HEIC to PNG Converter
Convert iPhone photos from HEIC to lossless PNG format. Free online, no software needed. Up to 50 MB.
Drop your HEIC file hereTap to choose your HEIC file
or
Also supports AVIF, WebP, JPG, BMP, TIFF • Max 50 MB
How to Convert HEIC to PNG
Upload
Drag and drop your HEIC photo into the converter above, or click Choose HEIC File to browse your device.
Convert
Click Convert to PNG. Our server decodes the HEIC and produces a lossless PNG in seconds, preserving the original resolution.
Download
Click Download PNG to save the converted file. That's it — no registration, no email required.
Convert HEIC to PNG on Any Device
On iPhone / iPad
HEIC has been the default camera format on every iPhone and iPad since iOS 11 (2017). Apple chose it because HEIC files are roughly half the size of equivalent JPGs, saving significant storage on devices with fixed capacity. While the iOS Share Sheet automatically converts to JPG when sending via Mail or Messages, that automatic conversion uses lossy compression — fine for casual sharing, but not ideal when you need pixel-perfect lossless output for editing or compositing. You can change the camera format permanently in Settings > Camera > Formats > Most Compatible, but this doubles the storage each photo uses and disables advanced features like 10-bit HDR capture and HEIF-based Live Photos. AirDrop also sends the original HEIC file unless the receiving device doesn't support it. A more practical approach is to keep shooting in HEIC and convert individual photos to lossless PNG only when you need full-quality output — open this page in Safari, tap Choose HEIC File, and get a PNG in seconds without installing any app.
On Windows 10/11
Windows does not natively display HEIC images. If you double-click an .heic file, Windows Photos will prompt you to install the HEIF Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store. That extension is free, but it depends on the HEVC Video Extensions codec, which Microsoft charges $0.99 for — a frustrating paywall for opening your own photos. Even with both extensions installed, many Windows applications still cannot import HEIC: older versions of Paint, Office programs, and most web browsers on Windows won't render HEIC files. Converting HEIC to PNG gives you a lossless file that opens instantly in Paint.NET, GIMP, Photoshop, and every Windows application. PNG preserves full quality through unlimited edits and re-saves — unlike converting to JPG, which introduces compression artifacts. If you received iPhone photos from a colleague or client and need to edit them without quality loss, PNG is the right choice.
On Mac
macOS has native HEIC support — Preview, Photos, Finder Quick Look, and most Apple apps open HEIC files without issue. To convert a single HEIC to PNG on Mac, you can open it in Preview and choose File > Export > PNG. However, this approach becomes tedious when you have dozens of photos to convert: you must open each file individually, change the format dropdown, and choose a destination folder. Power users can batch-convert via the Terminal command sips -s format png *.heic --out ./converted/, but that requires comfort with the command line and won't preserve alpha channels in all cases. Automator workflows can automate the process but require initial setup. For quick one-off conversion without configuring desktop tools, our online converter lets you produce a lossless PNG directly from your browser — ideal when you need to prepare iPhone photos for design work in Sketch, Figma, or Affinity Photo where lossless quality and transparency support matter.
On Android
When iPhone users send photos to Android users via messaging apps, email, or shared cloud folders, the files often arrive in HEIC format. Most Android devices running Android 9 (Pie) or later can display HEIC images in Google Photos, but many other Android apps — including gallery apps from Samsung and other manufacturers, image editors, and document scanners — still don't support HEIC natively. Some newer Samsung and Google Pixel phones shoot in HEIC by default, which creates the same compatibility issues when sharing with older Android devices. Google Photos can convert HEIC when sharing, but only to lossy JPG. Converting HEIC to PNG ensures a lossless, universally compatible file that works in every Android image editor and sharing platform. Just open this page in Chrome, upload the HEIC file from your Downloads or file manager, and save the PNG result.
On Chromebook
ChromeOS has no built-in HEIC support. The Chrome browser cannot display .heic files, and the Files app shows only a generic placeholder icon instead of a thumbnail. While the Android version of Google Photos (available on some Chromebooks) can open HEIC, it cannot export or convert them to PNG. Linux apps via Crostini could theoretically run ImageMagick or libheif for conversion, but most school-issued and enterprise-managed Chromebooks have Linux disabled by administrators. A browser-based converter is the most practical — and often the only — option for converting HEIC photos to lossless PNG on a Chromebook, requiring no extensions, apps, or elevated permissions.
What is HEIC?
HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is an image format based on the HEVC (H.265) video compression standard. Apple adopted HEIC as the default photo format on iPhones and iPads starting with iOS 11 in 2017, and it has remained the default ever since.
The key advantage of HEIC is compression efficiency: it stores photos at roughly 50% smaller file sizes compared to JPG while maintaining the same perceived visual quality. HEIC also supports features that JPG cannot match — 10-bit color depth with the Display P3 wide color gamut, alpha channel transparency, depth maps from Portrait Mode, and image sequences that power Live Photos. A single .heic file can even contain multiple images, which is how Apple stores burst shots and Live Photo frames together.
How to Open HEIC Files
On iPhone/iPad and Mac, HEIC opens natively in Photos, Preview, and all Apple apps. On Windows 10/11, you need the free HEIF Image Extensions plus the paid HEVC Video Extensions ($0.99), or use a free viewer like IrfanView with its HEIF plugin. On Android, Google Photos can display HEIC on Android 9+. On Linux, install the libheif package and use Eye of GNOME or any viewer that supports the library. In all cases, the simplest universal solution is to convert HEIC to PNG for a lossless, universally compatible file.
What is PNG?
PNG (Portable Network Graphics) is a lossless raster image format developed in 1996 as a patent-free replacement for GIF. It uses Deflate compression to reduce file sizes without discarding any pixel data — every pixel in the output is exactly what was encoded, with no quality loss.
PNG's defining strengths are lossless compression, transparency support (full 8-bit alpha channel for smooth edges and semi-transparent layers), and universal compatibility across every platform. It supports 8-bit and 16-bit color depths, gamma correction, and embedded ICC color profiles. PNG is the format of choice for screenshots, graphics, logos, diagrams, UI elements, web design assets, and any image that demands pixel-perfect accuracy or transparency.
The trade-off is file size. Because PNG does not discard any image data, photographic content produces much larger files than lossy formats like JPG or HEIC. A 12MP iPhone photo is typically 2–3 MB as HEIC, 4–6 MB as JPG, and 15–25 MB as PNG. For sharing photos, this size difference matters; for editing workflows, archiving, and design, the lossless fidelity is worth it.
How to Open PNG Files
PNG is universally supported. On Windows, it opens in Photos, Paint, Paint.NET, and every image viewer and editor. On Mac, Preview, Photos, and Quick Look all display PNG natively. On iPhone/iPad, PNG files work in Photos, Files, Safari, and every third-party app. On Android, every gallery app and browser supports PNG. On Linux, any image viewer (Eye of GNOME, Shotwell, GIMP, ImageMagick) handles PNG. Every web browser on every platform renders PNG natively — it is one of the most universally compatible file formats in existence.
HEIC vs PNG: Quick Comparison
| Feature | HEIC | PNG |
|---|---|---|
| Compression | HEVC (H.265) lossy | Deflate lossless |
| Typical file size (12MP photo) | ~2–3 MB | ~15–25 MB |
| Quality | Excellent (near-lossless) | Perfect (lossless) |
| Color depth | 10-bit (P3 wide gamut) | 8-bit or 16-bit (sRGB) |
| Transparency | Yes (alpha channel) | Yes (alpha channel) |
| Animation | Yes (Live Photos) | No (APNG exists but limited) |
| Device compatibility | Apple + modern Android | Universal (all devices) |
| Web browser support | Safari only | All browsers |
| Editing software | Limited | Universal |
| Re-save quality loss | Yes (lossy re-encode) | None (lossless) |
| Best for | iPhone storage, archiving | Editing, compositing, web graphics |
Understanding Quality in HEIC to PNG Conversion
Converting HEIC to PNG is a lossy-to-lossless transcode: the HEVC-compressed image data is decoded to raw pixels, then stored using PNG's lossless Deflate compression. Unlike HEIC-to-JPG conversion (which re-compresses with another lossy codec), the PNG output preserves every single pixel of the decoded image with zero additional quality loss. What you see in the original HEIC is exactly what you get in the PNG — no new artifacts, no quality degradation.
One important nuance is that HEIC itself is lossy. Apple's camera applies HEVC compression when saving the photo, discarding some visual information to achieve its impressive 50% file size reduction. That compression is permanent — the PNG cannot recover details that were already discarded during the original HEIC encoding. However, from the moment of conversion onward, the image quality is permanently locked in. You can open, edit, and re-save the PNG file thousands of times without any further degradation.
