Alternatives to heictojpg.com,
honestly compared.

The options, at a glance

Only values we could read on a published page on 15 July 2026. Where a company doesn't state something, the cell says "Not stated" rather than guessing. Where we couldn't verify a limit, it says to check their pricing page — a wrong number here would make every other number worth less.

The cloud converters

Uploading is a legitimate architecture. It's how most converters work, it's the only practical way to support hundreds of formats, and the companies doing it are running ordinary businesses. Here's what each of them says about itself.

CloudConvert — the strongest stated practices in this list

If you need a cloud converter, this is the one whose published commitments read best. On its security page:

"Files are kept only for processing and deleted immediately afterwards. CloudConvert intentionally does not provide any permanent storage."

"Each conversion runs in a separate, isolated container. This means that even the CloudConvert team technically can't access your files."

It also states that all transfers are SSL encrypted with up-to-date ciphers, that services are hosted in the selected geographical processing region exclusively, and that it uses trusted cloud providers such as AWS. We couldn't verify its current free-tier limits, so check their pricing page. If you need a format we don't support, or OCR'd searchable text, use CloudConvert. We do JPG, PNG, WebP and PDF, but not video, not exotic formats, and not text recognition — and pretending otherwise would waste your afternoon. The longer read on CloudConvert goes through the whole security page.

FreeConvert — plain about the upload, metered for a reason

Its HEIC page says outright we upload your files over a secure HTTPS connection and that it will delete them automatically after a few hours. The page lists Max file size 1GB. Its pricing page is specific about the free tier:

"Free users get 20 conversion minutes per day for both Web and API use."

The same page says This means up to 20 files per day can be converted for free, notes a limit of 5 conversion minutes per file for free usage, and adds You do not need to create an account to get these benefits on our website. That metering isn't stinginess — their costs scale per file, so a free tier has to have a ceiling. Our FreeConvert page has the full quotes.

iLoveIMG — two-hour deletion, Europe-based

From the team behind iLovePDF, based in Barcelona. Its security page states:

"all files processed within our platform are automatically and permanently deleted within two hours of being processed."

The same page says iLoveIMG does not retain user documents, and that it implements robust encryption protocols, including the use of the HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) protocol, to protect your data, both in transit and at rest. A two-hour window is tighter than 48 hours, and encryption at rest is a detail most converters don't mention. It uploads, like the rest of this group.

The options that aren't converters at all

Windows: HEVC Video Extensions from the Microsoft Store

Worth knowing whether you convert anything or not. Most people arrive here because Windows shows a blank icon where a photo should be — HEVC is patented, Microsoft ships Windows without the decoder, and sells it in the Store instead. Install the extension and Photos and File Explorer simply start working.

Two listings exist: a paid one, and a free one titled "HEVC Video Extensions from Device Manufacturer" which isn't available on every device. Prices and availability change, so check the Store rather than trusting a figure quoted on a page like this one.

The catch is what it doesn't fix. It makes HEICs open on your PC. It does nothing about the person you're emailing, the upload form that only takes JPG, or the old Android on the other end. Viewing and sharing are different problems. If yours is viewing, this is the whole story.

Mac: Apple Photos, which you already have

If you're on a Mac and you need a couple of JPGs, stop reading and use Photos. Select the photos, File → Export → Export Photos, pick JPEG. It's built in, it's free, it runs locally, nothing is uploaded, and it keeps more metadata than we do. For a handful of files there is no reason to open a website at all — including this one.

It's less convenient for a few hundred files from a phone that isn't plugged into that Mac, and there's no Windows equivalent. But for the common case, it's the right answer and it costs nothing.

Desktop viewers: IrfanView, XnView and friends

Long-standing Windows image viewers with batch conversion built in. Files stay on your machine, they'll chew through a folder of photos, and they handle formats a browser won't touch. The cost is that they're an installation — which is a real barrier on a work laptop where you don't have admin rights, and a big commitment for one folder of holiday photos. If you convert images regularly, they're a better long-term tool than any website.

The browser option — and what's wrong with it

This is ours, so here's the sales pitch in one line and then the complaints. Your browser can decode HEIC itself using a WebAssembly build of libheif, so conversion can happen inside the page: no upload, no account, no daily cap, no file limit beyond your device's memory, and it keeps working with the Wi-Fi off. Free, paid for by the ads.

Now the honest list, which is the only reason the rest of this page is worth anything:

• No video, no exotic formats, no OCR. JPG, PNG, WebP and PDF, and that's the list. The cloud converters above beat us comfortably on breadth, and if that's your job they're the answer.
• JPGs come out ~168% the size of your HEICs. Every converter on this page does that, ours included. It's the codecs: JPG's compression is from 1992, HEVC's from 2013.
• EXIF metadata is dropped — dates, camera, GPS. Rotation is applied so photos are upright, but Apple Photos preserves more than we do.
• Very large zips are limited by browser memory. The app warns you before you hit it, and saving files individually is steadier. A server has no such limit.
• A ~1.4 MB decoder downloads once on first use — a network request, just not one with your photo in it.
• We're a small independent project, not an audited company. CloudConvert has a security page and infrastructure.

How to check us, and everyone else. Press F12, open the Network tab, convert a photo: an uploader shows a request carrying megabytes, a local converter shows nothing. Or turn off your Wi-Fi and convert anyway — an uploader stops dead, a local one doesn't notice. That's your browser reporting on the page rather than the page reporting on itself, which is why it's the only test that counts. The ten-second version is here.

Questions people actually ask

Keep reading

• Is heictojpg.com safe? — the terms nobody reads, quoted in full and read fairly.
• Is CloudConvert safe? — the strongest stated practices in the category.
• Batch converting hundreds at once — and why there's no daily cap here.