HEIC to PNG converter
PNG is the right choice when you need transparency preserved or a lossless file to edit further. It is the wrong choice for a folder of holiday photos, and this page explains where the line sits.
Drop HEIC files here
lossless PNG out, transparency preserved
When PNG is the right target
PNG compresses without discarding any pixel data. Convert a HEIC to PNG, open it, edit it, save it, and repeat ten times — the result is bit-identical to the first save. JPG cannot promise that; every save re-runs a lossy compressor and the image degrades a little each time.
- Screenshots and graphics. Flat colour, sharp text and hard edges are exactly what PNG's filtering was designed for, and exactly what JPG smears.
- Anything with transparency. HEIC supports an alpha channel; JPG does not. Converting a transparent HEIC to JPG silently fills the background with white. PNG keeps it.
- Files heading into an editor. If a photo is going into Photoshop, Affinity or GIMP for real work, start from a lossless intermediate.
- Design and print handoff. Some workflows reject lossy input on principle.
The catch: PNG files get big
PNG has no lossy mode, so a photograph — millions of subtly different colours, no repeating patterns — is close to a worst case for it. Expect the numbers below from a normal 12 MP iPhone photo.
| Format | Typical size | Multiplier vs HEIC |
|---|---|---|
| HEIC (original) | 1.6 MB | 1× |
| JPG at 92% | 3.4 MB | ~2× |
| WebP lossy | 2.1 MB | ~1.3× |
| PNG | 14–22 MB | ~10× |
Ten times the storage for zero visible improvement is a bad trade for a photo library. If you are converting a whole camera roll to send to someone, use JPG or WebP instead and keep PNG for the handful of images that need it.
Reducing PNG size without switching format. Use the Size dropdown above to cap the longest edge. A 12 MP photo capped at 2000 px drops from roughly 18 MB to around 4 MB, and for anything viewed on a screen it will look identical.
Where transparency actually matters
Most HEIC files from an iPhone camera are fully opaque, so transparency never comes up. It matters for HEIC files exported from design tools, screenshots of apps with translucent layers, and stickers or cut-outs made in the Photos app. The converter above passes the alpha channel straight through. If your output has an unexpected white background, the alpha was almost certainly lost before this step — this page walks through where.
Converting a lot of files
Drop as many as you like. Each is processed in turn and appears in the list with its before and after size, then Save all bundles the results into one ZIP. Because PNG output is large, a batch of fifty photos can easily produce a 700 MB archive — on a phone, work in smaller groups.
Common questions
- Is HEIC to PNG lossless?
- The PNG encoding step is lossless, but the HEIC you started from was already lossy. Converting gives you a file that will not degrade further with editing and re-saving; it does not recover detail the original HEIC compression discarded.
- Why is my PNG so much larger than the HEIC?
- Nothing is wrong. HEIC discards detail the eye is unlikely to miss, while PNG is obliged to keep every pixel it is given. A tenfold jump on a photograph is the expected result of that difference, not a sign of a failed conversion.
- Does the converter keep transparency?
- Yes. If the HEIC contains an alpha channel it is written into the PNG unchanged. Choosing JPG instead would flatten it onto a white background, since JPG has no way to store transparency.
- Should I use PNG or JPG for iPhone photos?
- JPG, in almost every case. PNG is worth it only when you need transparency, are editing the file repeatedly, or are working with screenshots and graphics rather than photographs.