Free webp to jpg
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Image MIME Reference
WebP

WebP Image

image/webp
VS

Windows Metafile

image/x-wmf
WMF

A complete technical comparison of WebP Image and Windows Metafile — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.

WebP wins on browser support

Feature Support

Feature WebP WMF
Transparency (Alpha) Yes Yes
Animation Support Yes ✕ No
Progressive Loading ✕ No ✕ No
HDR Support ✕ No ✕ No
EXIF Metadata Yes ✕ No
ICC Color Profile Yes ✕ No
WebP Image
image/webp
Extension
.webp
Container RIFF
Compression Lossy / Lossless
Algorithm
VP8VP8L
Color Depth 8-bit
Developed by Google
Released 2010
Magic Bytes
52 49 46 46 XX XX XX XX 57 45 42 50
Full WebP reference →
Windows Metafile
image/x-wmf
Extension
.wmf.emf
Container Windows GDI Metafile Command Stream
Compression Uncompressed (Command Stream)
Algorithm
None
Color Depth Varies based on GDI rendering engine
Developed by Microsoft Corporation
Released 1990
Magic Bytes
D7 CD C6 9A (Aldus Placeable Metafile Header) or 01 00 09 00 (Standard WMF Header)
Full WMF reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser WebP WMF
Chrome Chrome
✓ 32+
 ✕
Firefox Firefox
✓ 65+
 ✕
Safari Safari
✓ 14+
 ✕
Edge Edge
✓ 18+
 ✕
IE IE (Legacy)
✕
✓
WebP

WebP Strengths

  • Superior lossy compression — 25–35% smaller than JPEG at equivalent quality
  • Supports both animation and full alpha transparency
  • Lossless mode available with smaller file sizes than PNG
Limitations
  • Slower encoding than JPEG, especially for lossless
  • Not supported in Internet Explorer or very old browsers
WMF

WMF Strengths

  • Infinitely scalable vector format that remains remarkably compact for simple geometric illustrations and charts
  • Historically served as a seamless conduit for copying and pasting vector graphics between disparate Windows applications via the system clipboard
Limitations
  • Notoriously plagued by historic security vulnerabilities, making raw WMF parsing a vector for exploits in legacy software
  • Completely obsolete and unsupported in modern web environments (browsers cannot render them)
  • Strictly tied to the Windows GDI architecture, making cross-platform rendering inconsistent across Linux and macOS

When to choose which format

WebP
Use WebP when…
  • Websites
  • Ecommerce
  • Mobile Apps
  • CMS Images
WMF
Use WMF when…
  • Legacy Microsoft Office Clip Art and Icons
  • Windows GDI Graphics Export
  • Early Windows Desktop Publishing

More comparisons

WebP vs ACES → WMF vs ACES → WebP vs APNG → WMF vs APNG → WebP vs AVCI → WMF vs AVCI → WebP vs AVCS → WMF vs AVCS → WebP vs AVIF → WMF vs AVIF → All comparisons →
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