How to Convert PNG to JPG on Windows (3 Easy Ways)
13 June 2026
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Got a folder of PNGs that are too big to email, or a site that only accepts JPG uploads? Converting is the fix, and on Windows you can do it without installing anything.
PNG and JPG store images differently. PNG is lossless and supports transparency, which makes it ideal for screenshots, logos, and graphics with sharp edges. JPG uses lossy compression that discards detail you usually can’t see, which makes it far smaller for photographs. When file size or compatibility is the problem, JPG is often the answer.
Convert one PNG with Microsoft Paint
Paint is the fastest option for a file or two, and it ships with every copy of Windows.
- Right-click the PNG, choose Open with, and select Paint.
- Click File, then Save as, then JPEG picture.
- Pick a folder, give it a name, and click Save.
Paint writes a new JPG and leaves your original PNG untouched, so there’s no risk of losing the source.
The one thing to know: JPG has no transparency channel. If your PNG has transparent areas, they become solid white in the JPG. That happens with every PNG-to-JPG conversion, not just in Paint, so if you need transparency preserved, keep the PNG.
Use the Photos app instead
The built-in Photos app can also export to JPG, which is handy if it’s already your default image viewer.
- Open the PNG in Photos.
- Click the See more (…) menu and choose Save as.
- In the Save as type dropdown, choose JPG, then save.
Functionally this matches Paint: the image is re-encoded as JPG and any transparency is flattened to white. Note that Photos defaults the dropdown to PNG, so you have to switch it to JPG each time. If you don’t see a JPG option in your version, fall back to Paint, which is the most consistent built-in choice across Windows 10 and 11.
Convert several PNGs at once
Paint and Photos only handle one file at a time, which gets tedious for a whole folder. A couple of approaches scale better:
- A browser-based converter lets you drop in many PNGs and download the JPGs together. SnapConvert’s Convert PNG to JPG tool does the work entirely in your browser, so your images never get uploaded to a server. That’s worth knowing if the files are personal or sensitive. You can also browse all the free tools if you have other formats to deal with.
- PowerShell can script conversions if you’re comfortable with the command line, though for most people a visual tool is simpler.
You may see PowerToys recommended for this, but its Image Resizer doesn’t actually convert formats on demand. It resizes images and keeps the original format, only switching to a fallback format (such as JPEG) when an image can’t be saved in its original type. Since PNG saves fine as PNG, it won’t reliably give you JPGs. For batch conversion, reach for a dedicated tool instead.
For occasional batches, the browser route is usually the least hassle: nothing to install, and it works the same on any Windows version.
Choose a quality level
JPG compression is adjustable, and the setting matters more than people expect. Higher quality means a larger file that looks closer to the original; lower quality means a smaller file with more visible artifacts, especially around text and hard edges. Somewhere in the 80 to 90 percent range is a reasonable starting point for photos, where the loss is hard to spot. Tools that expose a quality slider, including many browser converters, let you preview the trade-off before you commit. Paint and Photos don’t offer this control, so they pick the quality for you.
One caveat: JPG is lossy every time you save. If you convert a PNG to JPG, then later open that JPG and save it again, you lose a little more detail with each pass. Keep your original PNG as the master copy and convert to JPG only for the final version you’re sharing.
When to convert and when not to
Convert PNG to JPG when you want a smaller file for email, web upload, or storage, or when a system only accepts JPG. Photographs are the ideal candidate, because JPG was designed for them and the size savings can be large.
Stay on PNG when you need transparency, when you’re working with screenshots, line art, or text-heavy graphics where JPG artifacts would be obvious, or when you’ll keep editing the file and don’t want to lose quality on each save.
Practical takeaway: for a single photo, Paint’s Save as JPEG is the quickest path. For a folder of images, a browser converter handles the batch in one go without uploading anything. Either way, keep the original PNG so you always have a clean copy, and remember that any transparent areas will turn white once you cross over to JPG.