Is HEIC better quality than JPG?

At the same file size, yes. HEIC uses the HEVC/H.265 codec which is far more efficient than JPEG's DCT compression. A 2 MB HEIC file contains noticeably more detail than a 2 MB JPG. However, when you convert HEIC to JPG at 85-95% quality, the visible difference is negligible for most practical uses.

Does converting HEIC to JPG lose quality?

There is a small amount of quality loss because you are re-encoding from one lossy format to another. At 85% JPG quality, the difference is virtually invisible to the human eye. At 95%, it is visually lossless. The tradeoff is a larger file size — a 2 MB HEIC typically becomes 3-4 MB as a JPG at 85% quality.

Why can't Windows open HEIC files?

Windows 10 and 11 require the HEVC Video Extensions codec to decode HEIC files. Microsoft charges $0.99 for this codec in the Microsoft Store because HEVC is patent-encumbered. Without it, Windows Photos and other apps cannot read the HEVC image data inside the HEIC container.

Can I make my iPhone shoot JPG instead of HEIC?

Yes. Go to Settings → Camera → Formats and select 'Most Compatible.' This switches your camera to shoot JPG photos and H.264 video. The downside is your photos and videos will use roughly twice the storage space on your device.

Does HEIC to JPG conversion preserve EXIF data?

Yes, a good converter preserves all EXIF metadata including date taken, GPS location, camera settings, and orientation. GoToolsOnline's HEIC to JPG converter retains full EXIF data by default. You can verify by checking the file properties after conversion.

HEIC to JPG: Why iPhones Use HEIC and How to Convert It (Complete 2026 Guide)

Everything you need to know about HEIC — and how to convert it to JPG in seconds

By Ben Praveen J · March 23, 2026

You took a photo on your iPhone and tried to share it. The recipient says they cannot open it. You look at the file — it ends in .heic instead of .jpg. Welcome to a problem that has confused millions of iPhone users since 2017. This guide explains exactly what HEIC is, why Apple chose it, why it causes compatibility headaches, and how to convert HEIC to JPG whenever you need to.

What Is HEIC and Why Does Your iPhone Use It?

HEIC stands for High Efficiency Image Container. It is a file format based on the HEVC (H.265) video codec — the same compression technology used for 4K video streaming. Apple adopted HEIC as the default photo format in iOS 11 back in 2017, and every iPhone since the iPhone 7 shoots in HEIC by default.

The reason is simple: HEIC files are roughly 50% smaller than JPEG files at the same visual quality. On a 128 GB iPhone, that difference is enormous. Instead of storing 25,000 photos, you can store closer to 50,000. Apple made the switch to save storage space and reduce iCloud bandwidth usage.

But file size is not the only advantage. HEIC supports features that JPEG simply cannot handle:

Depth maps. Portrait mode photos store a depth map alongside the image data, enabling the adjustable background blur effect. HEIC containers can hold both the image and the depth map in a single file. JPEG cannot.
Live Photos. A Live Photo is a still image plus a short video clip. HEIC can bundle both into one file because the container format supports multiple media types.
HDR and wide color gamut. HEIC natively supports 10-bit color depth and the Display P3 color space, which covers 25% more colors than the sRGB color space used by JPEG. This means more vibrant sunsets, more accurate skin tones, and smoother gradients.
16-bit image data. HEIC can store 16 bits per channel compared to JPEG's 8 bits, preserving more tonal detail in shadows and highlights.
Multiple images in one file. Burst shots, image sequences, and thumbnail variants can all be stored inside a single HEIC container.

In short, HEIC is technically superior to JPEG in almost every measurable way. The problem is that the rest of the world has not caught up.