The main technical consideration is color space mapping. HEIC stores images in 10-bit Display P3 color (over 1 billion colors), while standard PNG uses 8-bit sRGB (16.7 million colors). During conversion, the wider P3 gamut is mapped to the sRGB color space, and the 10-bit depth is rounded to 8-bit. For the vast majority of photos — portraits, landscapes, everyday snapshots — this color space reduction is imperceptible. It may be noticeable only in images with extremely smooth gradients, such as sunset skies or studio-lit product shots, where very subtle banding could theoretically appear.
The most visible difference is file size. A typical 12MP iPhone photo is 2–3 MB as HEIC but 15–25 MB as PNG — roughly 5–8x larger. This is completely normal and expected. PNG's lossless compression simply cannot achieve the same compression ratios as HEVC's lossy algorithm. The larger file size is the trade-off for having a lossless, universally compatible, edit-safe file.
EXIF metadata (date taken, GPS coordinates, camera settings, orientation) is preserved through the conversion. Your converted PNG will retain the same timestamp, location, and orientation as the original HEIC photo.
Why Convert HEIC to PNG?
Lossless quality for professional editing
PNG preserves every pixel of the decoded HEIC image. You can crop, retouch, color-correct, apply filters, and re-save the PNG as many times as you need without any further quality degradation. This makes PNG the ideal working format for photographers, designers, and anyone in a multi-step editing workflow where files are opened and saved repeatedly.
Transparency preservation
PNG's full alpha channel transparency makes it essential for compositing, overlays, web design, and any workflow where images need to blend with backgrounds. If your HEIC contains transparent areas — iOS subject cutouts, stickers, or layered elements — PNG preserves that transparency perfectly. JPG does not support transparency at all, making PNG the only lossless option for these use cases.
Screenshot & UI preservation
Screenshots, UI mockups, and images with crisp text or sharp geometric edges look noticeably worse when saved as JPG due to DCT compression artifacts around high-contrast boundaries. Converting HEIC screenshots to PNG preserves razor-sharp text, clean lines, and flat color areas exactly as captured. For documentation, tutorials, bug reports, and app store listings, PNG is the standard.
Universal compatibility
Every image editor, design tool, web browser, and operating system on the planet supports PNG. Whether you use Photoshop, GIMP, Paint.NET, Figma, Canva, or any other application, PNG files open and edit without issues — unlike HEIC, which requires special codec support that many platforms still lack.
No further quality degradation
Unlike JPG, which re-compresses and loses detail every time you save, PNG is lossless. Once you convert HEIC to PNG, the image quality is locked in permanently. Open it, edit it, save it a hundred times — the pixels remain unchanged. This is critical for archival purposes and workflows where a file passes through multiple editors or tools.
Web design & development workflow
PNG is the go-to format for web assets that require transparency or pixel-perfect rendering: CSS background images, hero overlays, favicons (source files), social media graphics with transparent backgrounds, and product photos for compositing on white or colored backgrounds. Converting your iPhone HEIC source photos to PNG gives you a clean, lossless starting point for any web production pipeline.
HEIC to PNG vs HEIC to JPG: Which to Choose?
Both PNG and JPG are universally compatible output formats, but they serve different purposes. Here's when to choose each:
Choose PNG when you need:
- Transparency — overlays, compositing, cutouts, logos on transparent backgrounds
- Editing workflow — files that will be opened, edited, and re-saved multiple times
- Screenshot preservation — crisp text, clean UI edges, no compression blur
- Logos & graphics — flat colors, text, geometric shapes (often smaller than JPG)
- Archival quality — permanent lossless copy of the decoded HEIC
- Web design assets — backgrounds, overlays, favicon source files
Choose JPG when you need:
- Small file size — JPG photos are 3–5x smaller than PNG for the same image
- Photo sharing — email, messaging, cloud storage, social media
- Printing — most print services expect JPG
- Web uploads — faster page loads, lower bandwidth usage
- Bulk sharing — sending dozens of photos where size matters
- Social media — Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms prefer JPG
| Metric | HEIC → PNG | HEIC → JPG |
|---|---|---|
| 12MP photo file size | ~15–25 MB | ~4–6 MB |
| Quality loss in conversion | None (lossless) | Minimal (lossy re-encode) |
| Quality loss on re-save | None | Yes (generation loss) |
| Transparency | Preserved | Lost (white background) |
| Best use case | Editing, design, archival | Sharing, printing, web |
Bottom line: If you plan to edit, composite, or archive the image, convert to PNG. If you just need to share photos and want small files, convert to JPG instead.