Heica
HEIC to JPG, without the detour.
iPhone and iPad shoot in HEIC. Websites, forms, Windows PCs, older software and print shops still ask for JPG. Heica is the shortest path between the two: drop the photos in, pick a quality, click Convert.
It converts in batches, it never touches your originals, and it runs entirely on your Mac. No upload, no account, no waiting for a website to hand your own photos back to you.
Heica runs on your Mac. This is its web page, so a file dropped here does nothing.
How it works
Three steps
Quality
One slider decides the file size.
JPG quality is a trade between detail and size. Heica shows the estimated size of the whole batch while you drag, so the decision is made with numbers, not guesses. Here is what one photo does at each setting.
One 12 megapixel iPhone photo, 4032 x 3024 pixels, 1.0 MB as HEIC
- 100% 4.2 MB Largest file, no visible loss
- 90% 2.2 MB Prints and archives
- 75% 1.7 MB The default. Sharing and most uploads
- 60% 1.1 MB Email and messaging
- 47% 0.8 MB Web forms with a size limit
- 30% 0.4 MB Smaller than the HEIC itself
Measured on one real photo. Your photos will differ, which is exactly why the estimate is live. A JPG at high quality is often larger than the HEIC it came from: HEIC is the more efficient format, and JPG buys its compatibility with bytes.
Features
Key features
Drop photos or whole folders
Drag files or folders onto the window. Folders are searched all the way down, and every HEIC and HEIF inside is added. Add Files opens the usual dialog if that is easier.
One slider for quality
From 10% to 100%, with no fixed steps. The estimated size of the batch updates as you drag, and the default of 75% can be changed in Settings.
Batches, in parallel
Several photos convert at once, and Heica adapts to the number of cores in your Mac. A hundred photos is a coffee break, not an afternoon.
You choose where the JPGs go
Every conversion asks for a destination folder, and the whole batch lands there together. You always know where the JPGs went.
Originals untouched
Heica reads your HEIC files and writes new JPGs next to nothing. The originals are never modified, moved or deleted.
Names that never collide
Two photos from different folders with the same name get their folder name as a prefix. If a JPG already exists at the destination, you choose: Replace, Keep Both or Cancel.
Metadata carried over
Capture date, camera and lens details, orientation, colour profile and location data are copied from the HEIC into the JPG.
Grid or list, progress on every photo
Grid view for a quick look, list view for names and sizes. Each photo shows its own progress, and a summary appears when the batch is done.
Your photos
Nothing gets overwritten by accident.
A converter that writes files has to be careful about where it writes them. Three rules, and none of them has an exception.
Heica asks where, every time
Convert opens a folder dialog on every run. There is no remembered destination that quietly fills up, and no JPG scattered next to an original you have long forgotten.
Same name, different folder
Holiday/IMG_0001.heic and Work/IMG_0001.heic cannot both become IMG_0001.jpg. Heica sees the clash before it converts and writes Holiday_IMG_0001.jpg and Work_IMG_0001.jpg. Names that do not clash are left alone.
Already there? You decide
If the destination already holds a JPG with that name, Heica stops and asks: Replace, Keep Both or Cancel. Keep Both writes a numbered copy. The default answer follows your choice in Settings.
Details
Under the hood
| Input | HEIC and HEIF photos, single files or folders |
|---|---|
| Output | JPG, same base name as the original |
| Quality | 10% to 100%, stepless, default 75% |
| Size estimate | Live, for the whole batch, before you convert |
| Destination | Asked on every Convert, one folder per batch |
| Name clashes | Source folder name as prefix, detected before converting |
| Existing files | Replace, Keep Both or Cancel |
| Metadata | EXIF, orientation, colour profile and location carried over |
| Batch | Parallel, adapts to the cores in your Mac, cancel at any time |
| Originals | Never modified, moved or deleted |
| Not supported | ProRAW and other RAW formats, PNG or TIFF input, PNG output |
| System | macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later |
HDR photos are written as standard dynamic range JPGs; the HDR gain map is not carried over.
Why Heica
Converting HEIC on a Mac today means exporting from Preview one file at a time, building an Automator workflow, or uploading your photos to a website full of adverts and hoping they come back. Heica is the tool that should have been there: drop, pick, convert, done in seconds, with your photos never leaving your Mac. It works on macOS 14 and later.
Need help?
Questions, bug reports and feature requests are all welcome.
Write to us at [email protected]
System requirements
Contact
Heica is published by Metromedya. Tell us what you are converting and what would make it easier.
Heica is published by Metromedya. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, macOS, iPhone and the Mac App Store are trademarks of Apple Inc. HEIC and HEIF are formats defined by MPEG; JPEG is a format defined by the Joint Photographic Experts Group.