Free online WEBP to SVGZ converter

Some publishing, mapping, and graphics systems require compressed SVG rather than a raster WEBP for scalable artwork or smaller vector files. Converting requires tracing the WEBP into vector paths; simply renaming it or placing the bitmap inside an SVG does not create editable vector artwork.

What the WEBP format is

WEBP is a raster image format developed by Google for web graphics. It supports lossy and lossless compression, transparency, and animation, so websites commonly use it for photographs, thumbnails, illustrations, and interface images.

Browsers, content-management systems, Android applications, and programs such as Photoshop, GIMP, Affinity Photo, and ImageMagick can create or export WEBP files. You typically encounter them after downloading an image from a modern website or exporting a web-oriented image from an editor.

What the SVGZ format is

SVGZ is a gzip-compressed SVG file. SVG itself stores graphics as XML elements such as paths, shapes, gradients, and text instead of fixed pixels, allowing artwork to scale without rasterization.

SVGZ is useful for logos, diagrams, icons, maps, and line illustrations when the receiving application supports compressed SVG. Gzip usually reduces the size of a path-heavy SVG, while preserving the editability and resolution independence of the underlying vector file.

SVGZ is not a separate drawing model. It is an SVG document compressed with gzip, normally using the .svgz extension and the image/svg+xml media type.

How to actually convert WEBP to SVGZ

For a genuine vector conversion, use Inkscape to trace the raster image, then gzip the resulting SVG.

1. Open the WEBP in Inkscape with File → Open. If Inkscape reports that the format is unsupported, convert the source first to PNG with an image editor that supports WEBP.
2. Select the imported image and choose Path → Trace Bitmap. Use a single scan for black-and-white artwork, brightness cutoff for simple line art, or multiple scans and color quantization for a limited-color illustration.
3. Apply the trace, move the generated paths away from the original bitmap, and delete the bitmap if the final file must contain vectors only. Inspect nodes and remove stray paths or unwanted background shapes.
4. Save an uncompressed vector master with File → Save As, selecting Plain SVG when available. For example, save it as artwork.svg.
5. Compress the SVG with gzip on Linux or macOS:

gzip -9 -c artwork.svg > artwork.svgz

On Windows, a gzip-capable archiver such as 7-Zip can create a GZIP archive from artwork.svg; name the resulting file artwork.svgz. Test the result by opening it in Inkscape or decompressing it with:

gzip -cd artwork.svgz > checked.svg

You can also use the free converter on 101convert.com without installing software. Check its output afterward, because automated raster tracing can produce excessive nodes, missing transparency, or a bitmap embedded inside an SVG rather than actual vector paths.

Quality, compatibility, and limitations

Tracing cannot recover detail that was lost through WEBP compression, resizing, blur, or transparency. Photographs and highly textured images usually become much larger and less faithful when converted to paths; keeping them as WEBP or embedding the raster in an SVG may be more appropriate, but that does not make the artwork vector.

Flat-color logos and high-contrast line drawings produce the most usable results. Reduce the number of traced colors, simplify paths, and manually correct corners where file size or visual precision matters.

Keep the original .svg as the editable master. Some design tools and older viewers accept SVG but not SVGZ, and web servers must deliver the file with the image/svg+xml content type. Rename-only conversion is invalid: a WEBP remains a WEBP regardless of its filename extension.