If you own an iPhone from 2017 or later, every photo you take is stored in HEIC format by default. HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) produces excellent image quality at roughly half the file size of JPEG — but the format causes friction everywhere else. Uploading to websites that do not accept HEIC, sharing with Android users, or emailing files can all hit a wall. Compressing HEIC files, or converting them before sharing, is a practical skill every iPhone user needs.
Why HEIC files are large in the first place
Modern iPhones shoot at 12 megapixels and above. A single uncompressed photo from an iPhone 15 Pro at its native resolution contains tens of millions of pixels. The HEIC codec (based on HEVC video compression) is highly efficient, but that efficiency has limits. Typical HEIC files from iPhone range from 3 MB to 6 MB per photo depending on the subject, lighting, and whether computational photography features (Night mode, Deep Fusion) were active during capture.
High-end iPhone models shooting in Apple ProRAW produce files from 25 MB to 75 MB — a completely different category that requires a different workflow. This guide focuses on standard HEIC files from the default iPhone camera app.
What file size to expect after compression
A typical 4 MB HEIC photo can be compressed to the following sizes depending on method:
| Method | Typical result | Quality impact |
|---|---|---|
| Online HEIC compressor | 1.0–2.0 MB | Minimal at moderate settings |
| Convert to JPEG (quality 85) | 1.5–2.5 MB | Minor, acceptable for sharing |
| Convert to JPEG (quality 70) | 0.7–1.2 MB | Moderate, visible on close inspection |
| Convert to WebP | 0.8–1.5 MB | Minimal at equivalent quality |
Method 1: Use an online HEIC compressor
The fastest method requires no software installation. Upload your HEIC file to a browser-based compressor, adjust the quality setting, and download the compressed result in seconds. This works on any device — Windows, Mac, Android, or another iPhone.
Our free tool supports HEIC compression directly without requiring you to convert first. Upload a file, choose your target quality or file size, and download the result. Files are processed in your browser and never stored on our servers.
Method 2: Convert to JPEG first, then compress
Converting HEIC to JPEG gives you a universally compatible file that can then be compressed further with any image editor or online tool. The downside is a small quality reduction at the conversion step, since JPEG is a lossy format. However, for sharing and uploading purposes the quality is more than sufficient.
When you convert a HEIC file to JPEG and save at quality 85, the resulting file is typically 1.5 to 2.5 MB — a reduction of roughly 40 to 65 percent from the original HEIC. At quality 75, you can get under 1.5 MB with quality that is still very presentable for web and social media use.
Method 3: Change iOS camera settings to shoot in JPEG
If you consistently run into HEIC compatibility problems and prefer to avoid converting files after the fact, you can configure your iPhone to capture in JPEG instead of HEIC. Go to Settings, then Camera, then Formats. Choose "Most Compatible" instead of "High Efficiency." Your photos will now be saved as JPEG files directly.
The trade-off is that JPEG files at equivalent quality are approximately twice the size of HEIC. If you shoot many photos and storage space is a concern, staying with HEIC and converting when needed is the better strategy.
Batch compressing multiple HEIC files
If you have a folder of HEIC files from a trip or event — dozens or hundreds of photos — processing them one by one is impractical. Look for a tool that supports batch upload and processing. You can drop all the files at once, set a single quality target, and download the results as a ZIP archive.
Our compressor supports batch processing with no file count limit, so you can compress an entire photo library in a single session.
HEIC vs JPEG vs WebP: which format to use after compression
If your goal is to share with people on any device, convert to JPEG. It works everywhere without compatibility concerns. If you are uploading images to a website you control and want the smallest possible file sizes, WebP offers noticeably better compression than JPEG at the same visual quality, and all modern browsers support it.
Keep your original HEIC files as backups if possible. HEIC preserves the most detail from the original capture, and you can always create a smaller JPEG or WebP from the original later — but you cannot recover quality that was lost in an earlier compression.
Privacy: what happens to your photos
When choosing an online HEIC compressor, pay attention to its privacy policy. Your photos may contain embedded location data (GPS coordinates), timestamps, and device information in the EXIF metadata. A privacy-focused tool processes your files locally in the browser or deletes server copies immediately after processing.
Picovert processes your files entirely in the browser. Your photos never leave your device.