# Compress HEIC photos

> Compression has two levers and most tools only expose one. Dropping quality helps a little; reducing dimensions helps enormously. This page shows both, with the real byte counts.

Source: https://jpg-heic.com/heic-compressor | Section: Converter | Updated: 2026-08-31

## Quality versus dimensions

People reach for the quality slider first, and it is the weaker of the two controls. Halving JPG
 quality from 95 to 50 might cut a file by 60% while introducing visible artefacts everywhere. Halving
 the dimensions removes 75% of the pixels and usually looks perfect, because the image was far larger
 than the screen it will be viewed on.

| Setting | Output size | How it looks |
|---|---|---|
| Original size, quality 95 | 3.9 MB | Indistinguishable from source |
| Original size, quality 75 | 1.3 MB | Fine unless you pixel-peep |
| Original size, quality 50 | 640 KB | Visible blocking in skies |
| Max 2000 px, quality 85 | 480 KB | Excellent on any screen |
| Max 1200 px, quality 80 | 180 KB | Great for email and chat |

Figures from a 4032×3024 iPhone photo. Your files will vary with subject and detail.

The pattern is consistent: resizing plus moderate quality beats full size plus aggressive quality,
 on both file size and appearance. Reach for the Size dropdown before you touch the slider.

## Hitting a specific limit

 - **Email attachment, under 10 MB total** — Max 2000 px at quality 85. Around twenty photos fit.

 - **Web upload form rejecting your file** — Max 1600 px at quality 80 clears almost every limit.

 - **Passport or visa application photo** — these usually specify exact pixel dimensions and a size
 ceiling; set the size cap to their number and drop quality until you are under it.

 - **Website hero image** — Max 2400 px at quality 80 in WebP, which is what the format is for.

 - **Profile picture** — Max 800 px at quality 85 is far more than any platform displays.

 **Compression is a one-way door.** Detail removed by a lossy encoder cannot be recovered. Always
 compress a copy and keep the original HEIC somewhere, particularly for photographs you might want to
 print or crop into later.

## HEIC is already compressed — what are you gaining?

A fair question. HEIC is roughly twice as efficient as JPG, so a straight HEIC-to-JPG conversion at
 high quality usually makes the file bigger. Compression here is about producing something
 small and universally openable. If size alone is the problem and compatibility is not,
 keep the HEIC or convert to [WebP](https://jpg-heic.com/heic-to-webp) or AVIF, both of which will beat JPG at
 every quality setting.

## Frequently asked questions

**Does compressing a HEIC lose quality?**

Yes — any lossy re-encode discards some information, and it cannot be recovered afterwards. At quality 85 with a moderate resize the loss is invisible in normal viewing. Keep the original file if the photo might be printed or cropped later.

**What is the best way to make a photo small enough to email?**

Reduce the dimensions first. Capping the longest edge at 2000 pixels typically cuts file size by 70–80% with no visible difference on screen. Only then adjust quality if you still need more.

**Why is my JPG bigger than the HEIC I started with?**

Because HEIC compresses roughly twice as efficiently as JPG at the same visual quality. Converting upward in file size is normal. Lower the quality setting or cap the dimensions to get below the original.

**Can I compress a HEIC and keep it as a HEIC?**

Not in a browser, since there is no HEVC encoder available. Doing that requires a desktop tool such as ImageMagick or Preview's export on macOS.