HEIC vs JPG: What's the Difference and Which Should You Use?
Your iPhone shoots HEIC; the rest of the world runs on JPG. Both store photos, but they make different trade-offs. Here's the difference in plain English, and how to pick.
The quick answer
- HEIC — about half the file size of JPG at the same quality, but limited support outside Apple devices.
- JPG — slightly larger files, but opens on literally everything: PCs, Android, websites, printers, apps.
File size and quality
HEIC (built on the HEVC codec) is genuinely more efficient — a photo that's 4 MB as JPG might be 2 MB as HEIC with no visible quality loss. If storage on your phone is tight, HEIC helps. But that efficiency doesn't matter much once a photo is shared, and it comes at the cost of compatibility.
Compatibility: the deciding factor
This is where JPG wins for most people. Windows (especially older versions), many websites and upload forms, and countless apps still can't read HEIC. JPG has been the universal standard for decades. If you're sending a photo to someone else or uploading it anywhere, JPG avoids the "can't open this" problem entirely.
| HEIC | JPG | |
|---|---|---|
| File size | Smaller (~50%) | Larger |
| Compatibility | Apple-first, limited elsewhere | Works everywhere |
| Transparency | No | No |
| Best for | Saving space on iPhone | Sharing, uploading, printing |
Which should you use?
Keep HEIC on your phone to save space, but convert to JPG whenever you share, upload or send a photo. You can do that in seconds with the free HEIC to JPG converter — no app, no upload. Need transparency or maximum fidelity? Use HEIC to PNG instead.