Format Showdown

TGA VS WebP

The ultimate comparison guide. Understanding the technical differences between Truevision TGA and Web Picture Format.

TGA

tga

Legacy raster format used in broadcast and game development with optional RLE compression.

Pros

  • Supports alpha channel
  • Straightforward structure
  • Trusted in VFX pipelines

Cons

  • Large uncompressed files
  • Sparse metadata
  • Poor native web support

WebP

webp

Modern format providing superior compression for web performance.

Pros

  • Superior compression (30% smaller than JPG)
  • Supports transparency
  • Supports animation

Cons

  • Not supported by very old browsers
  • Complex encoding

When TGA wins

Stay with TGA when you need game textures or broadcast graphics. Its strengths center on supports alpha channel and a feature set native to Truevision.

When WebP wins

Choose WebP when your workflow prioritizes modern websites or app assets. It delivers superior compression (30% smaller than jpg) plus modern compression perks.

Technical Specifications

FeatureTGAWebP
MIME Typeimage/x-tgaimage/webp
DeveloperTruevisionGoogle
Release Year19842010
Best ForGame textures, Broadcast graphics, VFX matte passesModern websites, App assets, Speed optimization

Need to switch?

Opportunity map

Where TGA still wins

Keep TGA when you need supports alpha channel and workflows depend on game textures / broadcast graphics. Link those teams directly to the converter above so they can ship WebP deliverables without leaving their browser.

  • • Reference the .tga glossary from this page.
  • • Embed the conversion CTA in docs, wikis, and onboarding runbooks.
  • • Use WebP for modern websites while archiving originals as TGA.
Internal linking plan

Keep crawlers in the conversion hub

Link this comparison to the relevant tool, glossary, and documentation pages so every crawl discovers a monetizable route.