PNG vs TIFF

TIFF for print and archives, PNG for screens and the web.

Choose PNG when

Anything shown on a screen. PNG is smaller, universally supported, and lossless already.

Choose TIFF when

Print production, scanning and archiving, where CMYK, layers, embedded colour profiles and 16 bits per channel matter and file size does not.

The thing that catches people out

TIFF is a container, not one format. Two TIFFs can be compressed entirely differently, which is why one opens somewhere and another does not.

What PNG to TIFF actually does

PNG 139 KB → TIFF 601 KB 4.3× larger

A photographic scene — smooth gradients, soft edges, grain. This is the case TIFF is designed for or against, and the figures show which. Both images are drawn in code and encoded by the same converter that runs on this page, so the sizes are this site's own output.

PNG 7 KB → TIFF 601 KB 86.2× larger

A transparent background and a gradient across the shape. TIFF either keeps both, keeps one, or fills the transparency with a solid colour — which is the difference that catches people out. Both images are drawn in code and encoded by the same converter that runs on this page, so the sizes are this site's own output.

PNG 3 KB → TIFF 601 KB 236.0× larger

Flat colour and hard edges, as in an interface, a chart or a logo. Very different behaviour from the photograph above, and the reason the answer is "it depends what is in the file". Both images are drawn in code and encoded by the same converter that runs on this page, so the sizes are this site's own output.

Side by side

PNG and TIFF compared row by row: what each stores, and what it costs.
PNGTIFF
Full namePortable Network GraphicsTagged Image File Format
Extension.png.tif, .tiff
Media typeimage/pngimage/tiff
CompressionLossless — nothing is discardedLossless — nothing is discarded
This site can write itYesYes

Decided? Convert it here

Where these figures come from

The claims this page makes about PNG and TIFF are checkable, and these are the documents that settle them.