HEIC vs JPG: what's the difference and which should you use?

If you've copied photos off an iPhone, you've met the .heic extension, probably because something refused to open it. HEIC isn't a strange or broken format. It's a newer one, and support for it is still patchy outside Apple's devices.

What each format is (link to section)

JPG dates from 1992. Every phone, browser, printer and photo kiosk reads it. Its compression is simple by modern standards, which is why files are fairly large.

HEIC stores a still image using the HEVC video codec, inside a container called HEIF. Apple made it the iPhone default in 2017. It can hold more than one image, which is how bursts and Live Photos are kept together, as well as depth data and wider colour.

How they compare (link to section)

The size difference is the reason HEIC exists. Across thousands of photos it adds up to many gigabytes of storage.

The real problem is compatibility (link to section)

HEVC is covered by patents, so not every vendor ships a decoder for free. Windows needs an extension from the Microsoft Store. Chrome, Firefox and Edge won't display HEIC images on web pages, and many upload forms reject it outright.

That's why a photo that looks fine on your phone can show up as an unknown file on someone else's computer.

When to keep HEIC (link to section)

• Your photos stay in Apple's apps and iCloud.
• You care about storage space.
• You might want the extra colour depth when editing later.

When to convert (link to section)

• A website or form rejects your upload.
• You're sending photos to someone on Windows or Android.
• You're printing at a shop or using older editing software.

For sharing, JPG is usually the right answer. If you plan to keep editing the image, PNG avoids any further loss, at the price of a much bigger file.

A side benefit: metadata (link to section)

Converting creates a new file, and our converter doesn't copy the old metadata across. So camera details and location don't travel with the photo. If you'd rather keep the original format, you can check what a photo reveals first.