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Convert HEIC to JPG in Bulk on iPhone, Mac and Windows, Free

By Ayush Patnaik, founder of AccioPix

Published March 16, 2026 · Updated October 1, 2026 · 7 min read

To convert HEIC to JPG in bulk, drop the files into a converter in your browser. Choose the quality and download the ZIP. A folder of 300 iPhone photos takes about a minute. Nothing leaves your machine. Each device also has built-in tools: a transfer setting on iPhone, Preview on Mac, and a pair of codec extensions on Windows. Here is how to convert HEIC to JPG all four ways, and when you shouldn't bother converting at all.

HEIC files, and why your iPhone makes them

So, what is HEIC? A HEIC file is a photo stored in the High Efficiency Image File format, compressed with the same HEVC codec that Apple uses for video. Apple made it the default camera format with iOS 11 in 2017, because, in Apple's words, HEIF and HEVC "use less storage space on your devices and iCloud Photos, while preserving the same visual quality". On the phone that is a straight win: the same picture in less space.

Trouble begins once the file leaves Apple devices. Older Windows PCs, many web forms, some print shops, and older editing programmes either reject the file or show a blank thumbnail. For an event photographer, the classic scenario is a bridesmaid or second shooter AirDropping a folder of HEICs that the studio PC cannot open.

HEIC vs JPG: quality, size and compatibility

HEIC vs JPG is a choice between storage space and compatibility, not image quality. At the same visual quality, a HEIC is smaller and keeps the same EXIF metadata as a JPEG. JPG is older and larger, but it opens on everything: every browser, every printer, every gallery upload form, every 2012 laptop. That is the entire reason to convert. If a file stays only on Apple devices and in iCloud, keep it as HEIC. If it must go anywhere else, make it a JPG.

Stopping your iPhone taking HEIC photos

If you prefer never to convert again, switch the capture format. Go to Settings, then Camera, then Formats. Select Most Compatible instead of High Efficiency. Apple's support page explains the two choices plainly. High Efficiency means HEIF and HEVC. Most Compatible means JPEG and H.264. The price is storage. Photos take up more room, and some high-frame-rate video modes only exist in High Efficiency.

Converting HEIC to JPG on iPhone

The iPhone will convert for you as you transfer. That is the route most people miss.

1. Open Settings, then tap Photos (on recent iOS versions, look under Apps, then Photos).
2. Scroll to "Transfer to Mac or PC" and select Automatic. Apple's page notes that with this setting, media "might be converted to JPEG or H.264" when you import over USB. Pick Keep Originals to leave the HEIC files untouched.
3. Connect the phone and import. Photos land on the computer as JPEGs. On the phone, the originals stay HEIC.

Sending a few pictures to Mail or a messaging app often creates a JPEG too, but that depends on the app. For a full folder, the batch method below is better.

Converting HEIC to JPG on Mac

Preview does this natively, and it does it in bulk. Apple's Preview guide: "Open the file you want to convert, then choose File > Export. Click the Format pop-up menu, then choose HEIC, JPEG, JPEG-2000, OpenEXR, PDF, PNG, or TIFF." And for more than one: "open the files in one window, select them in that window's sidebar, then follow the steps above."

1. Select the HEIC files in Finder. Open them all at once so they sit in one Preview window.
2. Choose everything in the sidebar (press Command-A with the sidebar in focus).
3. Choose File, then Export. Set Format to JPEG. Adjust the quality slider and select a folder.

The Photos app does the same under File, then Export, choosing JPEG. Both keep the capture date and camera metadata. This matters if you sort by time later.

Opening and converting HEIC to JPG on Windows

Windows can't open HEIC files out of the box. The Photos app needs two pieces from the Microsoft Store: the HEIF Image Extension, which is free, and the HEVC Video Extensions, which cost $0.99 in the US store, because the image data inside a .heic is HEVC-compressed. Some PCs come with the HEVC codec pre-licensed by the manufacturer; many don't.

