Research & Benchmarks

Image Compression Quality Benchmark

Comprehensive comparison of image formats and quality settings. Find the optimal balance between file size and visual quality.

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Key Insights

80%

Optimal JPEG Quality for Web

WebP

Best All-Around Format

100KB

Max Size for Fast Loading

JPEG Quality vs File Size

Based on a 2000x1500px photo (original: 850KB)

Quality	File Size	Reduction	Visual Quality	Best For
100%	850KB	-0%	Perfect	Unnecessary
90%	320KB	-62%	Excellent	Print/Archive
80%	180KB	-79%	Very Good	High-Quality Web
70%	120KB	-86%	Good	Standard Web
60%	85KB	-90%	Acceptable	Thumbnails
50%	65KB	-92%	Visible Artifacts	Not Recommended

Size Reduction Visual

100%

850KB

90%

320KB

80%

180KB

70%

120KB

60%

85KB

50%

65KB

Format Comparison

Format	Best For	Savings	Transparency	Animation
JPEG	Photos, complex images	70-85%	❌	❌
PNG	Graphics, screenshots, logos	20-40%	✅	❌
WebP	All web images	25-35% vs JPEG	✅	✅
AVIF	Next-gen web (limited support)	50% vs WebP	✅	✅

Recommended Settings by Use Case

Hero Images

Format:WebP (JPEG fallback)

Quality:80-85%

Max Size:200KB

Product Photos

Format:WebP or JPEG

Quality:85-90%

Max Size:150KB

Thumbnails

Format:WebP

Quality:70-75%

Max Size:30KB

Icons & Logos

Format:SVG or PNG

Quality:Lossless

Max Size:20KB

Blog Images

Format:WebP

Quality:75-80%

Max Size:100KB

Social Media

Format:JPEG

Quality:80%

Max Size:100KB

Methodology

Benchmarks were conducted using a variety of high-resolution photographs (2000x1500px) compressed using industry-standard lossy and lossless algorithms. File sizes shown are averages across multiple test images.

Visual quality assessments are based on standard metrics including SSIM (Structural Similarity Index) and manual inspection at 100% zoom. "Acceptable" quality is defined as images where compression artifacts are not noticeable at typical viewing distances.

Note: Actual results may vary based on image content. Images with large areas of solid color compress more efficiently than complex photographs. We recommend testing with your specific images for precise optimization.

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Cite this benchmark: TextGauge. (2026). Image Compression Quality Benchmark. Retrieved from https://countcharacters.org/benchmarks/image-compression