File formats · Apr 14, 2026 · 4 min
Why Transparent PNGs Still Matter in 2026
WebP is smaller. AVIF is even smaller. Yet transparent PNG remains the lingua franca of cutouts, and there are practical reasons why.
A transparent PNG is a PNG with an alpha channel. Unlike JPG, the pixels can carry transparency — meaning parts of the image are literally see-through when composited.
Every modern image format supports transparency at this point. So why do transparent PNGs keep winning for cutouts?
Universal compatibility
PowerPoint, Keynote, Word, Figma, Photoshop, Canva, Shopify, WordPress, Slack, Notion, Google Slides — everywhere you might drop a cutout, PNG just works. WebP and AVIF are catching up, but still hit edge cases in older Office suites and legacy CMSes.
Lossless output
PNG is lossless. For a cutout you’re going to composite on different backgrounds, you want zero compression artifacts around the edge — otherwise you’ll see ghosting on any surface that isn’t the original background.
When WebP wins
For web delivery specifically, WebP is usually better. It’s smaller, it supports alpha, and every modern browser reads it. If you control the delivery chain and file size matters, convert PNG → WebP at the edge.
But as a working format — the file you hand off to a designer, drop into a deck, or archive — PNG is still the safe pick.
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