TGA to WebP Converter

Encoding: the TGA uses uncompressed or run-length encoded (RLE); WebP uses lossy VP8 coding or lossless VP8L, and the download is a lossy WebP at the quality you choose (lossless under More options), keeping transparency.

Bit depth: 8, 15, 16, 24 or 32 bits per pixel in the TGA; WebP allows 8 bits per channel, and the WebP written here has 8 bits per channel.

Colour: RGB, greyscale or a colour map in the TGA; WebP supports RGB; lossy WebP stores colour at half resolution (4:2:0), written here as 8-bit sRGB.

Transparency: the TGA stores it as the fourth byte of each 32-bit pixel (or one bit in 16-bit files); the WebP keeps it as a separate alpha plane, available in lossy as well as lossless files.

Metadata: the TGA can carry an image ID field and an optional extension area with author and date; WebP can carry EXIF, XMP and ICC chunks, but nothing is copied across.

TGA is a simple raster format still widely used for game textures and 3D rendering pipelines because it stores alpha channels reliably and loads fast.

A TGA has an 18-byte header (ID length, colour map type, image type 2 for true colour or 10 for RLE, origin, size, bits per pixel and a descriptor byte whose bits give the alpha depth and whether rows run top-down), then the pixels; version 2 files end with a 'TRUEVISION-XFILE' footer.

TGA files usually come from game engines, 3D renderers and texture painting tools.

WebP is Google's web image format. It supports lossy and lossless compression, transparency and animation, and is typically 25 to 35 percent smaller than JPEG at the same visual quality.

A WebP is a RIFF file: 'RIFF', a length, 'WEBP', then chunks. A simple lossy file is one VP8 chunk and a lossless one is VP8L; the extended VP8X header announces alpha, animation, ICC, EXIF or XMP chunks.

WebP is the better choice for images on websites and in apps, while TGA suits game textures and 3D software.

WebP strengths: 25-35% smaller than JPEG; Transparency and animation in one format; Supported by every modern browser. Drawbacks to weigh: Some older desktop apps and photo printers cannot open it; Max 16383 px per side.