1. Get both extensions from the Microsoft Store.
2. Open the HEIC in Photos. Then use Save as, or go through Edit and Save copy, to export a JPG.
3. You must do this for each file. That is the trouble: Photos cannot export in batches, so a folder of guest photos demands one click for every picture.

You may not want to buy a codec for a one-off folder. Or you need a hundred files done at once. The browser route below needs nothing installed. It runs on Windows, Mac and Chromebooks.

Batch convert HEIC to JPG free, in your browser

The AccioPix HEIC to JPG converter decodes files using an open-source WebAssembly build of libheif that runs inside the page. Nothing is uploaded. There is no file-count paywall. It also writes PNG (lossless) and PDF if you need those.

1. Open the converter using Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
2. Drop the HEIC files in. You can add a whole folder at once. The tool works through them one by one and shows its progress.
3. Set the output. The default is JPG at 90% quality. That is safe for prints and editing. Lower it to make small files for email. You can also pick a longest edge (4096, 2048 or 1080 pixels) to shrink them at the same time. Photos smaller than the limit are never upscaled.
4. Download the ZIP. All photos in one archive.

One honest limitation: the converter decodes each photo to pixels and writes a clean JPEG, so the EXIF block (capture date, camera model, GPS) is not carried across. If you need that metadata intact, use the Mac or iPhone routes above. If you're uploading to AccioPix, you don't need to convert at all: the uploader turns iPhone HEIC into full-resolution JPEG in the browser on its own, and on the few setups that can't decode HEIC it tells you and points you at the converter.

The quality cost of converting HEIC to JPG

Converting costs quality in theory, not in practice. Both HEIC and JPG drop data, so converting makes a second encode. At 90% JPEG quality, the change is invisible on a monitor and in a print. At 70%, you will spot it in flat skies and skin. Converting HEIC to JPG without losing quality means choosing a high setting and not converting the same file over again. Export once from the original, save the HEIC if disk space permits, and never convert a JPEG back to HEIC expecting to bring detail back.

Convert, or leave the files as HEIC

• Convert when photos go to a Windows PC, a printer, a client gallery, a website upload form, or anyone with gear you don't control. That covers most event delivery.
• Convert when guests send phone pictures to mix with the professional set. A single format makes culling and the album much easier.
• Leave as HEIC if your pictures stay only on Apple devices and iCloud. Keep it when archiving if you want smaller files with full metadata.
• Skip the question if you're delivering through AccioPix. Upload the HEICs and the guests get JPEGs on WhatsApp, matched to their selfie, for about ₹100 per 500-photo event. The delivery side is covered in how to share photos on WhatsApp.

HEIC to JPG FAQs

How do I convert HEIC to JPG for free?

Open the AccioPix HEIC to JPG converter, drop your HEIC files in, and download the ZIP. Everything runs in your browser. There is no upload, no sign-up, no watermark, and no file-count limit. On a Mac, Preview's File and Export menu handles this too, even for several files at once.

Can I convert HEIC to JPG in bulk?

Yes. You can drop a full folder into the browser converter and get one ZIP. On a Mac, open the files in one Preview window, mark them all in the sidebar, and export. Windows Photos cannot batch export, so use the browser tool when you have many files.

Why can't Windows open HEIC files?

Windows does not include the codecs. The Photos app needs the free HEIF Image Extension. It also needs the HEVC Video Extensions, which cost $0.99 in the Microsoft Store, because HEVC compresses the image data inside a HEIC. A browser converter lets you avoid installing either.

Does the HEIC to JPG converter upload my photos?

No. The converter decodes and re-encodes each photo right in your browser with an open-source WebAssembly module. Nothing goes to a server.

Does converting HEIC to JPG lose quality?

In theory you lose a little. Both formats are lossy, and converting encodes the file a second time. At 90% JPEG quality the loss is not visible on screen or in print. Convert once from the original and do not re-save the JPEG repeatedly.

References

• Apple Support, Using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices. Read 1 October 2026.
• Apple Support, Convert image file types using Preview on Mac. Read 1 October 2026.
• Microsoft Store, HEIF Image Extension and HEVC Video Extensions. Read 1 October 2026.