HEIC vs PNG

File size, image quality, transparency, and compatibility — compared side by side

The short answer

HEIC and PNG solve different problems. HEIC uses lossy HEVC compression to pack a 12MP iPhone photo into roughly 2 MB. The same photo as PNG takes 15–25 MB — and that's the lossless, pixel-perfect version. HEIC is a storage format. PNG is a fidelity format.

The trade-off is compatibility. HEIC stays inside Apple's ecosystem. PNG opens in every browser, every OS, and every image editor on earth. If you've ever sent an iPhone photo that wouldn't open, HEIC compatibility is the reason.

Neither format is better. The right choice depends on what the image is for.

HEIC vs PNG at a glance

What is HEIC?

HEIC stands for High Efficiency Image Container. Apple adopted it as the default iPhone camera format in iOS 11 (2017). It uses the HEVC (H.265) codec — the same compression algorithm behind 4K video streaming — applied to still images.

A single HEIC file is a container. It holds the compressed image, thumbnail, EXIF/GPS metadata, depth map, and Live Photo frames in one package. The efficiency is real: a 12MP iPhone photo that would be ~4 MB as JPEG compresses to ~2 MB as HEIC at equivalent visual quality.

For the full technical breakdown, see What Is a HEIC File?.

What is PNG?

PNG (Portable Network Graphics) uses DEFLATE compression — an algorithm that reorganizes data to store it more efficiently, without discarding any of it. Every pixel is preserved exactly as-is. Open a PNG ten times, edit it ten times, save it ten times — the pixels never change.

PNG supports full alpha transparency. It stores 8 bits per channel (256 shades per color). It has no chroma subsampling, so color accuracy per pixel is exact. PNG was created in 1996 as a patent-free alternative to GIF, and it became the web standard for graphics, screenshots, and logos.

The trade-off is size. Lossless compression cannot match lossy compression. A PNG of the same scene will always be significantly larger than HEIC.

Quality: lossy HEVC vs lossless DEFLATE

The quality question — is HEIC better than PNG? — depends on what you mean by "better."

Perceptual quality. HEVC is a modern codec. It analyzes image blocks and discards data the human visual system is unlikely to notice — compression artifacts in areas of uniform color, redundant information in out-of-focus regions. At iPhone defaults, the discarded data is imperceptible. The photo looks identical to the original.

Mathematical fidelity. PNG preserves every pixel exactly. Compare the source file to the PNG byte-for-byte and they match. There are no artifacts, no approximations, no rounding. If you need pixel-perfect accuracy — for design work, scientific imaging, or archival — PNG wins.

What actually changes when HEIC converts to PNG. The conversion runs through the browser's Canvas API, and that introduces losses that are independent of PNG's losslessness:

• Color depth drops from 10-bit to 8-bit. HEIC stores 1,024 shades per color channel. Canvas outputs 256. In smooth gradients — sky, skin, studio backdrops — you may see faint stair-stepping between tones.

• Color space maps from Display P3 to sRGB. iPhones shoot in Display P3, a wider gamut than the web standard. The conversion clips roughly 25% of P3 colors. Deep reds and vivid greens lose some saturation. On most screens you won't notice. On a calibrated wide-gamut monitor, you will.

The PNG output is lossless — it records exactly what the Canvas decoded. But the Canvas step itself has losses. Those happen in HEIC-to-anything conversion, not just HEIC-to-PNG.

File size: why PNG is larger than HEIC

HEIC files are small because HEVC is lossy. The codec decides what to throw away. PNG files are large because DEFLATE throws away nothing.

A 12MP iPhone HEIC photo is typically ~2 MB. The same image as a raw PNG is ~15–25 MB. That's a 7–12× size increase.

You can reduce PNG file size without losing quality using lossless optimization. HEICcon's HEIC to PNG converter includes an optional oxipng pass — a lossless optimizer that reorganizes the DEFLATE compression for smaller output. At the default optimization level, oxipng trims that 15–25 MB down to roughly 14 MB. Every pixel is identical. No visual difference at all.

Even optimized, PNG stays far larger than HEIC. That is not a flaw — it's the cost of lossless output. You're trading storage for pixel-perfect fidelity.

Transparency

Both HEIC and PNG support alpha transparency. The alpha channel controls how opaque or transparent each pixel is — essential for logos, UI assets, cutouts, and composited design work.

In practice, most iPhone HEIC photos have no transparent pixels. Camera photos are fully opaque. The transparency capability matters for software-generated HEIC files or composited images.

When converting HEIC to PNG, the alpha channel survives. PNG stores transparency correctly. But there's a catch: HEIC holds transparency at 10-bit depth in Display P3 space. After conversion, PNG outputs 8-bit sRGB. The alpha channel itself is preserved, but color depth and gamut are not.

For transparency preservation, PNG is the right choice. JPG has no alpha channel — transparent HEIC pixels convert to white on a JPG.

Compatibility: where each format works

This is where HEIC and PNG diverge most sharply.

HEIC compatibility:

• macOS and iOS — native support. Preview, Photos, and Quick Look open HEIC without extra software.

• Windows — no native HEIC support without installing HEIF Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store. Full HEVC decoding requires an additional paid extension ($0.99).

• Web browsers — HEIC displays natively in Safari only. Chrome, Firefox, and Edge cannot render HEIC.

