Choosing between SVG and WEBP can be tricky since each file format has drawbacks and benefits. Although both are next-gen file formats, SVG files can be better suited to a given situation but are unsuitable for use where WEBP is admissible.
The article highlights and explains the similarities and differences between WEBP and SVG file formats using their fundamental properties: storage, file size, structure, compression, browser support, image quality, transparency, and animation support.
When is WEBP better than SVG?
A WEBP image is a small raster graphics format, while an SVG image is a larger vector graphics file format than WEBP.
This makes WEBP more suitable for high-traffic websites because it makes images smaller at an identical quality level, increases web responsiveness, and increases organic traffic on websites more than SVG.
The advantage of SVG is its ability to be scaled to any dimension without losing image quality.
When is SVG better than WEBP?
An SVG image is a vector graphics file format that can be scaled up or down without losing quality. In contrast, raster graphics WEBP images become pixelated or blurry with repeated compression.
This makes SVG images suitable for developing high-solution displays and website designs, including icons and logos, with no definite file size limits. They can be resized using CSS and JavaScript to any dimension while remaining clear and sharp.
The disadvantage of WEBP images is that they lose quality when continuously compressed, resized, and become blurry or pixelated.
SVG versus WEBP Table Comparison
Differences and similarities between WEBP and SVG images
SVG and WEBP have notable similarities, including preserving high image quality, increasing web performance, transparency support, and using compression techniques.
Notable differences between SVG and WEBP are apparent in compression techniques, structural design, file size, and browser support.
Transparency
SVG and WEBP file formats support alpha channel transparency using the lossless technique. Lossless SVG and lossless WEBP support alpha channel transparency at varying levels.
Lossless SVG has a 'Default' transparent background containing attributes and elements with names indicating their respective functions. It is based on HML, which is integrally transparent, although it is not a bitmapped file format like WEBP.
WEBP is a bitmapped file format that supports multi-sample pixels by encrypting files with an alpha channel that permits transparency information. It also inherently supports lossy transparency.
The alpha channel in the WEBP file is connected to every pixel, indicating the file’s transparency level. Its pixels support transparent images, including graphics or logos with non-rectangular shapes.
In contrast, the transparent background of SVG files makes them ideal for web-based graphics and designs that must be altered or resized often.
Both file formats support transparency, enabling webmasters, designers, or users to optimize their images with varying opacity levels.
File Size
SVG files are larger than the bitmapped WEBP files. An SVG file is ideal when designing 2D format scales. The file format offers limitless scalability that enables design works in varying sizes and across multiple platforms or mediums.
WEBP uses VP8 or VP8L coding to compress its images significantly compared to SVG. WEBP outperforms SVG for both uncompressed and compressed images. The bitmapped WEBP files are less heavy than the vector graphics file format WEBP.
H3: Image Quality
WEBP produces high- and low-resolution files but only boasts an 8-bit color channel in its lossy RGB encoding. SVG is a high-resolution file format, giving it a comparative advantage over WEBP regarding color richness and sharpness.
An SVG file embedded in HTML supports 16777216 colors, but it defines and supports only 147 color names. However, WEBP is a bitmap file supporting 8-bit per pixel. It uses the customary VP8 codec that does not support new formats and more expansive color depths compared to SVG.
In turn, WEBP’s colored texts and finer image details may suffer during compression. Lossy WEBP files result in compression artifacts or unnecessary image data deletion, creating blurry or pixelated images.
Lossless SVG image attributes, namely color, shape, lines, and curves, are preserved during compression, hence the high-quality SVG image. Similarly, the lossless WEBP compression method is efficient and preserves image quality.
SVG images or files are high-quality, while WEBP images are both high- and low-quality.
Performance
The compressed lossy and lossless WEBP images are smaller than lossless SVG file formats. This makes WEBP superior to SVG in terms of website performance and speed.
WEBP files load faster than SVG files on websites because of their significantly reduced file sizes, which enhances user experience or increases search engine optimization.
Structure
The SVG image or file is in vector graphics file format, while the WEBP or image is in raster graphic file format. SVG stores images using mathematical formulas, whereas WEBP is a bitmapped file format that stores or defines images using pixels.
SVG formulas define and anchor images on grid lines, shapes, curves, and points. The file format uses the XML markup language, which establishes vector-based graphics. WEBP file predicts (video) pixels using a technique comparable to VP8.
WEBP’s VP8 breaks the frame into fragments called macroblocks, similar to all block-based codecs. VP8L or VP8 image data are enclosed within the RIFF-based container.
