Convert HEIC to PNG
Your files are processed on your device. We never upload them.
HEIC photos are decoded with libheif, under the GNU LGPL.
How to convert HEIC to PNG
- 01A ▸Choose your HEIC photos, or drop them on the page. Several at once is fine.
- 02A ▸Select Convert to PNG.
- 03A ▸Download each PNG, or all of them as a zip.
About HEIC to PNG
Where HEIC files come from
iPhones save photos as HEIC by default, and many Android phones can too. Editing apps, design tools, and some upload forms can't read HEIC, and saving an edited JPG over and over loses a little detail each time. A PNG opens in every editor and never loses more detail when saved again.
What changes
- The picture is turned upright for good, so apps that ignore orientation still show it the right way up.
- The PNG is a lossless copy of the decoded photo. It doesn't lose detail when you edit and save it again.
- HEIC can hold wider colour (Display P3) and HDR. The PNG is standard colour (sRGB), so very saturated colours may look slightly softer.
- The date, camera, location, Live Photo video, and depth map are not carried over.
- The file is many times larger than the HEIC.
Measured
Our 12-megapixel sample photo (4032 by 3024 pixels, the size an iPhone takes) and a 48-megapixel one, converted in Chrome on a laptop. Times include loading the HEIC decoder. Phone timings are still to be measured.
| 12 MP photo, HEIC file | 1.5 MB |
|---|---|
| 12 MP photo, PNG file | 13 MB |
| Time for the 12 MP photo in Chrome (laptop) | 0.9 seconds |
| 48 MP photo, HEIC to PNG | 5.3 MB to 49 MB, in 2.9 seconds |
In your browser
Safari on Mac, iPhone, and iPad (version 17 and later) decodes HEIC itself, so nothing extra is downloaded. Chrome, Edge, and Firefox can't, so the first conversion downloads a 0.5 MB decoder (libheif), which the browser then keeps in its cache. Every browser writes PNG itself.
Limits
- PNGs of photos are large, about nine times the HEIC for our samples. A batch of 50 photos can need more than 600 MB of space.
- Photos from 48-megapixel iPhone cameras are larger than an iPhone's browser can draw at once. On a phone that can't hold one, it is saved at about 16 megapixels instead, and the result says so.
- Burst photos and other HEIF files with several pictures give only the main picture.
Other options
- HEIC to JPG: a file about the size of the HEIC that opens everywhere, keeping the date.
- HEIC to WebP: a smaller file for websites.
- Image to PDF on Open PDF Toolkit: put the photos into one PDF.
Questions
Is HEIC to PNG lossless?
The PNG stores every pixel of the decoded photo without further loss, so editing and saving it again doesn't wear it down. Detail the HEIC compression already removed doesn't come back.
Are my photos uploaded?
No. Your files are processed on your device. We never upload them.
Why is the PNG so much bigger than the HEIC?
HEIC compresses photos very efficiently, and PNG doesn't compress photos well. Our 1.5 MB sample HEIC became a 13 MB PNG. If you only need a photo that opens everywhere, HEIC to JPG gives a file about the size of the HEIC.
Should I choose PNG or JPG for iPhone photos?
Choose JPG for sharing, printing, and uploading, because it is much smaller. Choose PNG when you will edit the photo several times, or a program asks for PNG.
Does it keep the date and location?
No. PNG files from this tool carry no photo details, so the date, camera, and location are all left out. Use HEIC to JPG if you want to keep the date.
Can I convert PNG back to HEIC?
Not here. Writing HEIC needs a patented video codec that browsers don't offer, so no tool on this site makes HEIC files.