HEIC to JPG on iPhone, Mac and Windows

An iPhone saves photos as HEIC files by default. Apple says the format gives "better compression than JPEG" and uses less storage "while preserving the same visual quality". Many upload forms, older programs and Windows computers do not accept HEIC, so the photo has to become a JPG first. The iPhone and Mac methods below are built in and free. Windows needs two extensions from the Microsoft Store first, and one of them costs 0.99 US dollars in the US store. The menus were checked against Apple's and Microsoft's own help pages on 26 September 2026.

The quick answer

Where the photo is	Method	Cost
iPhone, photos not taken yet	Settings > Camera > Formats > Most Compatible	Free
iPhone, one photo to send	Share > Options > Most Compatible	Free
iPhone, copying to a computer	Settings > Apps > Photos: Keep Originals off	Free
Mac	Preview, the Photos app, or Convert Image in Finder	Free
Windows 10 and 11	Install the HEIF and HEVC extensions, then save a copy from Paint	0.99 US dollars for HEVC

On the iPhone

Take new photos as JPG. Open Settings > Camera > Formats and choose Most Compatible. Apple says all new photos then use JPEG. Photos already taken stay HEIC. Choose High Efficiency to go back. The setting exists on iOS 11 and later, where HEIC support began.

Send one photo as JPG. In Photos, open the photo, tap Share, then Options at the top. Apple lists three choices:

• Automatic picks the best format for where the photo is going.
• Current keeps the file exactly as it is.
• Most Compatible may convert the file to JPEG.

Copy photos to a computer. Apple says photos imported into Photos, Image Capture or a Windows PC "might be converted to JPEG" on the way. Turning on Keep Originals in Settings > Apps > Photos stops that and copies the HEIC files as they are, so leave it off when JPG is what you want.

On a Mac

All three methods are free and come with macOS.

• Preview. Open the photo, choose File > Export, and pick JPEG in the Format menu. A quality slider appears. To convert more than one photo, open them all in one Preview window, select them all in the sidebar, then export.
• Photos app. Select the photos, choose File > Export > Export Photos, and set Photo Kind to JPEG.
• Finder. Select the photos, show the Preview pane, click More, then choose Convert Image. Pick JPEG and a size. Apple's own example is a HEIC photo from an iPhone turned into a JPEG.

On Windows 10 and 11

Microsoft says HEIC photos need two extensions from the Microsoft Store, and that "you'll need both, even if you only plan on using photos and not videos":

• HEIF Image Extensions, free.
• HEVC Video Extensions, 0.99 US dollars in the US store.

With both installed, open the photo in Paint and choose File > Save as > JPEG picture. Microsoft lists JPEG among the formats Paint saves.

In the browser

This site's Convert image tool changes a picture to JPG, PNG or WebP on your own device, without uploading it. It can read a HEIC photo only in a browser that can open HEIC itself: Safari can, and most other browsers cannot yet. On Windows, use Paint as above.

After converting

For an upload form with a size limit, Compress image brings a photo under a set size such as 100 KB, and JPG to PDF puts many photos into one PDF. Both run in the browser, with nothing uploaded.