# Compress HEIC

> Compress HEIC photos to a smaller JPG, WebP or AVIF in your browser. Pick a target size or a quality level and see the savings. Private, free, no sign-up.

URL: https://ihateheic.com/compress-heic  
Updated: 2026-10-04

Make iPhone photos small enough for any upload box or inbox. Choose a target size or a quality level, and see exactly how many megabytes you saved.

This tool runs entirely in the browser: photos are decoded and encoded on the visitor’s device and are never uploaded. It is free, needs no sign-up and works offline after the first visit.

## How to use it

1. Drop your HEIC photos above, or tap **Choose files**. JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF and GIF work too.
2. Pick **Target size** for a hard limit like 1 MB, or **Quality** for a look-and-feel setting. Choose JPG, WebP or AVIF as the output.
3. Check the before and after sizes, then download each photo or everything as one ZIP.

## Compressing a HEIC, honestly

Here's the slightly awkward truth: HEIC is already a very efficient format. It typically stores a photo in about half the space of an equivalent JPG. So "compressing HEIC" really means re-encoding it into something with a dial you can turn.

Our in-browser HEIC encoder doesn't have a quality slider, so we can't promise a smaller HEIC. Instead this tool outputs **JPG, WebP or AVIF**, where every step of quality is under your control. The bonus: those files open in far more places than HEIC does.

## Two ways to compress

### Target size

Type a limit such as 500 KB or 2 MB. For each photo we search for the highest quality that fits under it, never dropping below about 55, because below that JPGs start to look blocky. If quality alone can't get there, we shrink the dimensions just enough to fit.

Sizes use decimal units (1 MB = 1,000,000 bytes). That's slightly stricter than the binary convention, so the result passes upload forms that use either.

### Quality mode

Pick a number and every photo gets the same setting. Files vary in size depending on how much detail they contain, but they all look consistent. The default of 72 is a good balance for sharing.

## Before and after, side by side

Every finished file shows its original size next to its new size, so you can see what you saved before you download anything. If a result is bigger than you hoped, switch to WebP or AVIF and compare.

| Output | Opens in | Typical size vs JPG |
| --- | --- | --- |
| JPG | Everything | Baseline |
| WebP | Modern browsers, most apps | Smaller |
| AVIF | Recent browsers, fewer apps | Smallest |

## Which page should you use?

If you already know the number on the upload form, jump straight to a preset: [compress HEIC to 100 KB](https://ihateheic.com/compress-heic-to-100kb) for ID photos and visa portals, [compress HEIC to 1 MB](https://ihateheic.com/compress-heic-to-1mb) for email and claims, or [compress HEIC to 2 MB](https://ihateheic.com/compress-heic-to-2mb) for forums and CMSs.

If the photo is going on a web page, [resizing it](https://ihateheic.com/resize-heic) first often beats heavy compression. A 1920 px wide photo at quality 85 looks sharper than a full 12 MP photo squeezed to quality 55.

## Where the work happens

On your device. The HEIC is decoded by a WebAssembly build of libheif, re-encoded in a Web Worker, and handed back to you. GPS location is stripped by default, and date and camera details stay unless you choose otherwise.

## FAQ

### Why does the compressed file come out as JPG instead of HEIC?

HEIC is already one of the most efficient photo formats, and our in-browser HEIC encoder has no quality control, so it can't reliably make a HEIC smaller. Compressing to JPG, WebP or AVIF gives you a predictable size and a file that opens almost everywhere.

### How much smaller will my photos get?

It depends on the photo and the setting. At the default quality of 72, a 12 MP iPhone photo usually lands around 1 to 2 MB as a JPG, and smaller as WebP or AVIF. Target size mode gets you any number you choose.

### Which format gives the smallest file?

AVIF is usually smallest at the same visual quality, then WebP, then JPG. JPG is the safe choice if you're not sure the website or app accepts the newer formats.

### What's the difference between target size and quality mode?

Target size searches for the best quality that fits under the number you give it, which is ideal for upload limits. Quality mode applies one fixed setting to every photo, so files vary in size but look consistent.

### Will compression reduce the photo's resolution?

Not in quality mode. In target size mode we lower quality first and only shrink the dimensions if quality alone can't reach the size you asked for.

### Are my photos uploaded to compress them?

No. Compression runs on your own device inside the browser, so there's nothing to upload and no server copy. It keeps working offline once the page has loaded.

### Can I compress lots of HEIC files at once?

Yes. Drop hundreds of photos or a whole folder on desktop, then download the results as one ZIP. Each file gets its own size search in target mode.