Convert WebP to PNG
Convert WebP images to lossless PNG format with transparency support.
How to convert WebP to PNG — 3 steps
- 1
Add your WebP files
Drop in one image or a batch. Decoding and re-encoding happen in your browser, so nothing is uploaded.
- 2
Convert
Each file is decoded and written out as a PNG. Transparency comes across intact, which is the main reason PNG is the right target rather than JPG.
- 3
Download the PNGs
Save the results. They open in essentially any application, including the older software and print tools that will not touch a WebP.
Why you would convert away from the more efficient format
WebP is smaller and technically better, so converting to PNG can look like a step backwards. It is not, because the two formats are solving different problems. WebP is optimised for delivery over the web, where every kilobyte is a cost paid by every visitor. PNG is optimised for compatibility and for being worked on, and outside the browser that is frequently what matters more.
The situations recur predictably. Desktop image editors, older versions of design software, office suites, print workflows, and corporate document systems variously refuse to open WebP or fail to preview it. Upload forms — job portals, government services, insurance claims, print-on-demand services — often accept only JPG and PNG. Someone sends you a WebP saved from a website and you need to place it in a document that has never heard of the format. In all of these the smaller file is worthless if nothing will open it.
PNG rather than JPG is the right destination whenever the image has transparency, because JPG has no alpha channel and would replace it with solid white. It is also the better choice for screenshots, logos, and anything containing text, since PNG is lossless and will not add compression artefacts around hard edges.
Expect the file to get bigger — and know what that does not mean
The size increase after conversion is often dramatic, and it is normal rather than a fault. A 200KB WebP can become a 1.5MB PNG. The reason is that PNG is lossless: it stores every pixel exactly, with no discarding of detail whatsoever. WebP achieved its small size partly through much more sophisticated compression and, in lossy mode, by throwing information away. Converting to PNG stores the result of that faithfully, including all the pixels that could have been compressed further.
The important corollary is that the larger PNG is not a higher-quality image. If the WebP was lossy, the detail it discarded is gone permanently, and wrapping the outcome in a lossless container preserves the degradation perfectly rather than reversing it. You end up with a bigger file containing exactly the same visual information. There is no route back to the original quality except the original file.
This shapes how to use the conversion sensibly. Convert for compatibility — to open, edit, print, or submit the image — and treat the PNG as a working copy rather than an upgrade. If the picture is eventually going back onto a website, convert the finished version back to WebP for delivery, and keep whichever file is closest to the original as your master.
Your files never leave your device
Conversion runs in your browser, so client artwork, screenshots containing internal information, and personal photographs are re-encoded on your own machine.
Most online PDF sites upload your document to their servers, process it there, and keep a copy for minutes, hours, or longer. PilotPDF works differently: the page downloads a small processing engine into your browser, and your file is opened and edited in your device's memory using WebAssembly. Nothing is transmitted, so there is nothing for a server to store, leak, or scan. You can even disconnect from the internet after the page loads and the tool keeps working.
Read more about how this works in our privacy-by-design explainer.