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HEIC to PNG Converter

Quick answer

Decode an iPhone HEIC photo into a lossless PNG when you need every pixel exact for editing, not a smaller file. Be aware going in: PNG output from a modern iPhone photo is usually enormous, often 20 to 30 megabytes for a single 12-megapixel shot.

What the heic to png converter does

This uses the same libheif WebAssembly decoder as the HEIC-to-JPG conversion, but instead of re-compressing the result as JPEG, it stores every decoded pixel losslessly as PNG. That matters if you are about to run the photo through several rounds of editing and do not want JPEG generation loss compounding along the way.

It is worth being upfront about the trade-off, because most people reaching for this tool actually want a smaller file, not a bigger one: a 12-megapixel iPhone photo, which HEIC stores in perhaps 2 to 4 megabytes, commonly expands to 20 to 30 megabytes as an uncompressed PNG-24. If you just need the photo to open on a non-Apple device, JPEG is almost always the better choice; this tool exists specifically for the editing and archival case, not the general compatibility case.

Transparency is not a factor here since phone camera photos do not have an alpha channel to begin with. What you are paying for with the larger file is simply the absence of any further lossy compression.

How to use it

  1. Upload the HEIC photo

    A single photo works best given the resulting file sizes; large batches will produce a very large ZIP.

  2. Confirm the conversion

    There is no quality slider; PNG output is always a lossless, full pixel-for-pixel decode.

  3. Check the file size

    Expect the PNG to be roughly ten times larger than the original HEIC. This is normal.

  4. Download and edit

    Bring the PNG into your editor of choice, make your changes, and export to JPEG only at the very end if size matters for the final use.

Your images never leave your device

The decode happens locally, which is worth knowing if the photo is, for instance, a birth certificate or ID document someone photographed on an iPhone for an archival scan. Keeping the full-quality lossless copy on-device rather than round-tripping it through a cloud converter avoids an unnecessary extra copy of a sensitive document existing anywhere else.

  • No file is ever uploaded to a server
  • Works offline after the first visit
  • No account, no watermark, no limits

Format and quality tips

Ask whether you actually need PNG

If the goal is just to open the photo somewhere that rejects HEIC, use the HEIC to JPG conversion instead. Reach for PNG only when you plan to edit the file and want to avoid JPEG loss during that process.

Export to JPEG once editing is done

Treat the PNG as a working file, not a final one. Once edits are finished, export the result to JPEG at quality 85 to 90 for anything you plan to share or store long term.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my PNG so much bigger than the original HEIC photo?

HEIC compresses photos efficiently using lossy encoding, while PNG stores every pixel exactly with no loss at all. A 12-megapixel photo can grow from a few megabytes to 20 or 30 megabytes when converted this way.

Should I convert HEIC to PNG or HEIC to JPG?

Choose PNG only if you plan to edit the photo losslessly. For sharing, emailing, or general compatibility, JPEG gives you a far smaller file with no visible quality difference.

Does HEIC to PNG conversion improve photo quality?

No, it decodes exactly what HEIC already stored. PNG prevents further loss going forward but cannot add detail HEIC compression did not keep.

Can I batch convert many HEIC photos to PNG?

Yes, though be aware the resulting ZIP file will be large, often ten times the size of the original HEIC batch.

Do iPhone photos have transparency that PNG preserves?

No, standard camera photos have no alpha channel, so PNG is not preserving transparency here, only avoiding further compression loss.

Is PNG a better archival format than HEIC for iPhone photos?

For raw pixel preservation, yes. For practical archiving where storage space matters, JPEG at high quality is usually the better balance, since HEIC itself is already an efficient, if less compatible, archival format.

Further reading