How to Convert HEIC to JPG on Mac: Three Ways

Overview

HEIC is a photo format. Apple's Photos guide calls it the default image format for Apple devices, and Apple's HEIF article says an iPhone 7 or later can capture HEIF. JPEG is the older format. When a site, a form or another computer will not take a HEIC, you convert it to JPG. Microsoft's support page says many devices automatically convert HEIC photos to a more common format when transferring or emailing them.

Apple documents three ways to do it on a Mac (the Finder way is its Convert Image quick action):

The same Preview menu also saves PNG and PDF, so you do not need a separate method for those. If you would rather stop making HEIC in the first place, there is an iPhone setting for that, covered in iPhone Setting.

Every menu name on this page is written as Apple's own page writes it. None of Apple's guide pages prints a date, so we give the date we read them, 2 November 2026. Loop, our Mac app, does not convert photos, so it comes late on this page and only for sending the finished files.

Preview

This is the method Apple's HEIF article points to: "If you open an HEIF image in Photos or Preview on your Mac, choose File > Export, then choose a format such as JPEG or PNG before saving." The steps are on Apple's page on converting image file types in Preview.

1. Open the HEIC photo in Preview.
2. Choose File > Export.
3. Click the Format pop-up menu, then choose JPEG.
4. If you choose JPEG, Apple says you can adjust the image's quality.
5. Type a new name, or choose a new location for the converted file, then click Save.

Apple's list for the Format pop-up menu is HEIC, JPEG, JPEG-2000, OpenEXR, PDF, PNG and TIFF. That is why PNG and PDF need no separate method: pick one of those instead of JPEG. For PDF, Apple adds that you can choose a Quartz filter to apply to the image and you can encrypt the image.

Use a new name or a new folder in step 5, so the HEIC original stays where it was. Apple's page does not describe what happens to the original, so we do not say.

Several Photos

In Preview. Apple's tip on the same page is: "To convert more than one image file at a time, open the files in one window, select them in that window's sidebar, then follow the steps above." The page names no other menu item for this, and we could not confirm the exact menu text you see with several photos selected.

In the Finder. Apple's page on quick actions in the Finder says to Control-click the file, then choose Quick Actions. Under "Convert an image to another format or a smaller size" it says to click More, choose Convert Image, then choose a format and a size, and gives this example: you can convert an .heic photo from your iPhone to a .jpeg or .png image.

Two things Apple's page does not say, so we do not either: whether Convert Image takes several files at once, and whether it offers a choice about keeping the photo's metadata. Apple also says the tasks in the Quick Actions menu depend on the file type and any enabled Finder extensions, so your menu may show different items from the ones above.

Photos App

If the pictures are in your Photos library, you can convert them as you take them out. Per Apple's export page:

1. Select the photos.
2. Choose File > Export > Export [number] Photos.
3. Click the Photo Kind pop-up menu and choose the file type for the exported photos. Apple lists JPEG, TIFF, PNG and HEIC.
4. For JPEG, the JPEG Quality pop-up menu lets you choose a resolution, and a Size pop-up menu is also on that page.

Apple describes JPEG as creating "small files suitable for use with websites and other photo apps".

Choose File > Export > Export Unmodified Original and the photos come out in the file format they were imported in, which for an iPhone photo can be HEIC, so use the plain Export for a JPEG. Apple adds that a Live Photo is exported as two separate files, a still-image file and a video file.

Apple's page also says dragging photos to a location in the Finder is "the easiest way to export photos". Apple's page does not say whether a dragged photo arrives as a JPEG, and we could not confirm it.

iPhone Setting

You can ask the iPhone to stop making HEIC. Apple's HEIF article (published 5 December 2025) says to open Settings, tap Camera, tap Formats, then tap Most Compatible. Apple says all new photos and videos then use JPEG or H.264 format, and that choosing High Efficiency returns to HEIF and HEVC. Apple's page says nothing about photos already taken; we expect they stay as they are, but that is our inference.

Apple gives a reason to leave it on High Efficiency: HEIF and HEVC offer better compression than JPEG and H.264, so they use less storage space on your devices and iCloud Photos while keeping the same visual quality.

Two other settings, both from Apple:

• Keep Originals. When you import HEIF or HEVC media from an attached iPhone or iPad into Photos, Image Capture or a PC, it might be converted to JPEG or H.264. To stop that, Apple says to open Settings, tap Apps, tap Photos, then scroll down and tap Keep Originals.
• Share options. On the iPhone's share sheet, Apple says to tap Automatic for the best file format for the destination, Current to prevent a file format conversion, or Most Compatible and files may convert to JPEG or MOV.

Apple also says that when you share by AirDrop, Messages or email and the receiving device does not support the newer formats, the media might automatically be shared in a more compatible format, such as JPEG or H.264. "Might" is Apple's word. If the person must have a JPEG, convert first. Our post on AirDrop not working on Mac covers the sending side.

