What is TIFF?
TIFF is the archival raster format of print, scanning and photography. It stores lossless, high bit-depth images, optional layers and multiple pages in one file.
Created by Aldus in 1986, now maintained by Adobe.
- Lossless with 16-bit-per-channel and CMYK support for print
- Can hold multiple pages, ideal for scanned documents
- Rich metadata, the standard for archives and prepress
What is PNG?
PNG is a lossless raster format built for graphics rather than photographs. Pixels come back out exactly as they went in, and an alpha channel stores per-pixel transparency.
Created in 1996 as a patent-free replacement for GIF.
- Perfectly lossless — logos, screenshots and UI mockups stay crisp
- Full 8-bit alpha transparency for overlays and layered artwork
- Universally supported and safe to re-save as many times as you like
Why convert TIFF to PNG?
- PNG is the better fit for screenshots, logos, icons and anything that needs transparency or razor-sharp edges, while TIFF is built for print, scanning and long-term archival masters.
- It sidesteps the main drawback of TIFF: very large files, frequently tens of megabytes per page.
- You gain perfectly lossless — logos, screenshots and UI mockups stay crisp.
- PNG adds a real transparency channel, so cut-outs and overlays stop picking up a background colour.
- Compatibility improves where it counts: Every web browser and operating system and All design tools, office suites and presentation software.
Quality and file size after conversion
Both formats are lossless, so nothing is thrown away. The output is a byte-faithful representation of the input; only the container and the compression scheme change, which is why sizes differ while the content does not.
Compatibility
TIFF opens in Photoshop, InDesign, Affinity, GIMP, Lightroom, Scanners, fax pipelines and document archives, macOS Preview and Windows Photos. PNG opens in Every web browser and operating system, All design tools, office suites and presentation software, Print workflows that accept RGB artwork.
If the file has to work for someone else, choose the format their software already understands rather than the one with the best specification.
Limitations to know about
- Photographs are typically two to five times larger than the JPEG equivalent
- No native animation (APNG exists but support is inconsistent)
When to keep TIFF instead
TIFF is still the right choice for print, scanning and long-term archival masters. Keep the original alongside the converted copy whenever you might need to re-export at a different size or quality — conversion is quick, but recovering discarded detail is impossible.
How to convert TIFF to PNG
- 1
Drag your TIFF file onto the drop zone above, or click to browse. Up to 20 files can be queued at once.
- 2
PNG is already selected as the output format — change it in the dropdown if you need something else.
- 3
Press Convert and watch the per-file progress bar.
- 4
Download the PNG result, or grab everything as a single ZIP when you converted a batch.
Frequently asked questions
Is this TIFF to PNG converter free?
- Yes. Every conversion on Convert Always is free, with no account, no watermark and no daily download cap. The site is funded by advertising rather than subscriptions.
Are my TIFF files uploaded to a server?
- No. TIFF to PNG runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly, so the file never leaves your device. You can even disconnect from the internet after the page loads.
Will converting to PNG reduce the quality?
- Both formats are lossless, so nothing is thrown away. The output is a byte-faithful representation of the input; only the container and the compression scheme change, which is why sizes differ while the content does not.
Can I convert several TIFF files at once?
- Yes. Add up to 20 files to the queue, convert them in one pass and download the results individually or bundled into a single ZIP archive.
What is the maximum TIFF file size?
- Files up to 100 MB each are accepted. Browser-side conversions are limited mainly by your device's memory, so very large video files convert faster on a desktop than on a phone.
Does it work on mobile?
- Yes. The converter is built mobile-first and works in Safari and Chrome on phones and tablets. Heavy media conversions are slower on mobile hardware but still run locally.
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