What happens when you convert AVIF to HEIC
- ImageMagick, the open-source image toolkit, reads the AVIF on our conversion server and saves it as a HEIC, compressed with HEVC at quality 80.
- HEIC is written here without transparency, so transparent areas are filled with white.
- HEIC is usually about half the size of a JPG of the same quality. It opens on iPhones, iPads and Macs, and on Windows with the free HEIF Image and HEVC Video extensions; most browsers and many upload forms cannot open it.
- This conversion runs on our server: the file is uploaded, converted, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result has been sent back to you. Nothing is kept. Files up to 25 MB are accepted.
How to convert AVIF to HEIC online
- Press "Choose AVIF files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. Files up to 25 MB each can be converted.
- There are no settings to choose: the converter keeps everything the target format can hold.
- Press "Convert to HEIC". The file is uploaded to our conversion server, converted in a few seconds, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result is sent back.
- Save each HEIC with its download button. Our server has already deleted both your AVIF and the HEIC by then.
Why convert AVIF to HEIC?
AVIF files usually come from images served by modern websites and CDNs. People convert them to HEIC because HEIC is what iPhones and iPads save photos as, and it is about half the size of a JPG of the same quality.
In short, AVIF is good at what it was made for, and HEIC is the more practical choice when the file has to open, upload or print somewhere else. AVIF opens in current Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge, while Safari on Apple devices shows HEIC; Chrome, Edge and Firefox cannot.
How to convert AVIF to HEIC on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android
On Windows
Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your AVIF files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each HEIC is saved to your Downloads folder.
On a Mac
Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the AVIF files from Finder onto the drop zone and the HEIC files land in Downloads.
On iPhone and iPad
Open the page in Safari and tap Choose AVIF files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted HEIC appears in Files, in the Downloads folder; to put it in your photo library, open it there, tap Share and choose Save Image.
On Android
Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose AVIF files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The HEIC is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.
Best settings for AVIF to HEIC
There are no settings: the image keeps its full size and is saved at quality 80.
Keep the AVIF as your original, and convert from it again if you need another format.
AVIF vs HEIC: the differences
| AVIF | HEIC | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | AV1 Image File Format | High Efficiency Image Container |
| Type | image | image |
| Created by | the Alliance for Open Media | the Moving Picture Experts Group, adopted by Apple |
| First released | 2019 | 2017 |
| Compression | Lossy or lossless | Lossy |
| Transparency | Yes | Yes |
| Animation | Yes | No |
| Vector or raster | Raster | Raster |
| Colour | up to 12 bits per channel, including HDR | up to 16-bit colour |
| In a browser | opens in current Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge | Safari on Apple devices shows it; Chrome, Edge and Firefox cannot |
| Common uses | images served by modern websites and CDNs | photos taken on iPhones and iPads since iOS 11 |
| MIME type | image/avif | image/heic |
About AVIF and HEIC files
What is an AVIF file?
AVIF uses the AV1 video codec to compress still images and often beats WebP by another 20 percent. Encoding it is slow and many desktop programs cannot open it yet.
What is a HEIC file?
iPhones save photos as HEIC because it is roughly half the size of an equivalent JPG. The catch is compatibility: Windows needs an extra codec, and most upload forms and older software reject it.
AVIF to HEIC not working? Common problems
- "Files up to 25 MB can be converted." Server conversions have a size limit. Save the image at a smaller size first.
- "The conversion took too long and was stopped." Very long or complex files can pass the 90 second limit. Split the file and convert the parts.
- "This file is not really in AVIF format." The converter checks every file before it runs anything, so a file of another format renamed to .avif is refused. Choose the page for its real format.
Convert AVIF to HEIC from the command line
ImageMagick, built with libheif as the official installers are, does the same on your own computer:
magick input.avif -background white -flatten -quality 80 output.heicConverting on your own computer keeps the file entirely local, which is worth it for very large or very sensitive documents. For everything else, the converter on this page does it without installing anything.
AVIF to HEIC converter FAQ
Will I lose quality converting AVIF to HEIC?
A little, because HEIC is lossy. At this quality the difference is hard to see, and the file is much smaller.
Why is the HEIC a different size from the AVIF?
Usually far smaller than the AVIF, because lossy compression discards detail the eye hardly notices.
Are my AVIF files uploaded?
Yes, for this conversion. A faithful AVIF to HEIC conversion needs ImageMagick, the open-source image toolkit, which cannot run in a browser. The file travels over an encrypted connection, is converted in a private temporary folder, and is deleted together with the HEIC as soon as the result has been sent back to you. We do not keep, read or share it.
Can I convert several AVIF files to HEIC at once?
Yes. Select or drop as many files as you like; they are converted one after another and each gets its own download button.
How do I open a HEIC file?
Safari on Apple devices shows HEIC; Chrome, Edge and Firefox cannot. HEIC is common for photos taken on iPhones and iPads since iOS 11.
Is this AVIF to HEIC converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up and no watermark. Because this conversion uses our server, there is a fair-use limit of 25 MB per file and a number of files per hour, which stops the service being overloaded.
Can I convert AVIF to HEIC on my phone?
Yes. It works in Safari on iPhone and iPad and in Chrome on Android. The conversion happens on our server, so it is as fast on a phone as on a computer; the HEIC is saved to your Downloads folder.