Convert HEIC to JPG
Got a photo from an iPhone that Windows, an upload form or an older app refuses to open? Drop it here and download a standard JPG a moment later. The conversion is free, runs entirely on your own device, and nothing you drop in is ever uploaded anywhere.
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How it works
- Drop your HEIC files onto the page, or click to browse. You can select several at once.
- Wait a second while the decoder reads each photo. On the first run in Chrome, Firefox or Edge a small decoder module downloads once, then stays cached.
- Adjust the JPEG quality slider if you want. The default of 90 keeps photos visually identical to the original.
- Download each JPG individually, or grab everything as a single ZIP.
Worth knowing
HEIC is the container Apple has used for iPhone photos since iOS 11. Inside it, the picture is compressed with HEVC, the same codec used for 4K video, which is why an iPhone photo in HEIC is often half the size of the equivalent JPEG. The catch is licensing: HEVC patents make many platforms unwilling to ship a decoder, so Windows machines, Android apps, older versions of Photoshop and most web upload forms simply reject the file.
Browsers reflect the same split. Safari can decode HEIC natively because Apple pays for HEVC across its platforms. Chrome, Firefox and Edge cannot, so this page ships its own decoder compiled to WebAssembly and fetches it only when a non-Safari browser actually needs it - roughly 1 to 2 MB, downloaded once and cached after that. In Safari the native decoder is used and nothing extra loads at all.
Converting HEIC to JPG means decoding the HEVC image and re-encoding it as JPEG, so there is one generation of lossy compression involved. In practice a quality setting between 85 and 92 produces a JPG that is indistinguishable from the source at normal viewing sizes; going above 95 mostly grows the file without visible benefit. The default here sits at 90 for exactly that reason.
If you find yourself doing this constantly, you can stop the problem at the source: on the iPhone, open Settings, then Camera, then Formats, and choose Most Compatible. From then on the camera saves JPEGs directly. Existing HEIC photos stay HEIC, though - this tool is for those.
Safari is the only major browser that decodes HEIC natively, so this page loads a WebAssembly decoder on demand in Chrome, Firefox and Edge - a one-time download of about 1-2 MB. Most competing converters skip that work and quietly send your photos to a server instead.
What this tool will not do
- It will not convert the video half of a Live Photo - only the still frame stored in the HEIC file.
- It cannot make the JPG smaller than the information in the photo allows; a 12 MP HEIC becomes a full 12 MP JPEG, typically 1.5-2x larger than the HEIC was.
- It does not process HEIF sequences (burst captures stored as multi-image files); only the primary image in the container is converted.
Suggested JPEG quality when converting from HEIC
| Use case | Quality | Typical result |
|---|---|---|
| Email or messaging | 80-85 | Small file, minor softness in fine texture |
| General use (default) | 90 | Visually identical to the HEIC original |
| Print or archiving | 92-95 | Maximum fidelity, noticeably larger file |
Questions people ask
Why can Windows not open HEIC photos from my iPhone?
HEIC uses the patented HEVC codec, and Microsoft does not include a licensed decoder with Windows. The Microsoft Store sells an HEVC extension, but converting the photo to JPG solves it permanently and works on any machine you send it to.
Does converting HEIC to JPG reduce quality?
Slightly, because the image is decoded and re-encoded with JPEG compression. At the default quality of 90 the difference is invisible in normal viewing. What you gain is a file that opens literally everywhere.
How do I make my iPhone take JPG photos instead of HEIC?
Go to Settings, tap Camera, tap Formats, and select Most Compatible. New photos will be saved as JPEG from then on. Photos already taken remain HEIC and still need converting.
Why is the converted JPG bigger than my HEIC file?
HEVC compression inside HEIC is roughly twice as efficient as JPEG at the same visual quality, so growth is expected. A 2 MB HEIC often becomes a 3-4 MB JPG. If the size matters, compress the JPG afterwards or lower the quality slider here.
Can I convert many HEIC files at once?
Yes. Select or drop as many as you like; each is decoded and re-encoded on your device, and you can download the whole batch as a ZIP. Speed depends on your computer, not on any server queue.
Will the date, location and camera details survive the conversion?
The essential EXIF fields, including orientation and capture date, are carried across into the JPG. If you would rather strip location data before sharing, run the result through the metadata remover afterwards.
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