Image Reformat

Summary#

Image Reformat converts a picture between JPEG, PNG and WebP and compresses it at its original dimensions, with the resulting file size updating live as you move the quality slider. It runs entirely in your browser, so the image is never uploaded.

Purpose#

Format is usually the single largest saving available on an image, and it is the one most often left on the table. The same photograph as WebP is routinely half the size of the JPEG, and a screenshot saved as PNG is often several times larger than it needs to be. This tool makes that trade visible — you move one slider and watch the file size and the picture change together — and it does it locally, so you are not handing your files to a converter site.

Overview#

Drop an image onto the page or pick one from your machine. It loads into a preview with two panels: the picture on the left with its original and new file size, and the format controls on the right.

Pick an output format, move the quality slider, and the preview re-encodes continuously so both the appearance and the file size reflect your current settings. Press Convert and the file downloads. The dimensions never change — this tool re-encodes at the source size. To change dimensions, use Image Resize.

The screen carries the eyebrow Image Reformat, the heading Reformat Images, and the note: "Everything runs in your browser, so your images are never uploaded."

Benefits#

• Completely private: the file stays in your browser, and no server sees it.
• Free, with no credit cost and no quota impact.
• Live preview of both the picture and the file size at every quality setting, so you can find the point where the saving stops being worth it.
• WebP output, which is usually the largest single saving on a photograph.
• Metadata control: keep EXIF and IPTC, or strip it before publishing.

Use Cases#

• Moving a site to WebP. Converting the heaviest JPEGs on your key pages is often the fastest measurable page-weight win.
• Shrinking oversized PNG screenshots. A screenshot exported as PNG usually becomes far smaller as WebP with no visible difference.
• Fixing a PageSpeed opportunity. PageSpeed & Vitals flags next-generation image formats; this is how you act on it.
• Preparing a compatibility fallback. Converting a WebP back to JPEG for a system that cannot accept WebP.
• Stripping metadata before publishing. Removing embedded camera and location data from a photograph.

Requirements#

• A signed-in Metric Vault account, because the dashboard itself requires sign-in.
• Any plan, including Free.
• No credits.
• An image file in PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF or BMP, up to 30 MB.
• A modern browser. All the work happens locally, so there is no server fallback.

Permissions#

There is no plan gate and no role gate on this tool. Everyone who can open the dashboard can use it, on every plan including Free. Signed out, you see the dashboard's own gate — Sign in to continue — rather than the tool.

Cost#

Free. 0 credits. Image Reformat makes no provider call and no AI call, and it never touches a quota gate, so it cannot consume your monthly allowance or count toward the hourly fair-use limit. Runs are recorded in your Library with a cost of zero. See How credits work.

Because there is no server work, there is nothing to cache. See Result caching and freshness.

Navigation Path#

Dashboard → Image Tools → Image Reformat

Inputs#

There are no size, crop or fit controls. The output always has the source's dimensions.

Step-by-Step Guide#

1. Open Dashboard → Image Tools → Image Reformat.
2. Drag an image onto the drop zone, or click Choose an image.
3. Choose the output format under Convert to.
4. Move the Quality slider and watch both the preview and the New size figure. Start at the default 85 and move down until you can see the difference, then move back up a step.
5. Decide whether to keep the original filename with Overwrite files, and whether to strip metadata.
6. Click Convert. The file downloads and the panel shows Saved <filename>.
7. Click Convert another to start again, or Cancel to discard.

Reading the Results#

There is no report here — the result is the preview and the two numbers under it, and both update continuously as you change format or quality.

The Preview panel shows the image re-encoded at your current settings, at its real proportions. This is the only reliable way to judge a quality setting: the file-size number tells you what you gain, and the preview tells you what you give up. Compression artefacts appear first in smooth gradients — skies, shadows, flat brand colors — so look there rather than at fine detail.

Original shows the source dimensions and file size, in the form 1920 x 1080 842 KB. New size shows the same for what will be written. Note that the dimensions in both are always identical; only the size after them moves. The number animates as it changes and turns green when the new file is smaller than the original.

The savings bar beneath them is the number to steer by. Its fill represents the new file as a proportion of the original, and the label reads N% smaller, N% larger or same size.

Read it differently for each format:

• JPEG → WebP on a photograph typically shows a large saving even at high quality. This is the conversion most worth doing.
• PNG → WebP on a screenshot or a flat graphic often shows a very large saving, because PNG stores every pixel losslessly.
• Anything → PNG will usually read larger. PNG is lossless, so converting a photograph into it adds weight rather than removing it. Choose PNG only when you need transparency preserved or a lossless master.
• JPEG → JPEG at quality 85 frequently reads same size or slightly larger, because the file has already been compressed once. Lower the quality if you want a real saving, and accept that you are compressing an already-compressed image.
• A result that reads larger is not a failure. It is the tool telling you this particular conversion is not worth making.

