HEIC vs JPG: Which Photo Format Should You Use?
A practical comparison of HEIC and JPG — file size, quality, compatibility and features — with clear advice on when to keep HEIC and when to convert to JPG.
Every iPhone owner eventually faces the question: should photos stay in HEIC, or is JPG the better choice? The answer depends less on image quality — both can look excellent — and more on where the photo is going. Here's a practical comparison.
The short answer
- Keep HEIC for photos that live on your iPhone, iPad or Mac, or in iCloud Photos. You save storage space and lose nothing.
- Use JPG when you share, upload, print or open photos on non-Apple devices. It works everywhere.
Side-by-side comparison
| HEIC | JPG | |
|---|---|---|
| Introduced | 2015 (HEIF standard), iPhone default since 2017 | 1992 |
| Compression | HEVC (H.265) | JPEG (DCT) |
| Typical file size at similar quality | Smaller — often around half | Larger |
| Colour depth | 8, 10 or more bits per channel | 8 bits per channel |
| Transparency | Yes | No |
| Multiple images per file | Yes (bursts, depth maps, thumbnails) | No |
| Opens on Windows without add-ons | No | Yes |
| Accepted by websites and forms | Often not | Almost always |
File size
HEIC's biggest advantage is efficiency. Because HEVC uses more sophisticated prediction and larger, adaptive blocks, it needs fewer bytes than JPEG to describe the same detail. Apple chose HEIC precisely so iPhones could store more photos in the same space.
When you convert HEIC to JPG, the file usually gets bigger, not smaller. That surprises many people, but it's expected. If size matters, resize the photo while converting — our HEIC compressor does both in one step.
Image quality
At normal viewing sizes, a well-encoded JPG and a HEIC of the same photo look the same. Differences appear at low bitrates: JPG shows blocky artefacts and colour banding sooner, while HEIC degrades more gracefully.
HEIC can also store 10-bit colour, which matters for HDR photos and smooth skies. A converted JPG is always 8-bit. For everyday photos this isn't noticeable.
Converting from HEIC to JPG is a lossy step. At a high quality setting the loss isn't visible; avoid converting the same photo back and forth repeatedly. If you need a lossless copy for editing, convert to PNG instead.
Compatibility
This is where JPG wins decisively. JPG opens on every operating system, in every browser, in every photo editor and on every social network. HEIC is fully supported on Apple devices, partly on Android and only with extra extensions on Windows. Many web forms — visa applications, marketplaces, job portals — still reject HEIC uploads.
Features
HEIC is a container that can hold several images and extra data: Live Photo stills, depth maps for Portrait mode, image sequences and transparency. JPG holds a single image. When you convert HEIC to JPG, only the primary image is kept.
Which should you choose?
A simple rule: store in HEIC, share in JPG. Keep your library efficient and convert only the photos you need to send.
If you never want to think about it again, set Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible on your iPhone. New photos will be JPGs from the start. And if you already have a folder full of HEIC files, the HEIC to JPG converter converts them all at once — privately, in your browser.
For a deeper technical look at compression, colour depth and metadata, read HEIC vs JPEG: the technical differences.