• Web platforms — most reject HEIC uploads. Instagram, Gmail, WordPress, and the majority of CMS platforms require JPEG or PNG.

PNG compatibility:

• Every operating system — Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, iOS, Android.

• Every browser — without exception. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and every mobile browser.

• Every image editor — Photoshop, Affinity Photo, GIMP, Figma, Canva.

• Every platform — no social network, email client, or CMS rejects PNG.

One detail worth noting: when you AirDrop an HEIC photo to a non-Apple device, iOS auto-converts it to JPEG. But transfer via USB cable, iCloud Drive, or a shared folder keeps the file as HEIC. Those are the files that won't open.

When to convert HEIC to PNG

Convert HEIC to PNG when any of these apply:

• You need lossless output. PNG records exactly what the decoder produced from the HEIC. No re-compression, no artifacts. If you're editing the image or archiving it for quality-sensitive use, PNG avoids introducing new losses.

• You need transparency. The source HEIC has an alpha channel and the destination format must preserve it. JPG fills transparent areas with white. PNG does not.

• You need universal compatibility. The image is going to a Windows machine, a web platform, an email client, or anywhere outside Apple's ecosystem.

• You're doing design or print work. PNG is the standard for graphics, screenshots, logos, and design assets. It opens in every design tool without format concerns.

HEICcon's HEIC to PNG converter converts files in your browser. No file is uploaded to a server — the conversion runs via WebAssembly on your device. Up to 50 HEIC files can be converted at once. Download individually or as a ZIP.

When to keep HEIC

Not every HEIC file needs to become a PNG.

Keep your photos as HEIC when:

• Storage matters. HEIC is 3–8× smaller than the equivalent PNG. On a phone or a storage-constrained backup, that difference is significant.

• You stay within Apple's ecosystem. If the photos are going to iCloud, another iPhone, a Mac, or Apple Photos, HEIC works natively. No conversion needed.

• You want to preserve 10-bit color and Display P3. Converting to PNG drops both. If the point of keeping the photo is maximum color fidelity for future use on supported hardware, stay in HEIC.

If you don't need to share outside Apple or open the files in non-Apple software, there's no reason to convert.

HEIC vs PNG vs JPEG

HEIC is the storage format — smallest files, richest data, Apple-native. PNG is the fidelity format — lossless pixels, full transparency, works everywhere. JPEG is the universal format — lossy like HEIC but with decades of compatibility across every device and platform.

For a detailed HEIC vs JPEG comparison, see HEIC vs JPG.

Frequently asked questions

Is HEIC better quality than PNG?

It depends on what "quality" means. HEIC uses lossy HEVC compression — it discards some data to achieve small file sizes. At iPhone defaults, the compression is imperceptible. PNG uses lossless DEFLATE compression — no data is discarded, and every pixel is preserved exactly. For perceptual quality, HEIC is excellent. For pixel-perfect fidelity, PNG wins. HEIC also supports 10-bit color and Display P3, which PNG (as produced by Canvas conversion) does not preserve.

Should I convert HEIC to PNG?

Convert to PNG if you need lossless output, transparency, or universal compatibility. PNG opens on every device, browser, and platform without any codec or software. Don't convert if storage matters — PNG is 7–12× larger than HEIC. If you just need the photo to open on Windows or upload to a website, JPEG is a smaller choice. Use PNG when pixel accuracy or transparency is required.

Is HEIC lower quality?

No. HEIC is not low quality. HEVC (H.265) compression is more efficient than JPEG's DCT algorithm. At the same file size, HEIC typically looks better than JPEG. HEIC is lossy — it discards imperceptible data — but at standard iPhone settings, that loss is invisible. The distinction is between lossy (HEIC) and lossless (PNG). Lossy doesn't mean low quality. It means the compression involves selective data removal.

What are the drawbacks of using HEIC?

Compatibility. HEIC files don't open on Windows without a paid codec extension from the Microsoft Store. Chrome, Firefox, and Edge can't display HEIC natively. Most websites, email clients, and social platforms reject HEIC uploads. iPhones use HEIC internally for efficiency, but the format stays inside Apple's ecosystem. Anywhere outside that ecosystem requires conversion — to JPEG for broad compatibility, to PNG for lossless quality.

Does converting HEIC to PNG lose quality?

The PNG output is lossless — every pixel it contains is preserved exactly. But the conversion itself involves losses that happen before PNG encoding. The Canvas API, which decodes the HEIC, outputs 8-bit sRGB. The source HEIC stores 10-bit Display P3. Color depth drops from 1,024 shades to 256 per channel. Around 25% of P3 colors fall outside sRGB and get clipped. EXIF metadata — GPS, camera model, date — is stripped entirely. The PNG file is pixel-perfect for what the Canvas produced, but the Canvas step introduces irreversible changes.

Why are HEIC files so much smaller than PNG?

HEVC is a lossy video codec. It discards data the human eye is unlikely to notice — patterns in uniform areas, redundant information in blurred regions. DEFLATE (PNG's compression) discards nothing. Lossless compression can only reorganize data to store it more efficiently; it cannot match the compression ratios achievable by selectively throwing data away. That's why a 12MP iPhone HEIC is ~2 MB while the same image as PNG is ~15–25 MB. The PNG is larger because it's preserving more information.