18 Best JPG to AVIF Converters in 2026 (Free and Paid)

JPG to AVIF is the conversion you reach for when file size really matters — a site asset folder, a CDN bill, a slow-loading hero image. AVIF is roughly 50% smaller than JPEG at the same perceived quality and 30% smaller than WebP. The catch is that AVIF encoding is slow. A JPG → AVIF batch that takes 30 seconds with WebP takes 5–10 minutes with AVIF at the same quality settings. The encoder settings matter a lot. This guide compares 18 JPG to AVIF converters in 2026 with attention to the speed-vs-quality knobs.

How to Convert is listed first because it is made by the same indie developer who writes this blog. AVIF is also a place where the encoder settings vary wildly between tools — some default to a fast/low setting that produces files almost as big as the JPG, others default to a quality setting most browsers handle fine but file sizes get fat. The next section explains how to think about it.

The AVIF Speed-vs-Quality Knob

AVIF encoders expose two main controls: quality (0–100) and speed / effort (0–10, where lower is slower and better). The defaults vary:

• libavif/cavif: quality 60, speed 6. Reasonable.
• ImageMagick: quality 75, no explicit speed control. Mid-range.
• sharp / Squoosh: quality 50, effort 4. Fast but the output is sometimes visibly worse than the source.
• cwebp-style equivalent: for a sane default, use quality 60 and the slowest effort you can tolerate.

Rule of thumb: AVIF quality 60 is roughly equivalent to JPG quality 85. Both look visually identical to the source on a normal display. The AVIF will be about half the size — but only if you accept the slow encode time. For a one-off conversion, the slowest setting is worth it. For batch jobs over thousands of files, speed 5 or 6 is the right tradeoff.

Quick Picks for JPG → AVIF

• Best quality preview: Squoosh — side-by-side AVIF vs JPG with quality slider.
• Best CLI: cavif or avifenc.
• Best batch: sharp in Node, or avifenc in a shell loop.
• Best for a one-off: How to Convert with a sensible quality 60 default.
• Site build pipeline: sharp or Next.js's built-in image optimization.

One-shot: JPG to AVIF converter.

1. How to Convert

Drop JPGs in, pick AVIF, set quality (default 60, sensible), pick an encode speed, hit convert. Bundled AV1 encoder; no extension needed. Local.

Pricing

• One-time license; free trial.

2. avifenc — reference CLI encoder

From libavif. The most controllable JPG → AVIF tool:

avifenc -q 60 -s 4 input.jpg output.avif

-q 60 is quality; -s 4 is speed (0=slowest/best, 10=fastest). For batches:

for f in *.jpg; do avifenc -q 60 -s 4 "$f" "${f%.jpg}.avif"; done

Install via Homebrew (brew install libavif).

Pricing

• Free, open source.

3. cavif (Rust-based)

Rust port of an AVIF encoder. Smaller binary than avifenc, often faster:

cavif --quality 60 --speed 4 input.jpg

Same defaults philosophy. Useful in pipelines where install size matters.

Pricing

• Free, open source.

4. Squoosh

Browser converter with AVIF encoder in WebAssembly. Live preview. Best way to find the right quality for a specific image before batch-converting more.

Pricing

• Free.

5. sharp (Node.js)

Build pipelines:

import sharp from "sharp";
await sharp("input.jpg").avif({ quality: 60, effort: 4 }).toFile("output.avif");

The standard pick for Node-based AVIF generation.

Pricing

• Free, open source.

6. ImageMagick

With libavif support:

magick input.jpg -quality 60 output.avif

Less control than avifenc; good for one-pass workflows that include resize and color management.

Pricing

• Free, open source.

7. Next.js Image Optimization

The Next.js Image component can serve AVIF automatically. Enable it via next.config.js:

module.exports = {
  images: { formats: ["image/avif", "image/webp"] }
};

Runtime AVIF generation is slow; for high-traffic sites, pre-generate AVIFs with sharp in a build step.

Pricing

• Free, part of Next.js.

8. XnConvert

AVIF output in recent versions. Quality slider, batch processing.

Pricing

• Free for personal use.

9. GIMP

File → Export As → .avif. Quality and speed sliders in the export dialog.

Pricing

• Free, open source.

10. Adobe Photoshop

Reads and writes AVIF since 2023. Export Layers to Files, or File → Save As → AVIF.

Pricing

• Subscription.

11. Affinity Photo

AVIF export via Export Persona.

Pricing

• One-time purchase.

12. Pixelmator Pro

AVIF export with live file-size preview.

Pricing

• One-time purchase, Mac App Store.

13. Photopea

Browser editor with AVIF export. Client-side.

Pricing

• Free with ads; paid premium.

14. FFmpeg

Works because AVIF is an AV1-coded image:

ffmpeg -i input.jpg -c:v libaom-av1 -still-picture 1 -crf 30 output.avif

Useful inside an FFmpeg pipeline. Overkill for single images.

Pricing

• Free, open source.

15. CloudConvert

Web converter with AVIF output options.

Pricing

• Free tier; paid above.

16. Convertio

Web JPG → AVIF batch tool.

Pricing

• Free with caps; paid above.

17. FreeConvert

Web JPG → AVIF with quality slider.

Pricing

• Free with caps; paid above.

18. IrfanView

With plugins, IrfanView reads and writes AVIF on Windows.

Pricing

• Free for personal use.

How to Choose

• One file, want a preview: Squoosh.
• Folder, slow but smallest output: avifenc with -s 0 or -s 2.
• Folder, fast batch: sharp or avifenc with -s 6.
• Next.js / static site: sharp in a build step, or runtime AVIF on small sites.
• One-shot, no install: Squoosh or How to Convert.

Final Thoughts

JPG → AVIF is the “maximum file-size win” conversion at the cost of encode time. For a website serving lots of photos, the size savings translate directly to faster pages and lower bandwidth. Quality 60 with speed 4 is the sane default for batches. For individual hero images you actually care about, use speed 0 and benchmark — sometimes the slowest setting produces files 20% smaller than speed 6 for the same quality. Browser support is now universal among modern browsers; the rest of the ecosystem is catching up.