Tutorials · June 5, 2026 · 4 min

Choosing between PNG and JPEG affects both image quality and file size, which matters when you are capturing screenshots at scale.

PNG: lossless and sharp

PNG preserves every pixel exactly, making it the best choice for text-heavy pages, UI mockups, and anything that will be zoomed in on. The tradeoff is larger file sizes.

JPEG: smaller and faster

JPEG compresses the image, which is ideal for photo-heavy pages or when you need to generate thousands of thumbnails without consuming excessive storage.

How to choose in the API

GET /api/screenshot?url=https://example.com&format=jpeg&key=YOUR_API_KEY

As a rule of thumb: use PNG for documentation and design reviews, and JPEG for thumbnails, previews, and high-volume automation.