How to Convert HEIC to JPG on Any Device, for Free
You send a photo from your iPhone to your computer, and instead of a picture you get a file ending in .heic that won’t open. Or a website refuses your upload because it only accepts JPG. You’re not doing anything wrong: iPhones save photos as HEIC by default, and not every device or website understands it yet.
The fix is to convert the photos to JPG, the format every phone, computer and website can open. This guide shows how to do it for free in your browser with the HEIC to JPG converter, which settings to use, and how to stop the problem at the source.
What is a HEIC file?
HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is the photo format Apple has used on iPhones and iPads since 2017. It stores a photo at roughly half the size of a JPG of similar quality, so your phone holds more pictures. It can also keep extra information, such as more colour detail.
The catch is compatibility:
- Windows often can’t open HEIC without extra extensions from the Microsoft Store, and those aren’t always free.
- Many websites and online forms accept only JPG or PNG uploads.
- Older Android phones, printers and photo-printing services may not read HEIC at all.
JPG is less efficient, but it works everywhere. That’s why converting is usually the easiest solution.
How to convert HEIC to JPG, step by step
- Open the converter. Go to HEIC to JPG. It works on Windows, Mac, Android and iPhone, in any modern browser.
- Add your photos. Click Choose HEIC files or drag the photos onto the box. You can add up to 50 at once.
- Choose the quality. The Quality slider starts at 90, which looks the same as the original to the eye. See the next section for when to change it.
- Convert. Click Convert. Each photo shows its new size when it’s ready.
- Download. Save the photos one by one with Download, or all at once with Download all as ZIP.
Which quality setting should you use?
JPG is a “lossy” format: it saves space by dropping detail you’re unlikely to notice. The quality setting decides how much:
- 90 (the default): practically identical to the original. Best for photos you want to keep or print.
- 80: noticeably smaller files and still very good. Ideal for email, messages and websites.
- Above 95: the files grow a lot for almost no visible gain.
Don’t be surprised if a JPG is larger than the HEIC it came from: that’s normal, because HEIC is the more efficient format. If you need small files, open the Image Compressor instead. It also accepts HEIC photos, saves them as JPG and can reduce their dimensions, which is where most of the saving comes from.
Is it safe and private?
Yes. The photos are converted inside your browser and never leave your device: nothing is uploaded to a server. The converter also removes hidden photo details such as the GPS location and camera information, so the JPGs are safer to share. Photos are turned the right way up first, so portrait shots don’t end up sideways.
Other formats you can convert HEIC to
- HEIC to PNG: no quality loss at all, but much bigger files. Good when you’re going to edit the photo.
- HEIC to WebP: smaller than JPG at the same quality. Good for your own website.
- HEIC to PDF: put one or more photos into a single PDF, for example to send scanned documents.
How to make your iPhone save JPG instead
If you’d rather not convert at all, you have two options on the iPhone:
- Take new photos as JPG: open Settings › Camera › Formats and choose Most Compatible. New photos are then saved as JPG, at the cost of more storage space.
- Convert when copying to a computer: under Settings › Photos › Transfer to Mac or PC, choose Automatic. The iPhone then converts photos to JPG when you copy them over a cable.
Photos you already took stay HEIC, so a converter is still the quickest way to deal with them.
Frequently asked questions
Does converting HEIC to JPG lose quality?
A little, because JPG is a lossy format. At quality 90 the difference is very hard to see. If you need no loss at all, convert to PNG instead.
Can I convert many photos at once?
Yes. Add up to 50 photos at a time and download them together as a ZIP file.
What about Live Photos?
A Live Photo is a HEIC picture plus a short video saved separately. The converter turns the picture into a JPG; the moving part isn’t included.