HEIC vs JPG: Quality, Size, and Compatibility

The quick version: HEIC is technically better. JPG works everywhere. Use HEIC for storage, convert to JPG when sharing.

That's honestly the whole strategy. But if you want to understand why, here's the breakdown.

File size

This is HEIC's main selling point. At the same visual quality, HEIC files are roughly half the size of JPG files.

A typical 12 megapixel photo:

HEIC: ~2 MB
JPG: ~4 MB

Over thousands of photos, this adds up. If you've ever run out of storage on your phone and wondered why you could probably thank JPG.

The reason is that HEIC uses modern compression (the same stuff used for 4K video). JPG's compression is from 1992. Three decades of progress makes a difference.

Image quality

At the same file size HEIC looks better. At the same quality, HEIC is smaller. You can't really lose here.

HEIC also supports 16-bit color depth versus JPG's 8-bit. In practice this means smoother gradients—less of that banding effect you sometimes see in skies or shadows.

For most photos viewed on a screen, the difference isn't dramatic. But it's there if you look for it, and it matters more for editing.

Features

HEIC can do things JPG simply can't:

Transparency. HEIC supports alpha channels like PNG does. JPG doesn't.
Multiple images in one file. Live Photos on iPhone? That's a short video and a still image stored together in one HEIC file.
Depth data. Portrait mode photos store depth information that lets you adjust the blur later. HEIC handles this natively.
Non-destructive edits. iOS stores photo edits in the HEIC file without modifying the original. You can always revert.

JPG is just... a picture. That's all it can be.

Compatibility

Here's where JPG wins, and it wins decisively.

JPG has been around since 1992. Every device, every operating system, every application that has ever dealt with images supports JPG. It's the closest thing we have to a universal format.

HEIC is newer (2017) and support is still patchy:

macOS and iOS: works great
Windows: needs codec installation
Android: varies by device
Web browsers: not directly (they convert under the hood)
Random websites and apps: hit or miss

When you need a photo to Just Work, JPG is the safe choice.

So which should you use?

Both. Seriously.

Keep HEIC as your archive format. It's higher quality and takes up less space. Your phone probably uses it by default already, and that's fine.

Convert to JPG when you need to share. Sending to someone on Windows? Uploading to a website that's being picky? Export as JPG.

This gives you the best of both worlds—maximum quality for storage, maximum compatibility for sharing.

The conversion question

"But isn't converting from HEIC to JPG lossy? Don't I lose quality?"

Technically yes. JPG is a lossy format, so some information is discarded. But at reasonable quality settings (90%+), the difference is invisible for practical purposes. You'd need to zoom in and compare side by side to notice anything.

The important thing is keeping your HEIC originals. Convert copies when needed, don't replace your source files.

What about WebP and AVIF?

There are other modern formats out there:

WebP — Google's format. Good compression, decent support in browsers. Not great for photos though.
AVIF — Even newer, even better compression. Support is growing but still limited.

For photos on phones, HEIC is the practical choice right now. For web publishing, WebP is worth considering. AVIF is the future but the future isn't quite here yet.

Bottom line

HEIC is objectively the better format for image quality and storage. JPG is objectively the better format for compatibility.

The good news is you don't have to choose—use HEIC as your default, convert to JPG when the situation calls for it. Takes 30 seconds with the right tool.