Free online HEIC to AVIF converter

Some websites, browsers, and image tools accept AVIF but not HEIC, so photos from an iPhone or Apple Photos library may need conversion before upload or editing. AVIF can also suit web delivery, although its output is not guaranteed to be smaller than the original HEIC.

What the HEIC format is

HEIC is a filename extension commonly used for HEIF image containers whose primary image is encoded with HEVC (H.265). iPhones and iPads usually save photos as HEIC when Settings → Camera → Formats → High Efficiency is selected; macOS Photos, some cameras, and scanning applications can also create HEIC files.

A HEIC file can contain one or more images, thumbnails, depth data, auxiliary images, and metadata such as EXIF orientation, capture time, GPS coordinates, and color profiles. Apple operating systems provide strong support, while support varies among Windows installations, browsers, image editors, and content-management systems.

What the AVIF format is

AVIF stores AV1-encoded image data in an HEIF-based container. It supports lossy and lossless encoding, transparency, HDR, wide-gamut color, animation, and image sequences, although the conversion tool may not preserve every feature from the source.

AVIF often produces smaller files than JPEG at comparable visual quality and is well suited to websites, image APIs, and applications with AV1 support. It is not automatically smaller than HEIC: an already compressed HEIC may produce an AVIF of similar or greater size, depending on the encoder and quality setting.

How to convert HEIC to AVIF

For a single file without installing software, use the HEIC-to-AVIF converter on 101convert.com. Select the input file, start the conversion, and download the resulting .avif file. Do not upload confidential images unless the service's current privacy terms are acceptable for the material.

For local processing, ImageMagick is suitable when its build includes both HEIC/HEIF decoding and AVIF encoding through libheif. Run:

magick input.heic -auto-orient -quality 80 output.avif

-auto-orient applies the camera's orientation tag to the pixels. A quality value around 80 is a lossy starting point; test values from 60 to 90 because AVIF quality scales are encoder-specific and cannot be compared directly with JPEG quality values.

Check whether the installed ImageMagick supports the required formats:

magick identify -list format | grep -E 'HEIC|HEIF|AVIF'

HEIC or HEIF should have read support and AVIF should have write support. ImageMagick alone does not guarantee those codecs; the package must be linked to a libheif installation that includes an AV1 encoder.

On macOS or Linux, a shell loop can convert lowercase .heic files in the current directory:

for f in *.heic; do magick "$f" -auto-orient -quality 80 "${f%.heic}.avif"; done

If the installed libheif package provides an AV1 encoder, its command-line utility may also work:

heif-convert input.heic output.avif

If heif-convert reports that the encoder is unsupported, install a package with AVIF encoding support or use a compatible ImageMagick build.

Quality and compatibility limitations

Conversion normally decodes the HEVC image and encodes it again with AV1, so a lossy HEIC-to-lossy-AVIF conversion introduces another generation of compression. Lossless AVIF avoids additional lossy degradation but can create much larger files; use a tested lossy setting when file size matters.

Inspect representative results at 100% magnification, including fine foliage, text, skin tones, gradients, and dark areas. Compare file sizes and the actual destination application rather than assuming AVIF will always improve either measure.

Metadata preservation depends on the converter. EXIF data, ICC profiles, GPS information, timestamps, depth data, animations, and auxiliary images may be dropped or transformed. Check the output with a metadata utility before deleting the originals. Removing metadata can improve privacy but may also remove the color profile or orientation information needed by another workflow.

Current browsers and operating systems generally support AVIF, but JPEG and PNG remain more universally accepted. Keep the original HEIC files and create a JPEG fallback when recipients or older software may not support AVIF. Transparency and HDR are available in AVIF only when the source and conversion pipeline preserve the relevant image data.