How to Convert HEIC to JPG on Windows 10 and 11 (Free)
Someone sends you photos from an iPhone, you double-click them on your PC, and Windows either shows nothing or asks you to buy something. That is the moment most people start looking for how to convert HEIC to JPG on Windows. The good news: you do not need to pay for anything, and you do not need a "HEIC converter" from a random download site.
Below are four free ways that actually work, from the two-click option for one photo to the right tool for a folder of 300. Pick the one that matches your situation and skip the rest.
For one or two photos, open the file in Paint and use File, Save as, JPEG picture. For a whole batch, install PowerToys and use Image Resizer with its output format set to JPEG. If your PC cannot open HEIC at all, or you are on a locked-down work computer, use an online HEIC to JPG converter and skip the setup entirely.
First, why Windows struggles with HEIC
HEIC is the photo format iPhones have used by default since 2017. Inside the file, the image is compressed with HEVC, a video codec that is covered by patents. Microsoft therefore ships the support separately instead of building it into every copy of Windows:
- HEIF Image Extensions in the Microsoft Store, which is free, and
- HEVC Video Extensions, the part that actually decodes the picture data, which usually costs about a dollar unless your PC maker already paid for it.
On Windows 11 version 22H2 and later, this support is already included, so many newer PCs open HEIC files with no extra steps. On Windows 10 you often need the Store add-ons. Either way, once Windows can read a HEIC file, the methods below can turn it into a JPG.
Windows can read HEIC but it cannot write it. There is a decoder, no encoder. That sounds like a limitation, and it is exactly what makes the batch trick in method 2 work.
Method 1: Paint, the fastest built-in way
Paint has been in Windows since 1985 and it is still the quickest way to change one photo. No download, no settings.
- Right-click your
.heicphoto, choose Open with, then Paint. - Click File, then Save as, then JPEG picture.
- Choose a folder, keep the name, click Save. Done, you have a JPG next to your original.
If Paint opens an empty window or says the format is not supported, your PC is missing the HEIF support described above. Install the free HEIF Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store, then try again, or jump to method 4, which needs nothing installed.
Good for: one to three photos. Not good for: a folder, because Paint handles a single file at a time and always asks where to save it.
Method 2: PowerToys Image Resizer, the best free batch option
PowerToys is Microsoft's own free toolbox for Windows 10 and 11. Its Image Resizer add-on processes an entire selection from the right-click menu, and here is the clever part: because Windows has no HEIC encoder, Image Resizer cannot save your photo back as HEIC, so it falls back to the format you choose. Set that fallback to JPEG and you have a batch converter.
- Install PowerToys from the Microsoft Store, then open it and enable Image Resizer.
- In Image Resizer settings, set Fallback encoding to JPEG.
- Add a size preset measured in percent and set it to 100. Your photos keep their full resolution and are only re-encoded.
- Select all your HEIC files in File Explorer, right-click, and choose Resize with Image Resizer, then pick your 100 percent preset.
Every photo lands in the same folder as a JPG, with the originals untouched. Microsoft's own documentation notes that Image Resizer is not meant as a format converter, which is worth knowing: it works reliably here, but the format change is a side effect of the fallback encoder rather than a headline feature.
Good for: 5 to a few hundred photos on your own PC. Not good for: a work laptop where you cannot install software.
Not sure your PC can even open these files yet? How to Open HEIC Files on Any Device walks through the viewing side on Windows, Android, Mac and Linux, which is the step that has to work before any conversion.
Method 3: Fix it on the iPhone side so there is nothing to convert
If the photos keep coming from the same iPhone, spend thirty seconds on that phone and the problem disappears for good. Two settings do it:
- Convert only when transferring: on the iPhone, open Settings, Photos, scroll to Transfer to Mac or PC and choose Automatic. Copy photos over a USB cable and they arrive on your PC as JPG. The phone keeps its space-saving HEIC originals.
- Shoot JPG from now on: open Settings, Camera, Formats and pick Most Compatible. New photos are saved as JPG. Existing HEIC photos stay HEIC, and JPG takes roughly twice the storage.
Sharing through WhatsApp, Messenger or email usually converts to JPG automatically too, which is why the same photo can arrive as a JPG in one app and a HEIC in another.
Method 4: An online converter, when installing is not an option
Sometimes the PC is not yours, the Store is blocked, or you simply do not want another program for a five-second job. An online converter does the decoding on the server, so nothing on Windows needs to change.
On heicjpg.online there is no convert button to hunt for: you drop the photos in and each one starts converting the moment its upload finishes, at full resolution and with EXIF data kept. A typical iPhone photo is ready in about a second, several photos come back as one ZIP, and there are no ads, accounts or watermarks.
Good for: any Windows version, work computers, and quick jobs. Not good for: hundreds of files at once, where an offline batch tool is the better fit.
Which method should you use?
| Method | Install needed | Batch | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paint | No, built in | No | One or two photos, fastest built-in route |
| PowerToys Image Resizer | Yes, free from Microsoft | Yes | Folders of photos on your own PC |
| iPhone transfer setting | No | Yes, at the source | Photos that keep arriving from the same phone |
| Online converter | No | A few at a time | Locked-down PCs and quick one-off jobs |
| XnConvert or IrfanView | Yes, free | Yes, hundreds | Large archives and repeat jobs with presets |
Two mistakes to avoid
Renaming the file does nothing. Changing IMG_4821.heic to IMG_4821.jpg only changes the label. The data inside is still HEVC, so the file opens as a broken image or gets rejected by the website you are uploading to. A real conversion decodes the photo and writes a new JPG.
Not every "HEIC converter" download is safe. Search results are full of installers bundled with extras you did not ask for. You have a free tool from Microsoft already installed, a free tool from Microsoft in the Store, and browser-based conversion. There is no reason to run an unknown setup file for this.
Keep the HEIC originals. They take about half the space of the JPGs you just made, and you can always convert again. Treat HEIC as your archive and JPG as the copy you send out into the world.
Frequently asked questions
Can I just rename a .heic file to .jpg?
No. The extension is only a label. The data inside is still compressed with HEVC, so a renamed file either opens as a broken image or gets rejected. The photo has to be decoded and re-saved as a real JPG.
Do I have to pay for the HEVC Video Extensions?
Not for the methods above. On Windows 11 22H2 and later, HEIF support is already included, and many PC makers pre-license the codec. If your PC still cannot open HEIC, an online converter does the decoding on the server, so you need no extensions at all.
Does converting HEIC to JPG on Windows lose quality?
There is one round of JPG compression, which at a high quality setting is not visible in a normal photo. Resolution stays the same. Keep the HEIC original if you want an untouched archive copy.
How do I convert many HEIC files at once on Windows?
Use PowerToys Image Resizer as described above, or a free batch tool such as XnConvert or IrfanView. For a handful of photos, an online converter is faster because there is nothing to install.
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