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ImageConverter

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HEIC to WebP Converter

Convert iPhone photos from HEIC to WebP. This is the conversion to choose when the photos are going onto a website: WebP keeps most of the file-size advantage that made Apple pick HEIC in the first place, which converting to JPG throws away.

Deleted automatically Uploads removed within 30 minutes

Drag and drop your HEIC images here

Add several at once. Each file is processed and then deleted from our server.

Up to 20 MB per file Batch ready

82
Smaller file More detail
Presets:

Higher keeps more detail; lower makes a smaller file. Applies to images you add after changing it.

Step by step

How to convert HEIC to WEBP in 4 steps

  1. Add your HEIC files

    Drag them in or click to browse. Files ending in .heif work too.

  2. Set the quality

    82 is the default and suits photographs on the web.

  3. Wait a moment while each file is converted

  4. Download

    Every current browser can display the result.

Format comparison

HEIC vs WEBP

HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container)

Lossy

The format iPhones and iPads save photos in by default, using HEVC compression to keep files small.

  • Much smaller than JPG at similar quality
  • The default on Apple devices, so no setting is needed
  • Many Windows apps, websites and upload forms cannot open it

WebP

Lossy or lossless

A web format from Google that can work like JPG or like PNG, usually producing a smaller file than either.

  • Smaller files than JPG or PNG for most images
  • Supported by every current browser
  • Some older desktop software and upload forms still reject it

HEIC and WebP were designed to solve the same problem — photographs are too big — and they arrived at similar answers by different routes. That similarity is what makes this a better conversion than it first appears.

HEIC wraps an image compressed with HEVC, the codec used for 4K video. It is extremely efficient, roughly halving the size of an equivalent JPG. Its problem is licensing: HEVC is patent-encumbered, which is why browsers cannot display HEIC and why so much software refuses it.

WebP borrows techniques from video compression too, but it is royalty-free. That single difference is why every current browser supports it and none support HEIC. It is typically 25–35% smaller than a JPG of equivalent quality, supports transparency, and has both lossy and lossless modes.

So the comparison that matters:

  • HEIC → JPG gives you universal compatibility but roughly doubles the file size. The efficiency Apple was buying is discarded.
  • HEIC → WebP gives you universal browser compatibility and keeps most of the efficiency. The file is usually much closer to the HEIC's size.

The catch is the word "browser". WebP is supported everywhere on the web, but outside it — older desktop software, some printers, a number of upload forms — support is patchier than JPG. So this is the right conversion for publishing, and the wrong one for sending a photo to someone who will open it in whatever they happen to have.

Quality

Quality and file size

This is a lossy-to-lossy conversion: your photo was compressed once when it was taken, and WebP will compress it again. The losses accumulate, which is why the advice here is about restraint rather than pushing the quality as low as it will go.

  • 90–100 — Close to the original, but you are spending file size preserving HEIC's own compression artefacts. Worth it only if the image will be edited or enlarged.
  • 75–89 — The useful range for photographs on the web. 82 is the default and is where WebP's efficiency advantage is largest.
  • 60–74 — Distinctly smaller. Good for thumbnails, galleries and background images.
  • Below 60 — Visible softening and colour flattening, particularly in skies and skin.

Expect the WebP to be somewhat larger than the HEIC but much smaller than a JPG would be. HEVC still has the edge on raw efficiency; WebP gets close enough that the compatibility is worth having.

As with any conversion between lossy formats, convert once from the best original you have. Going HEIC → JPG → WebP degrades the photo twice over — convert straight to the format you actually want.

Two things do not survive: Live Photos become a single still frame, and portrait depth data is dropped. The blur stays as rendered; the map that let you re-edit it does not.

When this is the right conversion

  • Publishing photos on a website you control. This is the main case. You get small files and fast pages, and every current browser displays them.
  • A photo gallery or portfolio, where dozens of images load at once and every kilobyte multiplies.
  • A content system that accepts WebP — most modern ones do.
  • Anywhere page speed matters, which is to say anywhere search ranking or bounce rate matters.

When to convert to JPG instead

Choose JPG when you cannot control what will open the file: emailing a photo, uploading to a form, sending to a print service, or handing it to someone whose software you do not know. JPG opens absolutely everywhere; WebP is only guaranteed in browsers.

A common approach for websites is to serve both, letting the browser pick:

<picture>
  <source srcset="photo.webp" type="image/webp">
  <img src="photo.jpg" alt="…">
</picture>

Why not just serve the HEIC?

It is a fair question, given HEIC is the most efficient of the three. The answer is that no browser will display it. Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari all decline — Safari included, despite HEIC being Apple's own format, because the licensing applies on the web too. A HEIC on a web page simply does not render.

WebP is the closest you can get to HEIC's efficiency in a format the web will actually show.

Privacy

What happens to your file

This tool runs on our server, so it works the same on every phone and computer. Your file is uploaded, and this is exactly what happens to it:

  • Stored outside the public web root under a random name, never under your file's name.
  • Processed, with the original upload deleted immediately — whether it succeeded or failed.
  • The result sits behind a signed link that only you receive, which stops working after 20 minutes, and the file is deleted the moment you download it.
  • Anything never collected is deleted automatically within 30 minutes.
  • The image itself is never logged or kept. If a conversion fails, we record the formats involved and the error — not the file.
  • Camera metadata, including any GPS coordinates recording where a photo was taken, is removed from the result. Only the rotation needed to show the image the right way up is kept.

Questions & answers

HEIC to WebP: frequently asked questions

Should I convert HEIC to WebP or to JPG?

WebP if the photos are going on a website you control: the files stay much closer to the HEIC's size and every current browser displays them. JPG if you are emailing, printing, or uploading somewhere you cannot be sure what will open it — JPG works absolutely everywhere.

Why can I not just put the HEIC on my website?

No browser will display it — not Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or even Safari, despite HEIC being Apple's own format. HEVC licensing applies on the web too. A HEIC on a page simply does not render, which is why a conversion is unavoidable.

How much bigger will the WebP be than the HEIC?

Somewhat larger, but far closer than a JPG would be. HEVC still has the edge on raw efficiency, so expect a modest increase rather than the roughly doubling you would see converting to JPG.

Does converting lose quality?

Some. Both are lossy formats, so this is a second round of compression on an already-compressed photo. At the default of 82 it is very hard to see. Convert straight to the format you actually want rather than going HEIC to JPG to WebP, which degrades it twice.

Do Live Photos keep their motion?

No. You get a single still frame. WebP does support animation, but a Live Photo is a short video paired with a still, not an animation sequence WebP can carry over. Your original on the phone is unaffected.

Is my photo uploaded?

Yes, because most browsers cannot decode HEIC. The upload is deleted immediately after conversion, the result is deleted as you download it, anything abandoned is swept within half an hour, and GPS coordinates are stripped — useful for photos you are about to publish.

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