How do WebP and ICOcompare? Here's everything you need to know to choose the right format — and how to convert between them.
Web Picture Format
WebP is a modern image format developed by Google that provides superior compression for images on the web. It supports both lossy and lossless compression, transparency, and animation — all in one format.
Icon File Format
ICO is the icon file format used by Windows for application icons and website favicons. It can contain multiple image sizes and color depths in a single file.
| Specification | WebP | ICO |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Web Picture Format | Icon File Format |
| Extension | .webp | .ico |
| MIME type | image/webp | image/x-icon |
| Category | Image | Image |
| Developer | Microsoft | |
| Year introduced | 2010 | 1985 |
| Compression | Lossy | Lossless |
Both WebP and ICO have their strengths. WebP excels at website optimization and performance, while ICO is better for website favicons.
Need to switch formats? Convert for free with SquishConvert.