HEIC vs JPG: what’s the difference, and how do you convert?

What HEIC is

HEIC files use HEIF, the High Efficiency Image File Format. Since iOS 11, iPhones from the iPhone 7 onward can save photos in it, with the camera’s High Efficiency setting. Apple’s reason is size: HEIF offers better compression than JPEG, so the same photo takes less storage.

JPG (JPEG) is the format almost everything understands: every browser, operating system, upload form and photo printer.

HEIC and JPG compared

File size

HEIC is usually smaller for the same visible quality, which is why iPhones use it.

Browsers

Safari 17 and later (Mac, iPhone and iPad) display HEIC. Chrome, Edge and Firefox don’t, according to Can I use. JPG works in all of them.

Upload forms

Some websites accept only JPG and PNG, so a HEIC photo is rejected or shows as a broken image.

Licensing

HEIC is complex and expensive to license, which is a large part of why browsers other than Safari haven’t added it.

Get JPG straight from your iPhone

• Save new photos as JPG: in Settings › Camera, tap Formats, then Most Compatible. Choose High Efficiency to go back to HEIF. Photos you already took stay HEIC.
• Transfers to a computer: importing into Photos, Image Capture or a PC may convert photos to JPEG on the way. Apple’s Keep Originals setting, under Settings › Apps › Photos, turns that off.
• Sharing: AirDrop, Messages and email may send a more compatible format, such as JPEG, when the receiving device doesn’t support HEIF. iCloud Photos keeps the original.

Convert HEIC to JPG without uploading

For photos you already have, on any computer or phone browser, including Chrome and Windows:

1. 1Open Convert Image and drop your HEIC photos on the page, up to 50 at a time.
2. 2Leave Convert to on Auto, or choose JPG. Quality 85, the default, is a high setting where differences from the original are hard to see.
3. 3Select Convert image, then download the JPGs one by one or as a ZIP file.

The photos are decoded in your browser, with its own HEIC support where it has one and the open-source libheif decoder otherwise, and never leave your device. Converted files carry no location, camera or date details, which is worth knowing before you share them.

Which should you keep?

Keep HEIC on your phone if storage matters: it holds the same picture in less space, and current Apple devices open it. Convert copies to JPG when you need to upload, email or print them, or open them on a device without HEIC support. If the JPG is too large for an upload form, Compress Image makes it smaller; to send several photos as one document, use JPG to PDF.