HEIC to PNG Converter

HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is Apple's default photo format since iOS 11, using HEVC compression to save storage space on iPhones and iPads. A 12-megapixel HEIC photo might be 1.5-2 MB, versus 3-4 MB as JPEG. PNG is a lossless format used primarily for screenshots, UI elements, and editing intermediates where preserving every pixel is more important than file size. Converting HEIC to PNG gives you a universally compatible file for editing in Photoshop, GIMP, or other design tools that may not support HEIC.

This tool decodes HEIC/HEIF files using a client-side WebAssembly build of libheif, an open-source library that handles HEVC image decoding. The decoded pixel data is drawn to an HTML5 canvas element at the photo's native resolution, then exported as PNG using canvas.toBlob('image/png'). PNG uses lossless DEFLATE compression, so the output is much larger than the original HEIC - typically 3-6× larger. This is expected: PNG stores raw pixel data, while HEIC uses lossy HEVC compression. All conversion happens in your browser tab - no data is uploaded.

Because HEVC decoding is CPU-intensive, converting a large batch of high-resolution photos (50+ images) may take several minutes on mobile devices or older laptops. If the browser tab becomes unresponsive, convert smaller batches (10-15 photos at a time). EXIF orientation is respected when the decoder provides it, so rotated photos should display correctly. Other EXIF metadata (GPS, camera model, timestamps) may not transfer to the PNG.

PNG is a poor choice for photo sharing: files are much larger than HEIC or JPEG, and email clients often reject attachments over 10 MB. Use PNG when you need a lossless intermediate for editing (e.g., adding text overlays in Photoshop, compositing in After Effects, or batch processing in Python). For sharing photos with family or uploading to social media, convert HEIC to JPG instead - JPEG files are smaller and universally compatible.

Worked example: A graphic designer receives HEIC photos from a client's iPhone for use in a poster design. Photoshop 2021 (pre-2022) cannot import HEIC files. Converting the HEIC photos to PNG allows the designer to open them in Photoshop, apply adjustments, and composite them into the poster layout. The PNG intermediates are large (5 MB each), but the designer deletes them after exporting the final poster as a PDF. For this workflow, PNG is the right choice because it preserves full image quality during editing.