When PNG is better than JPG for iPhone photos
Most people converting HEIC want JPG, because it is small and opens everywhere. PNG is the better target in a few specific cases:
- Editing in steps. Every time a JPG is saved it loses a little detail. A PNG can be opened, changed and saved any number of times without loss.
- Design work. Many design tools, mock-up generators and print templates prefer PNG, especially when you’ll layer the photo with text or graphics.
- Screenshots and screen recordings saved as HEIC. Text and interface elements stay razor sharp in PNG, while JPG adds faint smudges around letters.
- Archiving an exact copy of what the HEIC shows, in a format that will open for decades.
How to use this converter
Choose one or more HEIC or HEIF files, or drop them on the box above. On first use your browser downloads the HEIC decoder. Then each image is converted on your device, one at a time, and gets a download button.
PNG photos are big, so converting many large photos at once on a phone may take a while. The size of each result is shown so you can check storage before downloading.
What changes in the converted image
- Quality matches the HEIC exactly as decoded. PNG adds no further loss.
- Orientation is applied, so the image is upright.
- Metadata such as location and capture date is not copied.
- HDR and wide colour are converted to standard sRGB.
- Dimensions stay the same.
If file size matters more than lossless quality, use the HEIC to JPG converter instead. It produces files roughly a fifth of the size.
Converting on Windows without installing anything
Windows can only open HEIC after you install extensions from the Microsoft Store, and on some versions the HEVC codec those extensions need costs a small fee. This converter avoids both: it runs in Chrome, Edge or Firefox on any Windows PC, with the decoder loaded by the web page itself. Nothing is installed on your computer and no administrator rights are needed.
Questions
Should I convert HEIC to PNG or JPG?
Choose JPG for sharing and storing photos, since the files are much smaller. Choose PNG when you'll edit the photo several times, need an exact copy, or an app asks for PNG.
Why is the PNG file so large?
PNG doesn't throw away any detail, so a 12-megapixel photo is commonly 15 to 25 MB as PNG. That's normal and is the price of a lossless copy.
Does the PNG keep the iPhone's portrait background blur and depth data?
The blur you see is kept, because it is part of the image. The separate depth map used for re-editing portrait effects is not carried over, as PNG has no place to store it.
Why does the first conversion take longer?
Browsers other than Safari can't decode HEIC, so a decoder of about 3 MB is downloaded the first time. It is cached for later conversions.
Last reviewed 30 October 2026