How to convert HEIC to JPG without losing quality
HEIC is Apple's default for iPhone photos — half the file size of JPEG at the same quality, which is great until you try to open one on Windows, Android, or an older browser. Here's how to convert without quality loss.
Why HEIC exists
HEIC is a wrapper for the HEIF (High Efficiency Image Format) codec. Apple shipped it as the default on iPhone 7+ running iOS 11. The sell: files are roughly 50% the size of JPEG at visually identical quality. For a 16MP iPhone photo that's 2.5 MB instead of 5 MB — your iCloud storage thanks Apple.
The catch: HEIC isn't universally supported. Windows Photos needs an extension, Microsoft Paint won't touch it, most email clients ignore it, and plenty of Android phones still can't decode it. That's why you're here.
The short version
- Drop your .heic file on the converter.
- Pick JPG as the target (default).
- Leave quality at 85 — the sweet spot where you can't tell the difference with the naked eye, but the file isn't bloated.
- Click Download. That's it.
If you only have one file and just want it converted, stop reading. If you want to understand what the quality slider does, or you're converting a whole iPhone camera roll, keep going.
What "quality" actually controls
JPEG is a lossy format. Every time you save, the encoder throws away some high-frequency detail (the stuff your eye rarely notices) to shrink the file. The quality slider — 30 to 100 in our tool — controls how aggressively.
- 100: maximum retention, barely any compression. File size is big. Use this only if the image is going to be re-edited.
- 85 (default): visually indistinguishable from the source at normal viewing distances. This is what most DSLRs ship out of camera and what every professional preset targets.
- 70–80: slight softening visible if you pixel-peep, but fine for web thumbnails, email, and social media.
- Below 60: visible artefacts on gradients, skies, and flat colour regions. Don't go here unless you have a specific size budget.
Since HEIC itself is already compressed, re-encoding to JPG at anything below 85 starts to compound loss. Stick with 85 unless you have a hard file-size target.
Preserve your EXIF (if you want)
iPhone HEICs carry EXIF metadata: when the photo was taken, which lens, GPS coordinates, orientation, and the colour profile. If you want that data in the JPG, tick "Preserve EXIF" in the tool's advanced settings.
Leaving it off is the privacy-respecting default — strip all metadata on export. Handy if you're posting the photo online and don't want to broadcast the coordinates of your living room.
The "auto-orient" trap
Phones don't actually rotate the pixels when you turn the phone — they store the rotation as a single byte in EXIF. Convert with orientation stripped AND the original orientation byte discarded, and your portrait photo might display landscape.
Our tool's Auto-orient setting (on by default) reads the EXIF orientation first, physically rotates the pixels, then encodes. The result displays correctly everywhere, including apps that ignore EXIF. Keep this on unless you're doing something unusual.
Converting a whole camera roll
iPhones let you bulk-share HEICs in the Photos app: select multiple → Share → Save to Files. That gives you a folder of .heic files you can drag onto the converter. Our batch mode processes them sequentially and ZIPs the output — one download for the whole set.
Free tier caps at 4 MB per file. For iPhone 12 Pro and newer (which regularly produce 3–5 MB HEICs at full resolution), you may hit the ceiling on some photos. Paid plans lift this to 1.5–5 GB.
When NOT to convert
If every device you use handles HEIC — recent Macs, recent iPhones, recent Chrome and Safari — keep the file as HEIC. You'll save about half the storage. Only convert when you need to send the file somewhere that doesn't decode HEIC:
- Windows 10 (without the HEVC extension)
- Microsoft Word, Outlook email attachments
- Older Android phones (< Android 9)
- Print labs and photo-kiosk software
- Most CMS image uploaders (WordPress, Squarespace, Substack)
Common questions
Will converting reduce quality?
At quality 85 — no, not visibly. JPEG's "loss" at that level lives in frequencies your eye can't resolve. Quality 100 is practically lossless (the encoder still makes DCT decisions) but bloats the file with no perceptible gain.
What about HEIF, HEIC, and HEVC — what's the difference?
HEIF is the container (ISO-standardized). HEVC (H.265) is the video codec inside it. HEIC is Apple's marketing name for still images stored in HEIF using HEVC. Our tool handles all three extensions (.heic, .heif, .hif) identically.
Can I convert HEIC to PNG instead?
Yes — the same tool page lets you pick PNG as the target instead of JPG. PNG is lossless, so it doesn't introduce re-encoding loss on top of the HEIC decode. Trade-off: PNG files are typically 3–5× larger than JPG at quality 85. Use PNG if you plan to edit the file further; JPG for sharing or archiving.
Are my files private?
Yes. HEIC is decoded on our server (sharp's build doesn't handle HEIC directly, so we use a pure-JS library). Files are held in memory just long enough to produce the JPG, then auto-deleted. No disk, no database, no analytics on file contents.
Ready?
HEIC to JPG →. Free, in your browser, no sign-up.