AVIF — the image format after WebP

What is AVIF?

AVIF (AV1 Image File Format) is a modern image format built on the open AV1 video codec — developed by the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia), a consortium that includes Google, Mozilla, Microsoft, Amazon, Netflix and others. It is the successor to WebP and the direct competitor to HEIC.

AVIF uses the same HEIF container as Apple's HEIC, but instead of the patent-encumbered HEVC codec it relies on the royalty-free AV1 codec. The result: another 20–30% smaller files than WebP at identical visual quality.

AVIF vs WebP vs JPG — the comparison

Strengths of AVIF

• Best compression — 20–50% smaller than WebP at typical web image quality levels
• HDR and wide color gamut — supports 10-bit and broader color spaces
• No licensing fees — AV1 is royalty-free, no patent risk
• Solid browser support — all modern browsers from roughly 2021/2022 onwards
• Transparency and animation — everything WebP can do, only more efficient

Weaknesses of AVIF

• Slow encoding — encoding AVIF takes much longer than WebP or JPG. That makes server-side image pipelines more expensive.
• No Safari support on older versions — only from Safari 16 (2022). Users on iOS 15 and earlier will not see AVIF.
• Limited tooling — many image editors still cannot open or export AVIF
• No browser encoding API — the HTML5 Canvas API cannot output AVIF, only WebP and JPG/PNG

When to use AVIF in 2025

AVIF makes sense if:

• You use Next.js — next/image serves AVIF automatically to capable browsers
• You use a CDN with automatic image optimization (Cloudinary, Imgix, Vercel Image Optimization)
• You need maximum performance and encoding time is not a bottleneck
• You ship HDR images or wide-color-gamut content

When WebP remains the better choice:

• When fast client-side encoding matters (as with JNRT Pixel)
• When you must support older Safari versions (iOS 15 and earlier)
• When you generate and download assets directly in the browser
• When server-side encoding performance is constrained

AVIF with the picture element

With the <picture> element you can combine AVIF with WebP and JPG fallbacks — browsers pick the best format they support:

• AVIF: the most modern browsers (Chrome 85+, Firefox 93+, Safari 16+)
• WebP: older modern browsers
• JPG: universal fallback for everything else

That way every user automatically benefits from the best available format.

Conclusion: is AVIF production-ready?

Yes — with caveats. For web projects that use Next.js or a CDN with automatic format optimization, AVIF is already a clear win today. For manual workflows or client-side image processing, WebP remains the more practical choice. The future belongs to AVIF — but in 2025 WebP is still the solid default for new web projects.