What happens when you convert TIF to JPEG
- The image is decoded and written as a baseline JPEG at 90 percent quality.
- JPEG has no transparency, so transparent areas are filled with white.
- A small TIFF decoder is fetched when you press Convert. For multi-page TIF files, the first page is converted.
How to convert TIF to JPEG online
- Press "Choose TIF files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. You can add files of any size your device can hold in memory.
- Adjust the settings if you need to. Lower quality gives a smaller file.
- Press "Convert to JPEG". Images convert in a second or two each.
- Save each JPEG with its download button. Close the tab and every trace of the files is gone from memory.
Why convert TIF to JPEG?
TIF files usually come from scanners, fax software and print shops. People convert them to JPEG because JPEG opens everywhere and keeps photos small, which is why upload forms and email favour it.
In short, TIF is good at what it was made for, and JPEG is the more practical choice when the file has to open, upload or print somewhere else. Safari shows TIF; Chrome, Edge and Firefox download it instead of displaying it, while JPEG opens in every browser and image viewer.
How to convert TIF to JPEG on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android
On Windows
Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your TIF files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each JPEG is saved to your Downloads folder. Paint can also re-save an image as JPEG with Save as, provided Windows can open the TIF in the first place.
On a Mac
Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the TIF files from Finder onto the drop zone and the JPEG files land in Downloads. Preview can do single images too: open the file, choose File, then Export, and pick JPEG.
On iPhone and iPad
Open the page in Safari and tap Choose TIF files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted JPEG 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 TIF files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The JPEG is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.
Best settings for TIF to JPEG
JPEG is lossy, so the Quality setting trades file size against detail. Best is 95, High is 90, Medium is 80 and Small file is 65 on the usual 0 to 100 scale. At High the difference from the TIF is invisible for photos; at Small file you may see softness around text and fine patterns.
The Maximum width setting shrinks large images before encoding. A 4000 pixel phone photo reduced to 1920 pixels loses three quarters of its pixels and most of its size, yet still fills a laptop screen.
TIF vs JPEG: the differences
| TIF | JPEG | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tagged Image File Format | Joint Photographic Experts Group image |
| Type | image | image |
| Created by | Aldus Corporation | the Joint Photographic Experts Group |
| First released | 1986 | 1992 |
| Compression | Lossy or lossless | Lossy |
| Transparency | Yes | No |
| Animation | No | No |
| Vector or raster | Raster | Raster |
| Colour | up to 32 bits per channel, including CMYK | 24-bit colour, 16.7 million colours |
| In a browser | Safari shows it; Chrome, Edge and Firefox download it instead of displaying it | opens in every browser and image viewer |
| Common uses | scanners, fax software and print shops | camera photos, scanned documents and web images |
| MIME type | image/tiff | image/jpeg |
About TIF and JPEG files
What is a TIF file?
TIF and TIFF are the same format; scanners and fax software tend to write the three-letter extension. Many TIF files hold several pages, which is common with faxes and multi-page scans.
What is a JPEG file?
JPEG and JPG are the same format. The three-letter extension dates from old Windows systems that only allowed three characters after the dot, and both names are still in use.
TIF to JPEG not working? Common problems
- Colours look slightly different. Browsers convert images to the standard sRGB colour space when they decode them, so wide-gamut and CMYK images can shift a little.
- A phone photo comes out upright even though it looked sideways elsewhere. That is correct: the rotation stored in the photo is applied during conversion, so the JPEG is always the right way up.
- Transparent areas turned white. JPEG cannot store transparency; convert to PNG or WebP instead if you need it.
Convert TIF to JPEG from the command line
If you work in a terminal, ImageMagick converts TIF to JPEG in one line:
magick input.tif -quality 90 output.jpegTo convert every TIF in a folder at once, use magick mogrify -format jpeg *.tif. The converter on this page does the same job without installing anything.
TIF to JPEG converter FAQ
Will I lose quality converting TIF to JPEG?
A little. Both formats are lossy, so re-encoding compounds the loss slightly. Keep the default quality or higher and the difference is rarely noticeable.
Why is the JPEG a different size from the TIF?
It depends on the settings. At the defaults, the JPEG usually comes out close in size to the TIF; lower the quality for a smaller file.
Are my TIF files uploaded anywhere?
No. The conversion runs inside this browser tab using your browser's own image decoder, so your files stay on your device. You can disconnect from the internet after the page has loaded and it still works.
Can I convert several TIF files to JPEG 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 JPEG file?
JPEG opens in every browser and image viewer. JPEG is common for camera photos, scanned documents and web images.
Is this TIF to JPEG converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit on how many files you convert. The site is paid for by advertising, and because conversions run on your device there is no server cost per file.
Can I convert TIF to JPEG on my phone?
Yes. The converter works in Safari on iPhone and iPad and in Chrome on Android. Converted files are saved to the Downloads folder.