HEIC vs JPG
Updated October 12, 2026
If you have an iPhone, your photos are probably HEIC files. Almost everything else in the world expects JPG. Here's how the two formats compare and when it's worth converting.
At a glance
| HEIC | JPG | |
|---|---|---|
| File size | Often about half the size of JPG | Larger at similar quality |
| Image quality | Similar or better at the same size | Good; artifacts at high compression |
| Color depth | More than 8 bits per channel possible | 8 bits per channel |
| Transparency | Supported | Not supported |
| Extra data | Depth maps, multiple images | Single image |
| Opens on iPhone and Mac | Yes | Yes |
| Opens on Windows | With an extension from Microsoft Store | Yes |
| Accepted by websites | Often not | Almost always |
| Introduced | 2015 (HEIF standard); iPhone default since 2017 | 1992 |
When HEIC is better
- Storing photos on your phone. You fit roughly twice as many photos in the same space.
- Staying inside Apple's ecosystem. If your photos live on iPhone, iPad, Mac and iCloud, HEIC works everywhere you need it.
- Keeping extras. Depth information for Portrait mode editing is kept in HEIC.
When JPG is better
- Sharing with anyone. Every phone, computer, browser and app opens JPG.
- Uploading. Job applications, government forms, marketplaces and print services often accept only JPG or PNG.
- Editing in older software. Many photo editors and office apps still can't open HEIC.
Converting HEIC to JPG
Converting makes a new JPG from the HEIC photo. At a high quality setting, the difference isn't visible, but the JPG will be larger than the HEIC. Keep your HEIC originals if you have the space.
Our HEIC to JPG converter converts several photos at once in your browser, without uploading them, and removes location data by default. For step-by-step options on a PC, see how to convert HEIC to JPG on Windows.
Can you convert JPG to HEIC?
You can, but it rarely helps: the photo has already lost detail to JPG compression, and the HEIC copy will only be easier to store, not better looking. If space is the goal, compressing the JPG or converting it to WebP is simpler and works in more places.