The default file format in GIMP is XCF, but it’s only used for editing images in GIMP. When you’re done editing your image, you’ll need to convert it to a suitable standard format for use elsewhere. For example, you can export a file in JPEG format to GIMP.
The instructions in this article are for GIMP version 2.10 for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
To save an image in JPEG format using GIMP:
Use the same method to export images to dozens of other formats, including GIF, PNG, and BMP.
The pros and cons of JPEG
JPEG is a popular format for storing photos. One of the benefits of the JPEG format is compression, which helps reduce file size, which can come in handy when you want to send a photo via email or mobile phone. The quality of JPEG images generally decreases with increasing compression. The loss of quality can be significant when high levels of compression are applied. This loss of quality is particularly evident when someone zooms into the image.