The HEIC Compatibility Problem

Despite being nearly a decade old, HEIC support outside the Apple ecosystem remains spotty. Here are the most common scenarios where HEIC causes problems:

Windows 10 and 11. Microsoft does not include HEVC decoding by default. You need to install the "HEVC Video Extensions" codec from the Microsoft Store — and Microsoft charges $0.99 for it because HEVC is patent-encumbered. Without it, Windows Photos, Paint, and File Explorer cannot display HEIC thumbnails or open the files.
Older Android devices. Android added native HEIF support in Android 9 (2018), but many older devices and budget phones running earlier versions cannot open HEIC files at all.
WordPress and CMS uploads. WordPress does not support HEIC uploads by default. If you try to upload a .heic file to the media library, it will be rejected. Most other content management systems have the same limitation.
Email recipients. When you attach a HEIC file to an email, recipients on Windows or older devices see a file they cannot open. Many people do not know what HEIC is and assume the attachment is corrupted.
Social media platforms. While major platforms like Instagram and Facebook can handle HEIC uploads (they convert server-side), some smaller platforms, forums, and submission forms reject HEIC files entirely.
Web applications. Many online tools, form builders, and web applications only accept JPG, PNG, and GIF. HEIC is not supported by the HTML <img> tag in most browsers, so web developers rarely add HEIC support to upload forms.

The net result: HEIC works perfectly within the Apple ecosystem (iPhone, iPad, Mac) but creates friction the moment you try to share photos outside of it. That is where conversion comes in.

How HEIC to JPG Conversion Works

Converting HEIC to JPG is not just renaming the file extension — it involves several distinct processing steps:

Decoding the HEVC image data. The converter reads the HEIC container and decodes the compressed image using the HEVC/H.265 algorithm. This produces a raw pixel grid — the uncompressed image data that represents every pixel's color value.
Color space conversion. iPhone photos are typically captured in the Display P3 color space, which is wider than the sRGB color space that JPEG uses. The converter maps P3 colors to their closest sRGB equivalents. Colors that fall outside sRGB's gamut are clipped to the nearest representable value. In practice, this affects very vivid reds, greens, and oranges — but the difference is subtle for most photos.
Metadata (EXIF) preservation. Good converters extract the EXIF data from the HEIC file — including date taken, GPS coordinates, camera settings (aperture, shutter speed, ISO), and orientation — and embed it into the output JPG file. This ensures your converted photos still show the correct date, location, and orientation when viewed.
JPEG re-encoding. The raw pixel data is compressed using the JPEG algorithm (DCT-based compression) at the specified quality level. This is where you trade off file size against visual quality. Higher quality means larger files but fewer compression artifacts.

The entire process typically takes less than a second per image on modern hardware. For a deeper look at how different image formats compare in processing speed, see our image format speed test.

Step-by-Step: Convert HEIC to JPG with GoToolsOnline

Converting your HEIC files takes about 10 seconds. Here is the process:

Open the HEIC to JPG converter. It works in any browser — Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge — on any device including your phone, tablet, or computer. No software installation required.
Upload your HEIC file. Tap "Choose File" or drag and drop your .heic file onto the upload area. You can also upload multiple files at once for batch conversion.
Conversion happens instantly. The tool decodes your HEIC file and re-encodes it as a JPG. Processing happens in your browser — your photos are not uploaded to any server, so your images remain private.
Download your JPG. Click the download button to save the converted file. The output file retains the original filename with a .jpg extension.

The converted JPG file preserves all your EXIF data — date taken, GPS location, camera settings, and image orientation. You can verify this by right-clicking the downloaded file and checking its properties.

If you need to convert to formats other than JPG, our image format converter supports PNG, WebP, BMP, and more.

Quality Settings Explained

When converting HEIC to JPG, the quality setting controls how aggressively the JPEG encoder compresses the image. Here is what each range means in practice:

Quality	Visual Result	File Size vs HEIC	Best For
95%	Visually lossless — indistinguishable from original	~2-2.5x larger	Printing, archival, professional photography
85%	Nearly identical — differences only visible at extreme zoom	~1.3-1.5x larger	General sharing, social media, documents
70%	Slight softening — noticeable on close inspection	~0.8-1x (similar size)	Web uploads, email attachments, thumbnails
50%	Visible artifacts — blocky areas in gradients	~0.5-0.7x smaller	Quick previews, low-bandwidth situations

Our recommendation: use 85% for most conversions. It produces files that are virtually indistinguishable from the HEIC original while keeping file sizes reasonable. Only go higher if you need the image for printing or professional editing. Use 70% if you need the smallest possible file for email or web upload.

For further file size reduction after conversion, run the JPG through our image compressor which applies additional optimization passes.

