PDF vs JPG: Which Format Should You Use?
PDF and JPG are two of the most common file formats, but they serve very different purposes. This guide explains the differences, when to use each format, and how to convert between them when needed.
What is PDF?
PDF (Portable Document Format) is a document format developed by Adobe in 1993. It's designed to preserve the exact layout, fonts, and graphics of a document across every device and operating system. A PDF looks identical on a Windows PC, a Mac, an iPhone, and an Android phone.
PDFs can contain text, vector graphics, raster images, embedded fonts, interactive forms, hyperlinks, bookmarks, and even audio and video. They're the standard format for contracts, reports, manuals, and any document where the layout must be preserved.
PDFs are also secure — they can be encrypted with passwords, signed with digital certificates, and restricted from editing or printing. This makes them the standard for legal and financial documents.
What is JPG?
JPG (or JPEG) is an image format developed by the Joint Photographic Experts Group in 1992. It uses lossy compression to reduce file sizes, making it ideal for photographs and images with smooth color gradients. JPGs are universal — every device, browser, and image viewer can open them.
JPGs cannot contain text as text — any text in a JPG is just pixels forming the shape of letters. They also don't support transparency and lose quality every time they're re-saved. Despite these limitations, JPGs are the standard format for digital photographs.
JPGs are typically much smaller than equivalent PNG images, which is why they're preferred for web photos. A 4 MB PNG photo might be 600 KB as a JPG at high quality, with no visible difference on screen.
Key differences at a glance
PDF is a document format; JPG is an image format. PDFs can contain multiple pages, text, vectors, and interactive elements. JPGs are single-page raster images.
PDF preserves text as searchable, selectable characters. JPG renders text as pixels — it can't be selected, searched, or copied.
PDF supports lossless content (vector graphics, text) and can also contain JPG images. JPG is always lossy — every save reduces quality slightly.
PDF can be encrypted, signed, and restricted. JPG has no built-in security features.
PDF files are usually larger than JPGs for the same visual content (because PDF includes more metadata and structure), but PDFs can compress embedded images using JPG compression internally.
When to use PDF vs JPG
Use PDF when you need to share a document that must look identical on every device, where text must be selectable and searchable, or when the document has multiple pages. Examples: contracts, reports, manuals, ebooks, forms, legal documents, financial statements.
Use JPG when you need to share a single photograph or image, when file size matters more than perfect quality, or when the destination doesn't support PDF (some social media platforms, some image galleries). Examples: photos for email attachments, web images, social media posts, thumbnails.
Use both formats together when appropriate. A common workflow is to scan a document as a JPG, then combine multiple JPGs into a single PDF for emailing. The PDF is easier to share; the original JPGs are easier to edit.
How to convert between PDF and JPG
To convert JPG to PDF, use the JPG to PDF tool on this site. You can combine multiple JPGs into a single PDF, with each image on its own page. The conversion is lossless — the JPG data is embedded directly into the PDF.
To convert PDF to JPG, use the PDF to JPG tool. Each page of the PDF becomes a separate JPG image. You can choose the output quality (DPI) and download all images as a single ZIP file.
Both conversions run entirely in your browser, so your files never leave your device. This is especially important for sensitive documents like medical records or financial statements.