing the number of requests, and using delivery optimizations (caching/CDN/modern formats) where appropriate.

A short, practical workflow to apply now:

  • Audit current images with your browser Network panel or Lighthouse to find the heaviest files and the most-requested assets (Google image optimization).
  • Resize images to the actual display dimensions and strip metadata; batch-compress with tools like pngquant (PNG) and mozjpeg (JPEG) to reduce bytes without manual trial-and-error.
  • Serve modern formats (WebP/AVIF) to capable browsers with fallbacks, and use responsive markup (srcset/sizes) so each device gets an appropriately sized file (Responsive images guide).
  • Reduce requests for many small icons with SVGs, icon fonts, or sprites; lazy-load below-the-fold visuals to prioritize meaningful content (Lazy loading guidance).
  • Put static images behind a CDN and set long cache headers so repeat visits are fast.

For the 40x40 assets specifically: if they are icons or UI elements, SVG is usually the best choice (sharp at any scale, tiny file size for simple paths). For photographic thumbnails, convert to a modern lossy format and use responsive images for retina screens.

Measure after each change (Lighthouse, WebPageTest). Balance compression versus visible quality and keep original masters. These steps typically yield far bigger, measurable speed gains than format debates alone.

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Member Avatar for drjohn

Only the file size matters for loading speed, not the image type.

For simple graphics, not pictures, gif is usually the smallest file size. But gif is NOT suitable for pictures, it distorts them, making them blotchy looking.

For pictures, jpg is usually the smallest file size. But jpg is NOT suitable for simple graphics, especially those with large areas of single colours. It distorts them, making them blotching looking.

png can be used for both simple graphics and pictures, it doesn't distort either of them and has more advanced transparency than gif. But png files tend to be bigger than the corresponding gif of jpg.

So chose the files type that suits your needs.
For small thumbnails, especially those that are a mere 40x40, I'd say use jpg for pictures, unless its simple graphics then use gif. For artistic type transparency effects in an clever page design, png is your best choice, for simple graphics, use gif.

Member Avatar for idk3danica

Mainly It depends on the size of the image. All three files download very fast and I have tried it on my PC.

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