HEIC to JPG

How to convert HEIC to JPG

1. Drop your HEIC (or HEIF) files into the upload box, or click to select.
2. Choose a JPG quality level. 85 is the default and works well for most photos.
3. Download the converted JPGs individually or as a batch.

Everything happens in your browser. Files never leave your device.

Why convert HEIC to JPG?

HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is Apple’s default photo format since iOS 11 in 2017. It’s a good format — files are roughly half the size of JPG at equivalent quality — but support outside the Apple ecosystem remains uneven. The most common reasons to convert:

• Sharing with Windows users whose systems can’t open HEIC without the HEVC codec add-on.
• Uploading to web forms that only accept JPG or PNG.
• Sending via email to recipients on older mail clients.
• Feeding older editing software like pre-2022 Photoshop or Lightroom versions.
• Submitting to print services that reject HEIC.
• Archiving in a format that will still be openable 20 years from now.

For the full context on why HEIC exists and when to use it, see our HEIC vs JPG explainer.

Browser support

HEIC decoding isn’t supported by every browser. Our tool relies on the browser’s native ability to load HEIC as an image. That means:

• Works: Safari on macOS, Safari on iOS, Chrome on macOS (inherits system HEIC support).
• Doesn’t work reliably: Firefox on any platform, Chrome on Windows or Linux.

If this tool fails for you on Windows or Linux, you have a few alternatives:

1. Use a native app. Windows 11 with the HEIF Image Extensions add-on (free from the Microsoft Store) handles HEIC natively. Save via “File → Save as” in the Photos app.
2. Use XnConvert or IrfanView. Both handle HEIC batch conversion on Windows cleanly.
3. On a Mac, use Preview. File → Export lets you save as JPG directly.
4. Switch your iPhone’s camera format. Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible makes new photos save as JPG. Doesn’t convert existing ones.

See our batch conversion guide for platform-specific instructions.

Quality considerations

HEIC stores photos at higher color fidelity than JPG — 16-bit color depth vs JPG’s 8-bit — and with more efficient lossy compression. Converting to JPG at any quality level produces a file that:

• Carries less color information (8-bit max).
• Is larger than the source HEIC (typically 1.5–2× at equivalent perceived quality).
• May show slightly more banding in subtle gradients.

For most everyday uses, quality 85 produces JPGs that look identical to the HEIC source at normal viewing sizes. For archival or print output, consider 92+.

What’s preserved and what’s lost

When converting from HEIC to JPG:

• Pixel data: preserved at JPG’s 8-bit depth.
• Main image resolution: preserved.
• Color profile: sometimes preserved depending on the browser; typically converted to sRGB.
• EXIF metadata: stripped. Canvas re-encoding drops metadata.
• Live Photo video component: lost. HEIC often wraps a still image with a short video clip — the JPG output only retains the still.
• Depth information (for Portrait mode photos): lost. JPG has no equivalent storage.
• Multi-image containers (bursts, alternate exposures): only the primary image is extracted.

If you need to preserve Live Photo video or depth maps, HEIC is the right format to keep. JPG simply can’t carry that data.

Privacy consideration

HEIC files often carry GPS coordinates, camera model, and timestamps from when the photo was taken. Converting through our canvas-based tool strips all that metadata. For most web publishing this is a good default.

If you want to keep metadata on the converted file, use a dedicated conversion tool like Apple’s Preview with metadata preservation enabled, or ImageMagick with -auto-orient -quality 85.

Common mistakes

• Assuming HEIC conversion will make the file smaller. JPG is larger than HEIC at the same perceived quality.
• Expecting a HEIC Live Photo to keep its video component. It won’t.
• Relying on this tool in Firefox on Windows. Use a native app or switch to Safari.
• Using quality 100, which doubles the file size without visible benefit.

Frequently asked questions