Does converting HEIC to PNG lose any quality?

The PNG step loses nothing — PNG is lossless, so every pixel handed to it is stored exactly. What it cannot do is recover detail that HEIC already discarded when the photo was first saved. You get a perfect copy of the decoded image, not a perfect copy of the original scene.

Why is the PNG so much bigger than the HEIC?

Because the two formats have opposite goals. HEIC spends considerable effort discarding information your eye will not miss; PNG refuses to discard anything. A ten-fold increase is entirely normal. For comparison, we measured a JPG growing about 6.5× when converted to PNG, and an AVIF growing about 19×.

Should I use PNG or JPG for my iPhone photos?

JPG for anything you are sending to a person or a web form — it is smaller and universally supported. PNG when you are going to edit the image further, when it contains text or sharp graphic edges, or when you want an archival copy and size does not matter.

Will transparency be preserved?

Yes, where the source has it. PNG supports full alpha transparency. Ordinary iPhone camera photos are fully opaque, so this mostly matters for screenshots and edited images.

Is the PNG optimised, or just written out?

Optimised. Every PNG produced here is passed through oxipng, which rewrites the file's compression losslessly. The pixels are bit-for-bit identical; the file is simply smaller than a naive PNG encoder would produce.

Is my photo uploaded anywhere?

No. The decode and the encode both run inside this browser tab. The Uploaded readout beside each result measures the page's own outbound network traffic, so you can verify that claim rather than accept it.

How many photos can I convert at once?

As many as your device's memory allows. PNG output is large, so memory runs out sooner here than on the JPG converter. On a phone, work in batches of a few photos.

Is there a file size limit?

None is imposed. There is no upload and no server, so the only ceiling is how much memory your browser can allocate.

Do I keep the photo's date and location?

Generally no — most EXIF metadata is not carried across. Keep the original HEIC if the capture date or GPS coordinates matter. Your original file is never modified or deleted by this tool.

Can I convert a Live Photo?

You will get the still frame only. A Live Photo pairs a HEIC image with a short video, and PNG has no way to store the motion.

Why does this take longer than converting to JPG?

Two reasons. HEIC decoding is genuinely expensive, and PNG compression of a large photograph is slower than JPEG encoding. The work runs in a Web Worker so the page stays responsive while it happens.

Is there a watermark or a paid tier?

No to both. Nothing is added to the image and nothing is withheld.

Convert HEIC to PNG

A lossless copy of your iPhone photo, in a format every editor opens. Decoded on your own machine — nothing is uploaded, and there's no size limit.

ReadyHEIC → PNG

Uploaded0 B

What next

How do I convert HEIC to PNG?

To convert a HEIC photo to PNG, drop the file onto this page and download the PNG it returns. The conversion runs in your browser, so nothing is uploaded and there is no size limit. PNG is lossless, so no further detail is discarded — but expect a file many times larger than the HEIC you started with.

How to do it

Open the converter. Open this page in any modern browser. Nothing needs installing, and no account is required.
Add your HEIC photos. Drag them onto the panel or click to choose them. Add as many as your device's memory will hold.
Wait for the decode. HEIC decoding is the slow part — the photo is decompressed from HEVC back to raw pixels before the PNG is written. A large photo takes a second or two.
Download the PNG. Each result gets its own download link, and each PNG is run through oxipng losslessly, so it is as small as PNG can be without altering a single pixel.

At a glance

Converts	HEIC to PNG
Transparency	Preserved
Compression	Lossless encode, but detail already lost by HEIC cannot come back
Where it runs	In this browser tab. The file is not uploaded
File size limit	None imposed — your device memory is the ceiling
Cost	Free
Account needed	No
Watermark	None
Works offline	Usually after first use, but not guaranteed — there is no offline app

When is PNG the right choice for a photo?

