HEIC to JPG on Mac
No download needed: macOS reads HEIC and can save JPGs in three built-in places. Pick the one that matches where your photos are.
How to convert HEIC to JPG on a Mac
Your Mac can do this without extra software. In Finder, Control-click the photo, choose Quick Actions, then Convert Image, and pick JPEG. Or open it in Preview, choose File > Export and set Format to JPEG. Photos in the Photos app export as JPEG with File > Export > Export Photos.
Convert Image, right in Finder
The quickest way for files in a folder, on your desktop or in Downloads. Needs macOS Monterey 12 or later.
Control-click the photo
In a Finder window or on the desktop, select the HEIC file, then Control-click it (or click with two fingers) and choose Quick Actions.
Choose Convert Image
Choose Convert Image. On the newest macOS it sits under More. If you don’t see it at all, your Mac is older than Monterey; use Preview instead.
Pick JPEG and a size
Choose JPEG as the format and pick a size. Apple’s example is converting an .heic photo from your iPhone to a .jpeg image.
You can also use the Quick Actions buttons at the bottom of Finder’s Preview pane. If the pane is hidden, choose View > Show Preview.
Export from Preview
When you want to set the JPEG quality, or convert a handful of photos at once.
Open the photo in Preview
Open the HEIC file in Preview.
Choose File > Export
Choose File > Export, then click the Format pop-up menu and choose JPEG.
Set the quality and save
With JPEG chosen, you can adjust the image’s quality. Type a new name, or choose a new location for the file, then click Save.
For several photos, open them together in one Preview window, select them all in the sidebar, then do the same steps. Preview saves one JPG per photo.
Export from the Photos app
For pictures in your Photos library, such as ones synced from your iPhone with iCloud Photos.
Select the photos
In Photos, select one photo or several.
Choose File > Export > Export Photos
The menu item shows the number you selected, such as Export 3 Photos. Don’t pick Export Unmodified Original: that one keeps the HEIC.
Set Photo Kind to JPEG
Click the Photo Kind pop-up menu and choose JPEG. Open the extra options to set JPEG Quality and Size if you like, then click Export and choose a folder.
A whole folder from Terminal
For people comfortable with Terminal. macOS includes a command called sips.
Go to the folder
Open Terminal and use cd to go to the folder that holds the HEIC photos.
Convert every photo
Paste this line and press Return. Each photo is saved as a JPG in a new folder called jpg, and the HEIC files stay untouched. Write *.heic instead if your file names are in lower case.
mkdir jpg; sips -s format jpeg *.HEIC --out jpg/
In Safari or Chrome, ToolHero converts HEIC too
Safari on your Mac opens HEIC photos by itself, and Chrome on a Mac with Apple silicon hands them to the Mac’s HEVC video decoder, so ToolHero converts them right in the browser: drop the photos on the Converter, pick JPG, PNG, WebP or AVIF, and press Convert. Nothing is sent anywhere, and you can resize or compress them in the same go.
In our tests Firefox couldn’t open HEIC photos. If it can’t on your Mac either, use one of the methods above.
Folders full of photos?
The ToolHero desktop app for Mac is on the way. It will convert and compress whole folders at once, privately, using the HEIC support built into macOS.
Questions, answered
Why is the JPG bigger than the HEIC file?
HEIC compresses photos better than JPEG, which is why iPhones use it, so the same picture usually makes a larger file as a JPG. How much larger depends on the photo and the quality you pick. Choose a lower quality if size matters more than fine detail.
Which JPEG quality should I pick?
For photos you might print or edit later, stay near the top of the scale. For email or a website, a middle setting looks almost the same and makes a much smaller file. You can always convert again from the HEIC, so nothing is lost by trying.
What does Export Unmodified Original do in Photos?
It saves the photo exactly as it was first added to your library, so an iPhone picture stays HEIC. To get a JPG, choose Export Photos instead and set Photo Kind to JPEG.
Does ToolHero open HEIC photos in Chrome on a Mac?
Yes, on a Mac with Apple silicon. Chrome can’t show HEIC images itself, but it can use the Mac’s HEVC video decoder, and ToolHero feeds it the photo piece by piece. Firefox can’t, so if it can’t for you, use one of the methods above.
Can I turn a JPG back into HEIC?
Yes. Preview’s Format menu and Photos’ Photo Kind menu both offer HEIC. It won’t bring back detail the JPG lost, but it can make the file smaller.