Online Converters

If you are not on a Mac, or the photos are on someone else's computer, a converter website is the other route. We list five. Each row below is from that tool's own page, read on 2 November 2026, and none of the pages shows a date. We read them and did not run any of them.

For private photos, the question is whether the file leaves your computer. Framebird's page says all conversions are done locally. FreeConvert's page says it uploads your files over HTTPS and deletes them automatically after 8 hours. JPG.now's page says files are deleted in 24h. heictojpg.com's page says your files are deleted immediately after conversion and does not say where the conversion runs. Apowersoft's page says the conversion is done within your browser and also that uploaded files are deleted after conversion, and we could not tell where the work runs.

The limit cells are each page's own wording: JPG.now shows "0 / 10 free conversions used today" and says a free account gets 10 more a day, and Apowersoft's page tells you that you have "reached a maximum number of photos (30) allowed at a time". FreeConvert's page also has a Strip Metadata option. We did not check any paid plans.

Quality and Location

Is it the same photo? A JPEG is a new file, not a copy of the HEIC. Apple says HEIF keeps the same visual quality as JPEG at a smaller size, and that Preview lets you adjust a JPEG's quality. Framebird's page says that JPG "is a lossy format, so some detail may be lost", even at the highest setting. Apple gives no figure for how much bigger a JPEG is, and we did not measure one. Keep the HEIC originals if you may want the full source later.

Does it keep the place the photo was taken? To see whether a photo has a location, Apple says to open it in Preview and choose Tools > Show Location Info; if it appears in gray, the image does not contain location information. Which of the three Mac methods keeps that location in the JPEG, none of Apple's pages we read says, and we did not test it. Framebird's page says source metadata is not copied to the new file. Apple does say that sharing a photo from an iPhone includes its metadata, such as date and time, location, device and captions.

Opening HEIC on Windows. Microsoft's support page for Windows 10 says HEIF and HEVC files can show "You need an extension to use this file." It lists HEIF Image Extensions (free) and HEVC Video Extensions ($0.99) from the Microsoft Store, and says you need both, even if you only plan on using photos. We did not read a Windows 11 page.

Loop

Loop is a Mac app that turns files into your own link. It does not convert photos, so it comes after the conversion, not instead of it. For one photo sent once, attach it: our post on sending photos by email has the Mail steps and size limits.

What happens if you give Loop the files:

• Converted JPEGs go up as they are. Convert first with the steps above, then drag the JPEGs onto Loop, and the link carries exactly those files. A reader who needs a JPG file gets one.
• A HEIC is shown as a picture, and Download gives back the HEIC. When you share a HEIC, your Mac makes a JPEG for the reader's browser, up to 6,000 pixels on the longest side at 0.9 JPEG quality. The Download button returns the original HEIC, the file they could not open. If your Mac cannot draw the photo, it goes up as it is, for download only. If the original cannot be stored beside the preview, Download gives the JPEG. A photo with see-through parts is shown as a PNG.
• Downloads can be turned off. Switch off Allow Downloads on a link and the reader can look at the photo and has no download button. Whether a reader can save the picture shown in the browser is up to their browser, and we did not test it.

So Loop suits showing a client a photo, and it suits sending converted JPEGs. It does not suit giving someone a usable file from a HEIC. Loop's Opened and Downloaded notifications on your Mac fire once per reader's browser per link, only while Loop is running, and you can switch them off in Settings.

Limits

Loop is a poor fit for most people who search for this. Here is what it does not do:

• It does not convert HEIC to JPG. Not for you, and not for the reader. Loop has no button that gives the reader the JPEG.
• It never resizes the file Download gives, and it has no quality choice. Only the picture shown in the browser is a JPEG of up to 6,000 pixels on the longest side.
• It does not remove location data. We did not test whether the preview JPEG carries it.
• It does not send the email. It copies a link and you paste it.
• It does not work from an iPhone or Windows. The sender needs a Mac running macOS 14 or later. Readers can use a web browser.
• It needs a Cloudflare account. Setup signs in to Cloudflare once.

We do not promise a maximum file size.

Cost

These are US dollars for one person, and we could not confirm whether tax is included. Apple's pages for Preview, the Finder and Photos show no price for these features, and we did not look for one elsewhere. FreeConvert's page calls its converter free, and we looked at no paid plan for any converter.

Loop is $49 once for one person. The JPEGs you share through it sit in your own Cloudflare account, where the first 10 GB are free and anything beyond is billed to you by Cloudflare. Its pricing page, updated 30 October 2026, lists $0.015 per GB-month and no data-transfer charge for downloads. The 14-day trial begins the first time you run Loop, and until you buy a licence a small "Shared with Loop" badge appears on the pages your readers see.