PNG is lossless. Every pixel is stored exactly as it was decoded, with nothing discarded to save space. That matters in a few specific situations:

You are going to edit the image further, and don’t want compression artefacts baked in before you start
The photo contains text, screenshots or sharp graphic edges, which JPG smears
You need transparency, which JPG cannot store at all
You are producing an archival copy and size is not a concern

For an ordinary photograph destined for email or a web form, JPG is the better trade. There is a HEIC to JPG converter for exactly that.

Why is my PNG so much bigger than the HEIC?

This surprises people, so it is worth stating plainly: your PNG will be considerably bigger than the HEIC you started with, often by a factor of ten or more.

That is not a defect, and it is not a failed conversion. HEIC spends enormous effort discarding information your eye will not miss. PNG refuses to discard anything, so it has to store the fine grain and texture that HEIC threw away — and fine detail is precisely what lossless compression cannot squeeze.

The same effect is measurable on formats we can benchmark here: converting a JPG to PNG grew the file about 6.5×, and converting an AVIF to PNG grew it about 19×. The better the source format was at compressing, the bigger the lossless copy becomes.

How does the conversion run?

The HEIC is decoded from its HEVC-compressed form back to raw pixels, then written out as PNG and optimised losslessly with oxipng.

Both steps happen in WebAssembly inside your browser. Because there is no upload, there is no queue, no file size ceiling, and no copy of your photo sitting on someone else’s disk. The Uploaded readout under your result measures the page’s outbound traffic directly, so you can confirm it rather than take our word for it.

Questions

Does converting HEIC to PNG lose any quality?: The PNG step loses nothing — PNG is lossless, so every pixel handed to it is stored exactly. What it cannot do is recover detail that HEIC already discarded when the photo was first saved. You get a perfect copy of the decoded image, not a perfect copy of the original scene.
Why is the PNG so much bigger than the HEIC?: Because the two formats have opposite goals. HEIC spends considerable effort discarding information your eye will not miss; PNG refuses to discard anything. A ten-fold increase is entirely normal. For comparison, we measured a JPG growing about 6.5× when converted to PNG, and an AVIF growing about 19×.
Should I use PNG or JPG for my iPhone photos?: JPG for anything you are sending to a person or a web form — it is smaller and universally supported. PNG when you are going to edit the image further, when it contains text or sharp graphic edges, or when you want an archival copy and size does not matter.
Will transparency be preserved?: Yes, where the source has it. PNG supports full alpha transparency. Ordinary iPhone camera photos are fully opaque, so this mostly matters for screenshots and edited images.
Is the PNG optimised, or just written out?: Optimised. Every PNG produced here is passed through oxipng, which rewrites the file's compression losslessly. The pixels are bit-for-bit identical; the file is simply smaller than a naive PNG encoder would produce.
Is my photo uploaded anywhere?: No. The decode and the encode both run inside this browser tab. The Uploaded readout beside each result measures the page's own outbound network traffic, so you can verify that claim rather than accept it.
How many photos can I convert at once?: As many as your device's memory allows. PNG output is large, so memory runs out sooner here than on the JPG converter. On a phone, work in batches of a few photos.
Is there a file size limit?: None is imposed. There is no upload and no server, so the only ceiling is how much memory your browser can allocate.
Do I keep the photo's date and location?: Generally no — most EXIF metadata is not carried across. Keep the original HEIC if the capture date or GPS coordinates matter. Your original file is never modified or deleted by this tool.
Can I convert a Live Photo?: You will get the still frame only. A Live Photo pairs a HEIC image with a short video, and PNG has no way to store the motion.
Why does this take longer than converting to JPG?: Two reasons. HEIC decoding is genuinely expensive, and PNG compression of a large photograph is slower than JPEG encoding. The work runs in a Web Worker so the page stays responsive while it happens.
Is there a watermark or a paid tier?: No to both. Nothing is added to the image and nothing is withheld.

About these formats

Sources

Portable Network Graphics (PNG) Specification, Third Edition — W3C
Using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices — Apple
oxipng, the lossless PNG optimiser used here — oxipng contributors