HEIC Converter
Upload a HEIC or HEIF photo, pick JPEG, PNG, or WebP, and download a version that opens on any device or website.
Overview
HEIC (and its container format HEIF) is Apple's default photo format on iPhone and iPad — it compresses better than JPEG at the same visual quality, but most non-Apple software, websites, and older tools can't open it. This tool converts a HEIC/HEIF photo into a widely-supported format so you can upload it, email it, or edit it anywhere.
Unlike this site's client-side Image Converter, this tool runs the conversion on the server. Browsers have no built-in way to decode HEIC — there's no browser API for it — so the file is uploaded, decoded and re-encoded server-side, and the result is sent back for download. The original file isn't stored; it's processed in memory for the length of the request and then discarded.
Conversion only goes one direction: HEIC/HEIF in, JPEG/PNG/WebP out. Encoding a file back to HEIC isn't offered, since HEIC's video-derived compression (HEVC) is patent-licensed and not something this tool can produce — see the FAQ below.
Examples
Converting an iPhone photo to JPEG
IMG_0421.heic
converted.jpg (opens in any image viewer or upload form)
How It Works
- Choose a HEIC or HEIF file from your device.
- Select the output format: JPEG, PNG, or WebP.
- For JPEG or WebP, adjust the quality slider if you want a smaller file.
- Click Convert. The file is uploaded, converted on the server, and the result is returned.
- Preview the converted image, then click Download to save it.
Use Cases
Uploading an iPhone photo to a website that rejects HEIC
Many upload forms and older CMSs only accept JPEG or PNG — convert the photo first instead of changing your phone's camera settings.
Sharing a photo with someone on Windows or Android
HEIC support outside Apple's ecosystem is inconsistent — JPEG opens everywhere without a second thought.
Preparing HEIC photos for an editor that doesn't support the format
Convert to PNG first if you need a lossless intermediate format for further editing.
Tips
- JPEG is the safest default for compatibility; use PNG only if you specifically need lossless output or transparency.
- iPhone photos are often several megabytes — conversion may take a few seconds for very large files.
- If you need to resize or crop the converted photo afterward, use the Resize Image or Crop Image tool on the JPEG/PNG/WebP output.
FAQ
Yes, briefly. Browsers can't decode HEIC at all, so this is one of the few tools on this site that processes the file server-side rather than in your browser. The file is held in memory only for the length of the request and is never saved to disk.
No. HEIC's compression (HEVC) requires a patent-licensed encoder that isn't included in the open-source image library this tool uses. This tool only converts out of HEIC/HEIF, not into it — which matches how most people actually use HEIC files (getting an iPhone photo into a more compatible format).
Yes, 15MB per file — well above a typical iPhone photo, which is usually a few megabytes.
Visually, no — the pixel data is preserved. Converting to a lossy format like JPEG or WebP applies compression according to the quality setting, the same tradeoff as any other format conversion.