What happens when you convert HEIC to PSD
- ImageMagick, the open-source image toolkit, reads the HEIC on our conversion server and saves it as a PSD with a single layer and lossless RLE compression.
- The PSD has one layer holding the whole HEIC, with any transparency kept, ready to open in Photoshop, GIMP or Photopea and build on.
- Photos are turned upright using the rotation stored in them, so the result is always the right way up.
- 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 HEIC to PSD online
- Press "Choose HEIC 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 PSD". 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 PSD with its download button. Our server has already deleted both your HEIC and the PSD by then.
Why convert HEIC to PSD?
HEIC files usually come from photos taken on iPhones and iPads since iOS 11. People convert them to PSD because a PSD opens in Photoshop, GIMP and Photopea as a layer ready to retouch, mask or build a design on.
In short, HEIC is good at what it was made for, and PSD is the more practical choice when the file has to open, upload or print somewhere else. Safari on Apple devices shows it; Chrome, Edge and Firefox cannot, while PSD does not open in browsers; Photoshop opens it, and GIMP, Affinity Photo and Photopea read most PSD files.
How to convert HEIC to PSD on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android
On Windows
Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your HEIC files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each PSD is saved to your Downloads folder.
On a Mac
Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the HEIC files from Finder onto the drop zone and the PSD files land in Downloads.
On iPhone and iPad
Open the page in Safari and tap Choose HEIC files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted PSD appears in Files, in the Downloads folder; to put it in your photo library, open it there, tap Share and choose Save Image. To stop the iPhone creating HEIC files in future, go to Settings, Camera, Formats and choose Most Compatible.
On Android
Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose HEIC files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The PSD is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.
Best settings for HEIC to PSD
There are no settings: the image keeps its full size.
Open the PSD in Photoshop to add layers, text and adjustments on top of the image.
HEIC vs PSD: the differences
| HEIC | PSD | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | High Efficiency Image Container | Adobe Photoshop document |
| Type | image | image |
| Created by | the Moving Picture Experts Group, adopted by Apple | Adobe |
| First released | 2017 | 1990 |
| Compression | Lossy | Lossless |
| Transparency | Yes | Yes |
| Animation | No | No |
| Vector or raster | Raster | Raster |
| Colour | up to 16-bit colour | up to 32 bits per channel, in RGB, CMYK, Lab or greyscale |
| What it holds | up to 16-bit colour | layers, masks, adjustment and text layers, plus a flattened copy of the whole image |
| In a browser | Safari on Apple devices shows it; Chrome, Edge and Firefox cannot | does not open in browsers; Photoshop opens it, and GIMP, Affinity Photo and Photopea read most PSD files |
| Common uses | photos taken on iPhones and iPads since iOS 11 | Photoshop artwork, photo retouching, mock-ups and design files |
| MIME type | image/heic | image/vnd.adobe.photoshop |
About HEIC and PSD files
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.
What is a PSD file?
A PSD keeps every layer, mask, adjustment and text layer separately so the work can be edited later, and stores a flattened copy of the whole picture beside them. A PSD is limited to 30,000 pixels a side and 2 GB; larger work is saved as PSB.
HEIC to PSD 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 HEIC format." The converter checks every file before it runs anything, so a file of another format renamed to .heic is refused. Choose the page for its real format.
Convert HEIC to PSD from the command line
ImageMagick does the same on your own computer:
magick input.heic output.psdConverting 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.
HEIC to PSD converter FAQ
Will I lose quality converting HEIC to PSD?
No. PSD is stored losslessly, so every pixel of the HEIC is kept.
Why is the PSD a different size from the HEIC?
Usually larger than the HEIC: a PSD stores pixels with simple RLE compression, far less compact than photo compression.
Are my HEIC files uploaded?
Yes, for this conversion. A faithful HEIC to PSD 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 PSD as soon as the result has been sent back to you. We do not keep, read or share it.
Can I convert several HEIC files to PSD 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 PSD file?
PSD does not open in browsers; Photoshop opens it, and GIMP, Affinity Photo and Photopea read most PSD files. PSD is common for Photoshop artwork, photo retouching, mock-ups and design files.
Is this HEIC to PSD 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 HEIC to PSD 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 PSD is saved to your Downloads folder.