KTX (Khronos Texture) Unity Memory Footprint Benchmark

This benchmark evaluates memory usage and performance when using Unity uncompressed textures (PNG, JPG - yes JPG decompresses into uncompressed RGBA, etc.), standard compressed textures, and KTX textures.

Despite online claims praising KTX as a superior format, practical use in Unity presents huge limitations. KTX textures can only be loaded via code, preventing visualization in the editor, which limits their usefulness for most workflows.

The results indicate that, in typical Unity projects and especially those not loading uncompressed textures dynamically, KTX does not provide tangible memory or performance benefits. In fact, CPU overhead for loading KTX textures can degrade performance compared to standard compressed textures.

For reference, see the official Unity KTX package documentation: Unity KTX Package Manual