Batch Conversion Tips

If you have a large photo library in HEIC format, converting files one at a time is tedious. Here are efficient approaches for bulk conversion:

GoToolsOnline batch mode. Our HEIC to JPG converter accepts multiple files at once. Select all the HEIC files you want to convert and drop them onto the upload area. Each file is processed individually and available for download.
AirDrop workflow. When you AirDrop photos from iPhone to a Mac, macOS automatically converts HEIC to JPG during the transfer if the receiving app does not support HEIC. This is a quick way to get JPGs without any manual conversion — just AirDrop to yourself.
Google Photos workaround. Upload your HEIC photos to Google Photos, then download them from photos.google.com on your computer. Google Photos converts to JPG on download by default. The downside: photos are processed through Google's servers and may be compressed if you are on the free storage tier.
iCloud settings. On your Mac, open Photos → Preferences → General and ensure "Download Originals to this Mac" is enabled. Then when you export (File → Export), choose JPEG as the format. This lets you batch-export entire albums as JPG files.
iPhone setting for automatic compatibility. When you share photos via email, Messages, or third-party apps, iOS can automatically convert HEIC to JPG. Go to Settings → Photos → Transfer to Mac or PC and select "Automatic." This sends JPGs to non-Apple devices while keeping HEIC originals on your phone.

If you also need to resize photos during conversion — for example, to create web-optimized versions — use our image resize tool after converting to JPG.

Should You Keep Using HEIC?

Given the compatibility headaches, you might wonder if you should just switch your iPhone to shoot JPG. Here is the honest assessment:

Pros of keeping HEIC:

Saves 40-50% storage space on your iPhone — meaningful on 64 GB or 128 GB devices.
Better image quality at the same file size. Your photos retain more detail, especially in low-light shots and high-contrast scenes.
Supports advanced features: Portrait mode depth maps, Live Photos, HDR, and wide color gamut all work best in HEIC.
iCloud backup and sync is faster and uses less bandwidth with smaller files.

Cons of keeping HEIC:

Sharing outside Apple's ecosystem requires conversion — every time.
Uploading to websites, WordPress, and web forms often fails.
Windows users you share with may not be able to open your photos.
Some photo editing software does not support HEIC import.

Our recommendation: keep HEIC on your phone and convert when sharing. The storage savings and quality benefits are worth the occasional conversion step. Use the "Automatic" transfer setting (Settings → Photos → Transfer to Mac or PC → Automatic) so iOS handles most conversions for you. For everything else, use our free HEIC to JPG converter.

If you prefer to avoid the issue entirely, switch to JPG: go to Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible. Your photos will be saved as JPG and your videos as H.264 — universally compatible, but roughly twice the file size.

For a broader comparison of image formats and when to use each one, check our guide on compressing images for the web.

Convert now: Convert HEIC to JPG free — no signup, no upload to servers, no watermark. Works on any device, preserves your EXIF data, and handles batch conversion.

FAQ

Is HEIC better quality than JPG?: At the same file size, yes. HEIC uses the HEVC/H.265 codec which is far more efficient than JPEG's DCT compression. A 2 MB HEIC file contains noticeably more detail than a 2 MB JPG. However, when you convert HEIC to JPG at 85-95% quality, the visible difference is negligible for most practical uses.
Does converting HEIC to JPG lose quality?: There is a small amount of quality loss because you are re-encoding from one lossy format to another. At 85% JPG quality, the difference is virtually invisible to the human eye. At 95%, it is visually lossless. The tradeoff is a larger file size — a 2 MB HEIC typically becomes 3-4 MB as a JPG at 85% quality.
Why can't Windows open HEIC files?: Windows 10 and 11 require the HEVC Video Extensions codec to decode HEIC files. Microsoft charges $0.99 for this codec in the Microsoft Store because HEVC is patent-encumbered. Without it, Windows Photos and other apps cannot read the HEVC image data inside the HEIC container.
Can I make my iPhone shoot JPG instead of HEIC?: Yes. Go to Settings → Camera → Formats and select "Most Compatible." This switches your camera to shoot JPG photos and H.264 video. The downside is your photos and videos will use roughly twice the storage space on your device.
Does HEIC to JPG conversion preserve EXIF data?: Yes, a good converter preserves all EXIF metadata including date taken, GPS location, camera settings, and orientation. GoToolsOnline's HEIC to JPG converter retains full EXIF data by default. You can verify by checking the file properties after conversion.