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BlogHow it works

JPG to HEIC Converter

Re-save JPG photos in Apple's HEIC format so the same pictures take roughly half the storage on an iPhone, a Mac or in iCloud. Upload, keep or adjust the quality, and download the .heic files.

Image Converter

or drop JPG, JPEG, JPE … files here ·

Max 95 MB per file· Up to 20 files· Deleted after 30 minutes

Output

Files are processed on our servers and deleted after 30 minutes.

How to use this tool

  1. 1

    Upload the JPG photos

    Pick .jpg or .jpeg files from your computer or phone. A batch holds up to 20 files of up to 95 MB each.

  2. 2

    Choose the HEIC quality

    Quality starts at 85. Leave it there for photos you will keep, or lower it to around 70 if you only care about saving space on snapshots.

  3. 3

    Press Convert to HEIC

    Download each .heic file, or the ZIP for a batch, and copy them into Photos, Files or iCloud Drive.

Answer

Is it worth converting JPG to HEIC?

Only to save space. A JPG converted to HEIC at quality 85 keeps the picture visibly the same in roughly half the bytes, which adds up across thousands of photos. It does not repair JPEG artifacts, and fewer apps can open the result.

Why convert JPG to HEIC: library space and iPhone formats

Apple switched the iPhone camera from JPEG to HEIC with iOS 11 in 2017. The container is HEIF, standardized by MPEG as ISO/IEC 23008-12, and the picture inside is compressed with the HEVC (H.265) tools used for 4K video. HEVC predicts each block from its neighbors and codes only the difference, while JPEG, a 1992 design, codes every 8 × 8 block on its own. Hence the figure Apple quoted at launch: about half the file size at comparable quality.

That makes the reverse direction useful for big photo libraries. Scanned family albums, exports from an old camera, wedding galleries delivered as JPG: converted to HEIC, a typical 4 MB JPG lands around 1.5 to 2.5 MB. On a phone with fixed storage, or an iCloud account that starts at 5 GB free, that decides whether everything stays on the device.

Newer Pro iPhones lean on the same format: their 48 MP setting, labeled HEIF Max, saves full-resolution shots only as HEIF. Converting the JPGs from other cameras keeps a mixed library in one compact format.

Which HEIC quality to pick for already-compressed JPGs

  1. 50

    Smallest files; smooth skies start to band and fine hair turns to mush.

  2. 70

    Fine for snapshots viewed on a phone screen, rarely for prints.

  3. 85

    Default. Looks like the source JPG at full screen, usually about half its size.

  4. 95

    Keeps every artifact of the JPG faithfully; the saving shrinks to a modest margin.

JPG

JPEG image

JPEG (or JPG) is the most widely used photo format, standardised by the Joint Photographic Experts Group in 1992. It uses lossy compression that discards fine detail the eye is unlikely to notice, which keeps photos small enough for the web, email and phone storage. It handles smooth gradients and natural scenes well, but sharp text, line art and flat colours pick up visible blocky or fuzzy artefacts. JPEG has no transparency and no animation, and every re-save loses a little more quality. Every browser, phone, camera and image editor can open it.

Compression
Lossy
Transparency
No
Animation
No
Introduced
1992 · Joint Photographic Experts Group
JPG converter

HEIC

High Efficiency Image Container

HEIC is the HEIF image container (an MPEG standard from 2015) holding pictures compressed with the HEVC (H.265) codec. Apple made it the default photo format on iPhone and iPad in 2017 because it stores photos at roughly half the size of JPEG with similar quality. It can hold depth data, Live Photo sequences, transparency and 10-bit colour. Support outside the Apple ecosystem is patchy: many Windows PCs, web browsers, websites and online forms cannot open HEIC without extra codecs.

Compression
Lossy
Transparency
Yes
Animation
Yes
Introduced
2015 · Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG)
HEIC converter

JPG to HEIC is a storage move: people shrink a library of finished JPG photos to fit a phone or a cloud quota, accepting a format fewer programs open in exchange for files about half the size.

Opening the converted HEIC files on each device

iPhone and iPad

  1. 01AirDrop the files or save them to Files.
  2. 02Long-press a file and choose Save Image to add it to Photos.
  3. 03iOS 11 or later shows them like camera shots.

Android

  1. 01Copy the .heic files to the phone.
  2. 02Open them in Google Photos or the gallery app.
  3. 03Android 9 and later decode HEIF without extra apps.

Windows and Mac

  1. 01On Windows 10 or 11, install HEIF Image Extensions and HEVC Video Extensions from the Microsoft Store.
  2. 02Open the files in Photos.
  3. 03On a Mac, Preview and Photos open HEIC since macOS High Sierra (10.13).

Two cautions before you delete the original JPGs. Every lossy conversion is a generation: the HEIC is a copy of a copy, so keep the JPG masters if the photos are irreplaceable. And think about who else will open the files; a HEIC sent to a Windows colleague without the extensions, or attached to a web form, will bounce. Our guide to AVIF, HEIC and WebP compares the three modern formats if you are choosing one for an archive.

JPG to HEIC: questions before you convert

Why would anyone convert JPG to HEIC instead of the other way?

Almost always for storage. HEIC holds a photo in roughly half the bytes of a JPEG of similar visual quality, so an archive of old JPG scans takes less room on a 128 GB iPhone or in iCloud. Sharing is the opposite case, which is what HEIC to JPG is for.

Does a JPG get sharper or cleaner when it becomes HEIC?

No. The JPG has already lost detail to its own compression, and HEIC encodes those pixels again, artifacts included. Converting can only keep what is left, so use quality 85 or higher for photos that matter.

Can Windows 11 open the HEIC files I make here?

Yes, after two Microsoft Store add-ons: HEIF Image Extensions, which is free, and HEVC Video Extensions, which is paid. Without the HEVC part, Photos shows an error or a blank thumbnail, because the pixels inside a HEIC are HEVC-compressed.

Will a website or upload form accept a .heic file?

Rarely. Chrome and Firefox do not display HEIC, and most portals list JPG and PNG only. Keep HEIC for your own library; for the web, a WebP made with the image compressor is the better route.

Do dates, GPS location and camera details survive?

EXIF fields can be carried into the HEIC, but Strip metadata is on by default to protect location data. Turn it off under Advanced settings if you want Photos to sort the pictures by their original capture date.

Is HEIC an Apple-only format?

No. HEIF, the container behind .heic, is an ISO standard from the Moving Picture Experts Group, and Android has read it since version 9 (2018). Apple made it the iPhone's default camera format in iOS 11, which is where most people meet it.