If you regularly handle photos and images, you have certainly come across files with JPG or JPEG. These two extensions look very similar, but are they the same image formats? Is there a difference between the two?
This is what we will explain to you in the article below!
Two abbreviations for the same image format!
Okay, let's stop this unbearable suspense right away, "JPG" and "JPEG" are two equivalent file extensions which refer to the same digital image format. They are short for "Joint Photographic Experts Group". This group of around thirty experts was created in the early 1990s to define the specifications of an algorithm and a format for decoding a compressed still image.
In application of these standards, the JPEG format was born in 1992.
At that time, most of the world's personal computers worked with Microsoft's MS-DOS operating system, which only supported three-letter file extensions (borrowed from CP/M). Therefore, JPEG files got the extension "JPG" on MS-DOS and on early Windows operating systems. In Apple's Macintosh environment (a minority at the time), the constraints were not the same in terms of extensions. Thus, JPEG files were able to retain the 4 letters of the standard's acronym to become the .JPEG extension.
Today, Windows and macOS can both handle file extension .JPEG is 4 letters, and most applications understand and open .JPG and .JPEG files the same way. To easily edit or retouch your images, you can also use tools like Photoshop online offered by FixThePhoto. But, if your files with either of these extensions open correctly in an image viewer or editor, there is no need to make any changes.
Can you convert JPEG to JPG and vice versa?
Good news: JPEG and JPG files being files in exactly the same format image, no conversion is necessary to transform a JPG file into JPEG, or vice versa.
In fact, you simply have to rename the image file by changing the file extension. For example, if you have a file named "MAPHOTO.JPEG" and you prefer to have "MAPHOTO.JPG", use your operating system's renaming function to change the file name by removing the "E" from the ".JPEG" extension. You can also do the same thing in reverse, replacing "JPG" with "JPEG".
In Windows, to be able to modify the extensions, you must first display the file extensions in the document explorer. This is done in the "View" tab, then you must check the "File name extensions" box.
Article updated on September 5, 2025 by Byothe
Thanks for this clear article on the differences between JPG and JPEG! It's fascinating to see how much these technical details can influence the quality of our images. I didn't know it could have an impact on storage. Very informative!
Excellent article! I really liked the way you explained it.