HEIC vs JPG: which one should you use?

What is JPG?

JPG, also written JPEG, is the old friend of digital photos. Since the early 1990s nearly every camera, phone, computer, website and printer has understood it. It keeps files small by quietly discarding fine detail your eye is unlikely to miss. You decide how much to discard with a quality setting: at high quality the difference is invisible, at very low quality you begin to see blocky skies and smudged edges.

Its greatest strength is simple: it works everywhere. Its weaknesses come from its age. It cannot store transparency, it keeps only 8 bits per colour channel, and its compression is less efficient than modern formats, so the same photo takes more space.

What is HEIC?

HEIC is how Apple stores photos in the HEIF format, using HEVC compression, the same family of technology used to stream modern video. iPhones have used it by default since iOS 11 in 2017. Apple's own explanation is that HEIF and HEVC offer better compression than JPEG, which means your phone fits more photos into the same storage at the same visible quality.

A HEIC file can also hold more than one image and extra information, which is how an iPhone keeps things like the depth data behind Portrait mode, and it supports more colour depth than JPG. That helps smooth gradients, such as a sunset sky, stay smooth.

How do HEIC and JPG compare?

Here is the honest picture, side by side. Notice that neither format wins every row, which is exactly why the right choice depends on where the photo is going.

When should you keep HEIC?

If your life is mostly Apple, with an iPhone, an iPad, a Mac and iCloud Photos, keep HEIC. You get smaller files and slightly better quality, and everything you use already opens them.

HEIC is also a fine choice for your archive of originals. Here is a principle worth remembering: you can always make a JPG copy later, but you can never get back detail that a conversion removed. So keep the best version, and make copies for sharing.

When should you convert to JPG?

Convert the moment a photo has to leave the Apple world. Think of government and job portals, school systems, marketplace listings, print shops, a relative with a Windows laptop, or an older program that refuses HEIC. In each of these, JPG simply works, and it spares both you and the person on the other side an awkward back-and-forth.

The easiest habit is this: keep the HEIC originals in your library, and convert only the photos you are about to share. With ManyFormat you can drop a whole batch at once and download every JPG in a single ZIP. The conversion happens inside your own browser, so private photos are never uploaded to anyone.

What do you lose when you convert HEIC to JPG?

Conversion is a one-way street, so it is kind to yourself to know what changes before you take it:

• The file usually gets larger, because JPG compresses less efficiently. That is normal, not a mistake.
• Extra layers, such as depth data and the moving part of a Live Photo, are not kept. You get one still picture.
• Colour depth drops to JPG's 8 bits per channel. In everyday viewing you will not notice.
• Camera details and the GPS location are removed by ManyFormat on purpose. That protects your privacy when you share, but if you need the location, keep the original too.

How do you stop your iPhone from making HEIC files?

If you would rather have JPGs from the start, open Settings, then Camera, then Formats, and choose Most Compatible. Apple notes that new photos will then use JPEG. The trade-off is that they take more storage.

There is also a middle path for copying photos to a computer with a cable. In Settings, then Apps, then Photos (simply Settings, then Photos, on older versions of iOS), the Transfer to Mac or PC option decides what happens: Automatic lets the iPhone convert to a compatible format during the import, while Keep Originals keeps the HEIC files. This setting does not affect photos you upload from the phone itself, which is where a converter still earns its keep.

What is the simple rule?

Keep HEIC for storing, use JPG for sharing. If you are not certain that the person or website on the other side is an Apple device, send JPG. And if you are unsure whether a form will accept HEIC, assume it will not. Convert first, upload with confidence, and get on with your day.

Related tools

• HEIC to JPGDrop your iPhone photos and download JPGs that work everywhere.
• HEIC to PNGTurn iPhone HEIC photos into PNG files for editing.
• JPG to PDFTurn pictures into PDF files you can send, print or submit.
• JFIF to JPGDrop your .jfif files and get standard .jpg files back.