Compression.
The primary use of JPEGs is for images, whereas PDFs can handle all sorts of text and image-based documents. Because JPEGs compress image data, its file sizes tend to be relatively small. This means that it’s a convenient way to share digital images over the web and email. But JPEGs use lossy compression, which means that each time you save your file, you lose a little bit of image data, which can affect quality.
Therefore, the multi-purpose PDF may well be your preferred file type for images because it offers a compression function, plus it won’t damage the original quality of the file you’re sharing. However, you may find PDFs difficult to integrate into a webpage if that’s its primary purpose.
Editability.
The main advantage of PDF is that it preserves the layout of the content while leaving different parts of the document open to editing (with Acrobat Pro). Conversely, JPEGs can’t be separated into components because they compress all content into a single layer.
This means that out of the two formats, a PDF is the only one that lets users copy selected text they need to use elsewhere. But if you want to embed an image within a different document, the JPEG may be your preferred file type.
Storage.
Due to the relatively small size of JPEGs, you might find them preferable to PDFs because they’re likely to take up less space on your hard drive, portable disk, or cloud. However, PDF files can be more reliable to store documents and images. With a Document Cloud subscription, you can easily upload, manage, and share files via the cloud from your computer or mobile devices.