The metadata note under the checkboxes tells you what is at stake: Unchecked keeps EXIF, XMP, IPTC and comments from the original, or This picture carries no metadata to keep when there is none, or WebP output cannot carry EXIF, so metadata is always removed when you have chosen WebP — in which case the checkbox is locked on and you cannot keep metadata whatever you do.

One behavior to know before converting: JPEG has no transparency. Converting a PNG or WebP with a transparent background to JPEG fills that background with solid white. If your logo sits on a colored section of a page, that will show as a white box. Convert to WebP instead, which keeps transparency.

After you press Convert, the done row reads Saved <filename>. The filename is the original name when Overwrite files is ticked, or the original name with (converted) appended when it is not, with the extension matching the chosen format — .jpg, .png or .webp.

In your Library, the run appears under Image Reformat with the filename as its label and a cost of zero. The saved entry keeps the converted image plus four figures: Dimensions, Format, Size and Smaller by (or Larger by) as a percentage — which makes it a usable record of what you did to which file. Very large results store a reduced preview instead of the full image and say so: Preview shown at reduced size; the full-resolution file was too large to keep. The downloaded file on your machine is always the full-resolution one. See Saved Work.

Examples#

Screenshots#

.webp with the Convert another button)

Tips#

• Try WebP first on every image. It is the setting most likely to produce a real saving.
• Judge quality on gradients, not on detail. Skies and shadows show artefacts long before text or edges do.
• Below quality 60 the savings flatten while the damage keeps accumulating; there is rarely a reason to go there.
• If you also need the image smaller on screen, resize it in Image Resize first, then convert here.
• Untick Overwrite files while you are experimenting so you keep the original.

Best Practices#

• Convert your heaviest above-the-fold images first; that is where page weight actually costs you.
• Keep PNG for logos, icons and anything needing transparency that must remain lossless; use WebP for everything else.
• Strip metadata on anything published publicly.
• Re-run PageSpeed & Vitals after replacing the images on your site so the saving is confirmed rather than assumed.
• Keep a full-resolution master elsewhere. This tool downloads a new file and does not archive the original for you.

Common Mistakes#

• Converting a transparent logo to JPEG. The transparency becomes solid white, and there is no setting that prevents it. Use WebP or PNG.
• Converting a photograph to PNG. PNG is lossless, so the file gets larger. It is for transparency and lossless masters, not for compression.
• Chasing the quality slider to 10. Below about 60 the savings flatten while the damage keeps building.
• Expecting the image to get smaller on screen. This tool never changes dimensions. That is Image Resize.
• Reading same size as a failure. Re-encoding an already-compressed JPEG at the same quality is meant to change little; switch format instead.
• Assuming "Overwrite files" replaces the original. It only controls the downloaded filename.
• Converting an animated GIF. Only the first frame survives.

Limitations#

• Maximum input file size is 30 MB.
• Dimensions cannot be changed here. That is Image Resize.
• Only three output formats are offered: JPEG, PNG and WebP. There is no AVIF.
• Animated GIFs are flattened to a single still frame.
• Converting to JPEG replaces transparency with solid white, and this cannot be turned off.
• WebP output cannot carry metadata, so EXIF, XMP and IPTC are always removed.
• One image at a time; there is no batch queue.
• Nothing here uploads to your site — publishing is a separate step. See Publish Integrations.

Troubleshooting#

FAQs#

Is my image uploaded anywhere? No. The conversion happens in your browser using the local file. Only a small record of the run — the filename, dimensions, format, size and a preview — is saved to your Library so the work appears in your history.

Does this cost credits? No. It is free on every plan, including Free, and it does not count toward your monthly allowance or the hourly fair-use limit.

What quality setting should I use? Start at the default 85 and lower it while watching the preview. For most photographs 75 to 85 is indistinguishable from the original at a fraction of the size. There is rarely a reason to go below 60.

Why can I not resize at the same time? The two jobs are deliberately separate tools. Image Reformat always re-encodes at the source dimensions; Image Resize changes dimensions and keeps the source format. Run one after the other when you need both.

Is WebP safe to use on my site? Every current major browser supports it. If you need a fallback for an older system, convert the same file to JPEG here as well and serve both.

Can I convert several images at once? Not currently. The tool handles one file at a time; Convert another clears it for the next.