Convert HEIC to JPG - iPhone Photos on Any Device
Last reviewed: 2026-08-09
This HEIC to JPG converter turns Apple's .heic photos into standard JPG files that open on Windows, Android, and older editors. Upload one photo or a batch, or use the in-browser panel further down to convert on your device without uploading. HEIC is Apple's high-efficiency format since iOS 11; JPG is what everything else reads.
The download is a genuine re-encode, not the original file with a swapped extension: the server actually decodes the HEIC pixel data and writes a new JPG, so it opens correctly wherever JPG is supported. Once the JPG comes back, the uploaded photo is removed from the server after a short processing window, so no copy of it sits around tied to your session.
HEIC is a photo; HEVC is a video - for .mov files use the video converter instead.
When to Convert
Reach for a JPG copy when you are sharing with non-Apple users, uploading to a website or web form that rejects .heic, or opening the photo in older editing software that has no HEIC support. If none of those apply, keep the HEIC original - the panel above lists the three cases where converting costs you something.
A .heic file that will not open on a Windows PC at all - not blurry, not corrupted, just refuses to preview or open - is a missing-codec problem, not a broken file. Converting it here to JPG is the fastest one-off fix, but if you get iPhone photos from the same person regularly, installing Windows' own HEIF codec is a better long-term fix than converting every file. See why HEIC won't open on Windows (three fixes) for the codec-install option and when to pick it over converting.
Converted JPG still too large to share? Converting at full quality can produce a JPG larger than the HEIC original - HEIC compresses more efficiently than JPG. Lower the quality slider in Settings before re-converting (uncheck Auto-optimise, then pick 70-85%), or pass the output through Compress Image to hit a specific size target. The guide How to compress a JPG for email attachment limits walks through the size-vs-quality trade-off.
A HEIC to JPG output that looks blurry or blocky is a quality-value issue, not something the conversion step itself causes. Raise the quality slider in Settings (uncheck Auto-optimise, then move it toward 85) and convert again from the original .heic - never from an already-converted JPG, since each re-encode adds its own loss. The guide Compressed JPG looks blurry? Three causes walks through the quality-value, re-encode, and upscaled-source causes with a 30-second side-by-side test to tell them apart.
Other tools in the image-conversion set: extract frames from a GIF as individual PNG or JPG files, convert a raster PNG into a scalable vector with PNG to SVG, or flatten an SVG down to a fixed-pixel PNG with SVG to PNG.
Wondering exactly what happens to your file, step by step? HEIC to JPG - what the converter actually does (and what it does not) lists the upload-decode-reencode-download path in plain terms, plus the five things it will not do (no pixel edits, no live-photo motion extraction, no account).
Free Tool Online Editorial TeamSvg to png converter
This converter takes Apple HEIC and HEIF photos and returns JPG, PNG, WebP, or a combined PDF - it does not read vector SVG artwork. To flatten an SVG into a fixed-pixel PNG, reach for the dedicated SVG to PNG tool instead, which rasterises the vector at the size you choose.
What users say about this tool
My go-to converter when I see those horrible letters .heic
Thank you for the service. Needed to send photos of me to my wife, and she did not have an iOS device.
Thank you for your online HEIC converter tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Freetoolonline.com store my uploaded photos or converted JPG images?
No. Uploaded files are processed temporarily and deleted automatically after your session ends, so nothing lingers on our servers - which is also why the converted JPG images stop downloading once that window closes. Learn more in our session duration policy.
Does the conversion strip my EXIF metadata?
No - the EXIF metadata block is kept on the JPG, PNG, or WebP output, and on this tool that is not optional: the EXIF control in Settings is fixed on, so camera model, shutter speed, ISO, and capture date travel with the converted file. If you need a copy with no metadata attached, convert with the in-browser panel on this page instead and then strip the metadata locally, or share a screenshot of the photo rather than the converted file itself.
Does converting HEIC to JPG lose quality?
JPG is a lossy format, so some compression is applied during the export step. At the default quality 85 setting, the visual difference vs the HEIC original is imperceptible on any screen. The quality slider on this page caps at 85 (the slider range is 70-85); tick Auto-optimize above the slider to let the page pick a perceptually-equivalent target near 85, or untick it to slide manually within that range. If you need higher-quality output than 85 can deliver, keep the HEIC original or pick WebP via the format dropdown - those formats use better-than-JPEG compression at the same visual level.
Why are my converted JPGs larger than the HEIC originals?
HEIC uses HEVC compression that is roughly twice as efficient as JPEG for the same visual quality. Converting HEIC to JPG is expected to roughly double the file size at comparable quality. If the size increase matters for your use case, keep the HEIC source or consider WebP as a middle ground.
Can I convert 100 HEIC photos at once?
Yes, the tool accepts multi-select uploads. See our step-by-step guide for batch HEIC conversion - the workflow handles up to a few hundred files per session, each decoded server-side in turn, with the converted batch packaged as a single ZIP for download.
Why does Windows Photos show my HEIC as a blank thumbnail?
Windows 10 and 11 ship without a HEIC decoder by default. The Photos app shows a placeholder until you install the free "HEIF Image Extensions" from the Microsoft Store and the paid "HEVC Video Extensions" (or the free OEM-bundled variant that ships with some laptops). Installing both unblocks the preview, Explorer thumbnails, and File Open dialogs across Windows. If you only need the photos once, converting to JPG here is faster than the codec install.
Does the tool preserve Live Photos, Portrait Mode depth, or HDR gain maps?
No. JPG, PNG, and WebP output formats drop the Live Photo motion clip, the Portrait Mode depth map, and the HDR gain map - those fields are HEIC/HEIF container features that the target formats do not define. Keep the HEIC original if you need any of that metadata preserved for re-editing in Apple Photos or Affinity.
Should I change my iPhone's Camera Capture setting to "Most Compatible" instead of converting?
If you send photos to non-Apple recipients more often than you keep them, yes - Settings → Camera → Formats → "Most Compatible" switches capture to JPEG and avoids the conversion step entirely. The trade-off is roughly 2× storage per photo and no gain map for HDR. For most users who share often and edit rarely, "Most Compatible" at capture is the right default; this converter is the fix for the existing HEIC library you already took.
Does the conversion happen in my browser or on a server?
Both paths exist, and you choose. The default convert button uploads the file over HTTPS for fast server-side decoding, then sends the JPG, PNG, WebP, or PDF back to your device. There is also an opt-in "Or convert in your browser - no upload" panel: drop one photo or a whole batch there and each one is decoded and re-encoded on your own device, so the files never leave your browser. That panel converts the batch one photo at a time and gives you a preview and a download button for each, plus a single ZIP of the set. Use it whenever you want the photos to stay off any server; use the default upload path when you want the combined multi-page PDF, which only the server builds.
How does Auto-optimise choose the JPEG quality level?
Auto-optimise (AI) compares the converted output against a 100% quality reference and steps the quality value down until the visual difference is within an acceptable threshold. The selected quality typically falls in the 70-85 range. This per-image comparison produces the smallest JPG that still looks sharp - smaller than a fixed-quality setting would on the same photo, but without visible loss on the downloaded result.