Unity Texture Compression Comparison

Compare texture compression formats side by side. Select 1 to 4 formats to see VRAM costs, platform support, and quality ratings.

Texture compression reduces VRAM usage and loading times by encoding texture data in a GPU-friendly format. Different platforms support different formats: ASTC for modern mobile, ETC2 for broad Android support, BC7 for PC and console. Choosing the right format balances quality, file size, and device compatibility.

Select texture asset

Inspector

Texture Import Settings

Format

Mobile (ASTC)Modern iOS and Android

Mobile (ETC)Broad Android, legacy iOS

PC / ConsoleDesktop and console GPUs

LegacyOlder devices only

Quality Preview (Simulated)

Approximate visualisation of block compression artefacts. Real results depend on texture content and encoder settings. Larger block sizes and lower bit rates produce more visible blocking and colour banding.

Original

ASTC 4×4

8 bpp, 4x4 blocks

ETC2 RGB

4 bpp, 4x4 blocks

Want to test with real compression? Download our Compression Test Card and run it through your encoder to compare actual results.

Format Comparison

Property	ASTC 4×4	ETC2 RGB
Bits per pixel	8 bpp	4 bpp
VRAM (1024 × 1024)	1.00 MB	512.0 KB
VRAM (2048 × 2048)	4.00 MB	2.00 MB
Quality	Excellent	Good
Platforms	iOSAndroid	AndroidiOS
Alpha support	Yes	No
Crunch compatible	No	Yes
Recommended use	Hero textures, UI elements, normal maps	Opaque mobile textures with broad device support
Notes	Highest quality ASTC. Recommended default for modern mobile.	Good quality. Broadest mobile support after ASTC.

All Formats at a Glance

Format	Bits/pixel	Alpha	Quality	Platforms	Recommended use	Notes
ASTC 4×4	8	Yes	Excellent	iOS, Android	Hero textures, UI elements, normal maps	Highest quality ASTC. Recommended default for modern mobile.
ASTC 5×5	5.12	Yes	Good	iOS, Android	General purpose mobile textures	Good balance of quality and size.
ASTC 6×6	3.56	Yes	Good	iOS, Android	Backgrounds, terrain, less critical assets	Good for backgrounds and less critical textures.
ASTC 8×8	2	Yes	Acceptable	iOS, Android	Large diffuse textures, skyboxes	Aggressive. Artefacts visible on detailed textures.
ASTC 10×10	1.28	Yes	Poor	iOS, Android	Large, soft textures only	Very aggressive. Only for large, soft textures.
ASTC 12×12	0.89	Yes	Poor	iOS, Android	Extreme compression situations only	Maximum compression. Significant quality loss.
ETC2 RGB	4	No	Good	Android, iOS	Opaque mobile textures with broad device support	Good quality. Broadest mobile support after ASTC.
ETC2 RGBA	8	Yes	Good	Android, iOS	Transparent mobile textures	Double the size of RGB for alpha support.
ETC1	4	No	Acceptable	Android	Legacy Android support only	Legacy. No alpha. Only for very old device support.
BC1 / DXT1	4	No	Good	PC, Console, WebGL	Standard PC/Console opaque textures	Standard PC/Console RGB.
BC3 / DXT5	8	Yes	Good	PC, Console, WebGL	Standard PC/Console RGBA textures	Standard PC/Console RGBA.
BC7	8	Yes	Excellent	PC, Console	Best quality PC/Console textures, normal maps, UI	Best quality for PC/Console.
PVRTC 4bpp	4	Yes	Acceptable	iOS, Android	Legacy iOS projects only	Legacy iOS. Requires power-of-2 textures.

VRAM Size Calculator

Resolution:

ASTC 4×4

1.00 MB

ETC2 RGB

512.0 KB

Quick Decision Guide

Not sure which format to use? Start with your target platform.

What platform are you targeting?

Mobile (iOS + Android)

ASTC 6x6 for most textures; ASTC 4x4 for critical assets like characters and UI.

Mobile (Android only, broad support)

ETC2 for OpenGL ES 3.0+ devices. Fall back to ETC1 only if you need very old device support.

PC / Console

BC7 for best quality. Use BC1 (opaque) or BC3 (alpha) for older hardware or when file size matters.

WebGL

BC1/BC3 as primary with ASTC fallback for mobile browsers.

Cross-platform

ASTC as primary with ETC2 fallback for older Android. BC7 or BC3 for PC/Console builds.

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.gitignore templates for Unity, Unreal, and Godot, Git LFS setup, and team workflows. The Unity template is explained block by block.

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Drop in your Editor.log to see what is filling your build, and model what removing it would save. Runs entirely in your browser.

Frequently asked questions

Should I use ASTC or ETC2 for Android?

ASTC if your minimum spec supports it (Android 5.0+ on most modern GPUs). ASTC has better quality at the same VRAM cost and supports flexible block sizes. Fall back to ETC2 only if you must support older devices.

What is the best texture compression for iOS?

ASTC. Every iPhone since the iPhone 6 supports ASTC, so there is no reason to use older formats like PVRTC unless you support genuinely ancient hardware.

Why does my compressed texture look blocky?

Either the compression block size is too large (try ASTC 4x4 or 6x6 instead of 8x8), or the source texture has high-frequency detail that block compression struggles with. Smooth gradients also reveal banding; consider dithering the source or using a higher-quality format.

Does texture compression slow down rendering?

No, the opposite. Compressed textures decompress on the GPU at sample time and reduce VRAM bandwidth, which usually speeds things up on memory-bound platforms. The cost is a slightly longer initial load time during decompression to GPU memory.

Last updated: 25 July 2026