How to convert HEIC to JPG on a Mac

HEIC is the photo format iPhones use by default. It’s great for saving space, but plenty of places still want a JPG: a website upload form, a Windows PC, an older app. The good news is that your Mac can convert HEIC to JPG on its own, for free, in several ways. Here are five, from quickest to most powerful.

1. Finder: Convert Image (quickest)

Since macOS 12 Monterey, Finder has a built-in Quick Action that converts images without opening any app.

1. Select the photos in Finder

   Select one HEIC photo, or as many as you like.

2. Right-click and choose Quick Actions › Convert Image

   It’s in the right-click menu of any image in Finder.

3. Choose JPEG and a size

   Set Format to JPEG and Image Size to Actual Size (or smaller, for email). Leave Preserve Metadata on to keep the date and location, or turn it off to drop them.

4. Click Convert to JPEG

   The JPEG copies appear next to the originals, which stay as they were.

2. Preview: export one photo with full control

1. Open the HEIC photo in Preview (double-click it).
2. Choose File › Export….
3. Set Format to JPEG and drag the Quality slider (closer to Best means larger files).
4. Choose where to save it and click Save.

Preview is the best choice when you want to see the file size change as you move the quality slider.

3. Photos: export from your library

If the photo is in the Photos app, select it, choose File › Export › Export 1 Photo…, set Photo Kind to JPEG, pick a quality and size, and click Export. The same dialog lets you leave out the location (see removing location from photos).

4. Terminal: convert a whole folder with sips

Every Mac comes with sips, a command-line image tool. To convert one photo:

sips -s format jpeg -s formatOptions 85 IMG_4471.HEIC --out IMG_4471.jpg

To convert every HEIC file in a folder into a jpg folder next to them:

mkdir -p jpg
for f in *.HEIC; do sips -s format jpeg "$f" --out "jpg/${f%.*}.jpg"; done

formatOptions sets the JPEG quality from 0 to 100; leave it out for the default.

5. Shelfy: right-click on the shelf

If you use Shelfy, the file shelf beside the Dock, right-click a photo on the shelf and choose Convert to JPEG (or PNG). The JPEG appears next to it, ready to drag into an email or upload form, and the original HEIC is never changed. Photos with transparency get a white background in JPEG.

According to Shelfy, its Convert, Compress and Remove Hidden Info actions always make a new file and never change or upload the original, so converting a photo can’t damage it.

How to stop getting HEIC photos

If you’d rather your iPhone took JPEGs in the first place, open Settings › Camera › Formats on the iPhone and choose Most Compatible. It only affects new photos, and they’ll take up more space.

Questions about HEIC and JPG

What is a HEIC file?

HEIC is the format iPhones use for photos by default. It keeps the same quality as JPEG in about half the space, but some Windows PCs, websites and older apps can’t open it, which is why people convert to JPG.

Does converting HEIC to JPG lose quality?

A little, because JPEG compresses differently, but at high quality you won’t see it. The JPEG will usually be larger than the HEIC file.

How do I convert many HEIC files at once on a Mac?

Select them all in Finder and use Quick Actions › Convert Image, or run sips in Terminal on the whole folder. Both make the copies in one go.

How do I stop my iPhone taking HEIC photos?

On the iPhone, open Settings › Camera › Formats and choose Most Compatible. New photos are then saved as JPEG; photos you already took stay HEIC.

Is there a free HEIC converter for Mac?

You already have several: Finder’s Convert Image, Preview, Photos and the sips command are all free and built into macOS. You don’t need to upload photos to a website.