SVG XML code can be easily embedded directly into HTML documents or XML texts or inserted and saved to the SVG file. WEBP groups its pixel values using blocks beside them while encoding only the emerging differences.
WEBP uses pre-existing images to reconstruct new pixels using predictive coding. In contrast, SVG uses scripting languages like JavaScript to interactively manipulate or animate every attribute and element within the SVG file.
Both WEBP and SVG support animation, transparency, and different color profiles. While SVG is a high-resolution file format, WEBP is both a high- and low-resolution image format. SVG uses an XML-based markup language to describe the 2D vector graphics, allowing resolution independence.
The XML code created in SVG files specifies all texts, colors, paths, and shapes and stores and transfers digital information. The code makes it easier to customize, edit, and save SVG files. It is not pixel-based or pixelated as WEBP, making it ideal for developing complex online graphics and logos.
Lossless SVG preserves image resolution regardless of the number of times it is resized, while lossy WEBP results in compression artifacts with repeated compression. Lossless WEBP preserves image details, but only with limited compressions.
On the other hand, an SVG file does not permit multi-sample pixels, whereas WEBP supports them by encrypting files with an alpha channel.
Animation
WEBP and SVG files support animation. WEBP supports animation using a WEBP animate variant (WEP-A) compatible with animated images. A single animated WEBP file can merge lossless and lossy frames.
In contrast, an SVG file supports animation using markup that enhances and presents website animations. It is accessible from JavaScript, a feature that allows SVG files to support animation elements through scripting or CSS. Designers and developers use JavaScript to create interactive SVG images and animations.
Storage
WEBP files are smaller than SVG files. This implies that WEBP files necessitate less storage space compared to SVG files.
An SVG file format is written in XML code, which stores image text data or information as literal texts rather than shapes. On the other hand, WEBP uses VP8 or VP8L video codec and predictive coding for lossy WEBP to compress and store image data.
The cramped data in the SVG file are paralleled in multi-layer trees of items in an SVG DOM. The data in SVG DOM corresponds to the SVG value attributes, including quality or resolutions, and is stored indefinitely.
SVG images can also be stored in XML text files and HTML documents but are defined using vector graphics. WEBP images can be stored indefinitely, although the storage period depends on various factors, including the handling process, storage conditions, and storage medium used.
While SVG files are stored in XML text or HTML documents and SVG DOM, WEBP files or images are stored in the cloud, file systems, hard drives, Content Delivery Network (CDN), and Base64 encoding.
Compression
An SVG image format uses a lossless technique, while WEBP uses lossy and lossless compression methods to compress image data. Lossless SVG and WEBP preserve all file or image information, leading to quality retention.
SVG compresses images using the gzip algorithm to produce SVG files that are 20-50% smaller than their original file size. In contrast, WEBP uses the VP8 video codec to compress lossless images and predictive coding during lossy compression, resulting in smaller images than SVG images.
Lossless WEBP reconstructs new pixels using fragments of an already processed image, while the multistage lossless SVG compression occurs in two stages. Stage one involves writing and storing SVG images in XML text files.
In stage two, the stored images undergo lossless compression using the gzip algorithm to preserve all image information. The compressed SVG image is sharp, clear, high-resolution, and has a smaller bandwidth, allowing webpages to load faster.
Lossless WEBP images are smaller and richer, with high-quality graphics, improving web performance—nonetheless, lossy WEBP results in compression artifacts, degraded image quality, and blurry images.
Browser Support
The SVG file format is an open standard for creating and displaying vector graphics such as icons, logos, charts, and illustrations on websites. However, it only supports Opera, Firefox, Chrome, Edge, and Safari browsers.
Only 50.3% of global websites support or are compatible with the SVG file format. It is incompatible with most devices, apps, or older browsers, but WEBP enjoys 96.86% browser compatibility and support.
WEBP is fully compatible with and supported by Opera, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, and Brave. Its browser support and global usage limit SVG adoption across different browsing platforms because WEBP is deemed the safest option for most websites.
The SVG file is flexible, scalable, and editable, attributes that will eventually make it very popular and widely adopted by designers and developers alike. WEBP and SVG file formats are widely adopted and used in output devices, web browsers, and graphic design programs.
Conclusion
WEBP and SVG are versatile file formats, although an SVG file is not blurry or pixelated because it retains solid colors and clear lines, unlike the pixel-based WEBP file format.
SVG files allow for smooth scaling, making them ideal for high-resolution displays and mobile apps, which include high-quality logos and icons.
On the other hand, WEBP file formats are smaller and load faster, making them the best choice for website designs as they generate traffic, leading to search engine optimization.