How to Convert HEIC to PNG (Free Online, No Upload)

Need your iPhone HEIC photos in PNG format? Maybe you need transparency support, lossless quality, or a format that every design tool accepts without complaint. Converting HEIC to PNG is straightforward — and you don't need to install anything.

Why Convert HEIC to PNG Instead of JPG?

Most HEIC conversion guides point you to JPG. That's fine for sharing photos, but PNG is the better choice in specific situations:

Rule of thumb: Use PNG when the image has text, sharp edges, transparency, or will be edited further. Use JPG when it's a photograph being shared or uploaded to social media.

Convert HEIC to PNG in Your Browser

Pixotter's HEIC to PNG converter processes files entirely in your browser. Nothing gets uploaded — your photos stay on your device.

1. Open Pixotter's Convert tool and select PNG as the output format.
2. Drop your HEIC files onto the page. Batch processing works — add as many files as you need.
3. Click Convert and download your PNG files.

PNG is lossless, so there's no quality slider to worry about. The output preserves every pixel of visual information from the original HEIC file (within PNG's 8-bit color depth — see the FAQ below for details on 10-bit color).

How to Convert HEIC to PNG on Windows

Method 1: Pixotter (Browser)

Open pixotter.com/convert-heic-to-png/ in any browser. Drop files, convert, download. No software installation needed on Windows 10 or 11.

Method 2: Windows Paint

1. Install HEIF Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store (free) if not already installed.
2. Open the HEIC file in Paint (right-click → Open with → Paint).
3. File → Save as → PNG picture.

Paint works for individual files but strips EXIF metadata. For batch conversion or metadata preservation, use Pixotter or ImageMagick.

Method 3: PowerShell + ImageMagick

# Requires ImageMagick 7.1.1-29+
# Install: winget install ImageMagick.ImageMagick
Get-ChildItem -Filter *.heic | ForEach-Object {
    magick $_.FullName "$($_.BaseName).png"
}

ImageMagick produces lossless PNG output by default when converting from HEIC. Metadata is preserved.

How to Convert HEIC to PNG on Mac

Method 1: Pixotter (Browser)

Open pixotter.com/convert-heic-to-png/ in Safari, Chrome, or Firefox. Same experience as any other platform.

Method 2: Preview

1. Open the HEIC file in Preview.
2. File → Export.
3. Change format to PNG.
4. Save.

For batch conversion: select multiple files in Finder → right-click → Open With → Preview → Edit → Select All → File → Export Selected Images → choose PNG.

Method 3: Terminal (sips)

# Single file
sips -s format png input.heic --out output.png

# Batch convert all HEIC files
for f in *.heic; do
    sips -s format png "$f" --out "${f%.heic}.png"
done

sips is included in macOS and preserves EXIF metadata by default. Supported since macOS High Sierra (10.13) for HEIC input.

How to Convert HEIC to PNG on Linux

Method 1: Pixotter (Browser)

Open pixotter.com/convert-heic-to-png/ in Firefox or Chrome. No system library installation required.

Method 2: heif-convert

# Install (Ubuntu/Debian)
sudo apt install libheif-examples

# Convert to PNG
heif-convert -q 100 photo.heic photo.png

# Batch convert
for f in *.heic; do
    heif-convert "$f" "${f%.heic}.png"
done

The libheif-examples package (version 1.17.6 on Ubuntu 24.04) automatically detects the output format from the file extension.

Method 3: ImageMagick

sudo apt install imagemagick libheif-dev

# Single file
magick input.heic output.png

# Batch
magick mogrify -format png *.heic

HEIC vs PNG: Format Comparison

PNG files are significantly larger than HEIC for photographic content because PNG uses lossless compression that wasn't designed for photographs. A 12 MP iPhone photo might be 1.5 MB as HEIC, 3.5 MB as JPG, and 10+ MB as PNG.

For more on Apple's HEIC format, read What Is HEIC? Apple's Image Format Explained. To compare HEIC against JPG specifically, see HEIC vs JPEG: Which Format Is Better?.

When PNG Is the Wrong Choice

If you're converting HEIC photos purely for sharing or web use, JPG or WebP will serve you better:

• For web publishing: WebP gives you smaller files than both PNG and JPG with browser support across Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. See PNG vs WebP.
• For email and social media: JPG is universally accepted and produces the smallest files for photographs. See How to Convert HEIC to JPG.
• For archival: Keep the original HEIC. It has better compression than PNG and preserves 10-bit color information.

PNG is specifically the right choice when you need lossless quality, transparency, or crisp rendering of text and sharp edges. If you need your HEIC photos wrapped in a document format instead, see How to Convert HEIC to PDF.

Batch Converting Large Photo Libraries

For converting hundreds or thousands of HEIC files to PNG:

PNG files are large. Converting 1,000 iPhone photos to PNG will consume roughly 10-15 GB of disk space. If storage is a concern, consider JPG (3-4 GB for the same set) or compress the PNGs afterward using Pixotter's PNG compressor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does HEIC to PNG conversion lose quality?

No — PNG is lossless, so the conversion preserves all visual information from the decoded HEIC image. However, HEIC supports 10-bit color while standard PNG is 8-bit. If the original HEIC uses 10-bit color (common on iPhone 12 and later), the conversion maps 10-bit values to 8-bit. This is a minor difference that's invisible in most viewing contexts but technically reduces the color gamut.

Why are my PNG files so much larger than the HEIC originals?

PNG uses lossless compression designed for graphics, not photographs. Photographic content (smooth gradients, noise, complex color transitions) compresses poorly with PNG's deflate algorithm. A 1.5 MB HEIC photo becoming a 10 MB PNG is normal — that's the cost of lossless storage for photo data.

Can I convert HEIC to PNG and keep the transparent background?

HEIC files from iPhones don't typically have transparent backgrounds — they're photographs with solid backgrounds. However, HEIC does support alpha transparency, and if your HEIC file has transparent areas, PNG will preserve them. Both formats support full alpha channel transparency.

Should I convert HEIC to PNG or WebP for my website?

WebP. It supports both lossy and lossless compression, produces smaller files than PNG in lossless mode, and is supported by all modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari 16+, Edge). PNG is better only when you need guaranteed compatibility with very old software. See PNG vs WebP for a detailed comparison.

How do I convert HEIC to PNG on a Chromebook?

Open pixotter.com/convert-heic-to-png/ in Chrome. The converter runs entirely in the browser via WebAssembly — no Linux container, Android app, or Chrome extension needed.

Will converting to PNG remove the photo's location and camera data?

Most methods preserve EXIF metadata (GPS, camera model, exposure settings). Pixotter, macOS sips, Preview, and ImageMagick all keep metadata intact. Windows Paint strips EXIF data — avoid it if metadata matters.