HEIC vs JPG: What's the Difference and Which Should You Use?
If you own an iPhone, your photos are probably saved as HEIC, yet most of the world still asks for JPG. Here is what actually differs and how to decide.
The short answer
Keep HEIC on your phone because it saves storage. Convert to JPG when you need to share, upload or edit the picture somewhere that does not understand HEIC.
File size and quality
HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) uses the same compression as HEVC video. At comparable visual quality it is typically about half the size of a JPG. It also supports 10-bit color, which means smoother gradients in skies and shadows, along with transparency, depth maps and Live Photo data.
JPG is from 1992. It is simple, fast and always 8-bit. At high quality settings you would struggle to tell the two apart on a normal screen, but the HEIC file will be noticeably smaller.
Compatibility
JPG opens on literally everything: every browser, phone, camera, printer, email client, website form and editing app. HEIC is supported on recent Apple, Android and Windows systems, but older software, many web upload forms, some print shops and a lot of CMS platforms either reject it or show a broken image.
This is the main reason to convert: not quality, but getting the file accepted.
How to make your iPhone save JPG
Open Settings, tap Camera, tap Formats and choose Most Compatible. New photos will be saved as JPG. Existing HEIC photos stay as they are. The trade-off is roughly twice the storage per photo.
Alternatively leave it on High Efficiency and convert only the photos you need to share.
Converting without losing privacy
Many online converters upload your photos to a server. Photos hold sensitive information such as location and faces, so prefer a converter that processes files in your own browser. That is how this site works: nothing is uploaded.