HEIC vs JPG: Which Photo Format Should You Use?
If you have ever sent an iPhone photo to a Windows PC, an old Android phone or a website upload form, you have probably met HEIC. Sometimes it opens fine. Sometimes you get a blank thumbnail or “file type not supported”.
So which should you use: HEIC or JPG? The honest answer is “both, for different jobs”. This guide compares them on what actually matters and gives a simple rule for when to convert. If you are already sure you need to convert, jump to our step-by-step HEIC to JPG on Android guide.
What HEIC and JPG actually are
JPG (or JPEG) dates back to the early 1990s. It is the default photo format of the web and is supported by practically every device, browser, printer and app.
HEIC is an image file that uses the HEIF container with HEVC (H.265) compression. Apple adopted it as the default iPhone camera format, which it calls High Efficiency. Many Android phones can also shoot in HEIF as an option.
Both are lossy formats: they throw away some detail you are unlikely to notice in exchange for smaller files.
Side-by-side comparison
| HEIC | JPG | |
|---|---|---|
| File size at similar quality | Smaller | Larger |
| Compatibility | Good on recent Apple devices and recent Android; patchy elsewhere | Universal |
| Colour depth | Supports more than 8 bits per channel | 8 bits per channel |
| Transparency | Supported by the format | Not supported |
| Multiple images in one file | Supported (bursts, Live Photo parts, depth) | One image per file |
| Web upload forms | Often rejected | Accepted almost everywhere |
| Editing in older software | May fail to open | Opens everywhere |
The pattern is clear: HEIC is the more efficient, more capable format. JPG is the one everything understands.
When to keep HEIC
Keep HEIC when:
- You stay in a modern ecosystem. Recent iPhones, iPads, Macs and many recent Android phones open HEIC without help.
- Storage matters. Smaller files mean more photos on your phone and in your cloud plan.
- You want the best archive. Keeping the original avoids an extra round of compression.
- You shoot high dynamic range scenes. The extra colour depth gives editors more room to work.
When JPG is the better choice
Convert to JPG (or shoot in JPG) when:
- Sharing with Windows users who may not have the HEIF extension installed. See how to open iPhone photos on Windows.
- Uploading to forms and portals, such as government sites, job applications and print shops, which often accept only JPG or PNG.
- Sending to older phones or smart TVs.
- Using older desktop editors or office software.
- Sending to people you don’t know. If you are not sure what device they use, JPG is the safe default.
What about PNG and WebP?
- PNG is lossless and supports transparency. It is great for screenshots, graphics and logos, but photo files become large.
- WebP is a modern web format with good compression and wide browser support. It is ideal for websites, but some desktop apps still treat it awkwardly. See WEBP to JPG converter apps if you have the opposite problem.
How to convert HEIC on Android, offline
Total Media Converter converts images on your phone, with no upload.
- Open Total Media Converter.
- Pick one or more HEIC photos.
- Choose the output: JPG / JPEG, PNG or WebP.
- Pick a quality level. A high setting keeps the result visually close to the original.
- Start the conversion. Batches run in a background queue, so you can keep using your phone, and finished jobs appear in the history.
Image conversions keep metadata and the colour profile, so the date and camera details survive. If the photos contain GPS data you do not want to share, remove it afterwards with ExifTool, as shown in how to find where a photo was taken and hide it.
Going the other way: JPG to HEIF
Total Media Converter can also encode JPG to HEIF on Android 9 and newer. That is useful when you want to save space on a large archive of JPG photos and every device you use opens HEIF.
Changing what your phone shoots
iPhone
Go to Settings > Camera > Formats:
- High Efficiency saves HEIC.
- Most Compatible saves JPG.
There is also Settings > Photos > Transfer to Mac or PC. Choosing Automatic lets the iPhone convert to a compatible format when you copy photos to a computer over a cable.
Android
Many Android camera apps offer a HEIF option in their settings, often off by default. Look for a setting about picture format or high-efficiency pictures. Names vary by brand and version.
A simple rule
Shoot and store in HEIC if all your devices handle it. Convert to JPG at the moment you share with someone, or upload somewhere, that might not.
That gives you smaller files day to day and no compatibility headaches when it counts.
Summary
HEIC is smaller and more capable. JPG works everywhere. Keep HEIC for your own library, and convert copies to JPG for sharing, uploads and older software. On Android, Total Media Converter handles HEIC to JPG, PNG or WebP offline, in batches, with metadata kept.
FAQ
Is HEIC better quality than JPG?
At a similar file size, HEIC usually keeps more detail than JPG because it uses a more modern compression method. At high quality settings both look excellent, and the bigger practical difference is compatibility, not visible quality.
Do I lose quality converting HEIC to JPG?
JPG is a lossy format, so converting re-compresses the image. At a high quality setting the difference is very hard to see. Keep your HEIC originals if you want the best possible archive.
Why do my iPhone photos show up as HEIC?
iPhones save photos in the High Efficiency format by default. You can switch the camera to Most Compatible in Settings > Camera > Formats, which saves new photos as JPG instead.
A fast, simple tool for converting between media formats including photos, video and audio.