HEIF Compressor
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Supports: HEIF
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Need help?Compress HEIF Online — Free, No Watermark
HEIF is already one of the most efficient photo formats, so the goal here is a smaller file that stays visually clean rather than a dramatic size cut. Upload your High Efficiency (.heif) photos, pick a target size or quality level, and download compressed HEIF files — no sign-up, no watermark, and files are deleted from our servers after a few hours.
.heif is the generic extension for the same High Efficiency Image Format that Apple ships as .heic; non-Apple encoders, some camera software, and image tools write the plain .heif variant. This compressor handles both, and for Apple photos you can use the identical HEIC compressor.
How to Compress HEIF Images Online
- Upload Your HEIF Files: Drag and drop or click "Add Files" to select .heif photos from any folder. Batch is supported — drop in a whole export at once.
- Pick a Compression Mode: Choose "Target file size (%)" to shrink to a percentage of the original, "Specific file size" to hit an exact KB/MB cap, or "Image Quality (%)" to set a quality slider. Auto Scale is on by default and adjusts dimensions to hit your target cleanly.
- Set Resolution Manually (Optional): Turn off Auto Scale to enter your own resolution or width × height. Because HEIF is already HEVC-compressed, lowering pixel dimensions (e.g., 4032×3024 → 1920×1440) is what actually reduces file size — a DPI tag alone does not.
- Compress and Download: Click Compress. Files upload over an encrypted connection, process on our servers, and download individually or as a ZIP. No account required.
Why Compress a HEIF File?
HEIF (High Efficiency Image Format, ISO/IEC 23008-12) stores photos with the HEVC / H.265 codec, so it's roughly half the size of a JPEG at the same visual quality. That efficiency is exactly why the big wins here come from resolution, not quality: the format has already squeezed most of the redundancy out. Common reasons to compress further:
- Storage caps fill up anyway — Apple's free iCloud tier is 5 GB, and a modern phone shot is still ~2-4 MB. Trimming a large library buys real headroom without deleting photos.
- Email and messaging limits — Gmail caps attachments at 25 MB and Outlook.com at 20 MB, while WhatsApp recompresses photos sent as media (send as a document, up to 2 GB, to keep full quality). A few full-resolution photos blow past the email caps.
- Upload forms with hard caps — Job portals, ID systems, and web forms often reject anything over a fixed KB size; "Specific file size" mode targets that exact number.
- Faster sharing and backup — Smaller originals move faster over slow Wi-Fi and shave hundreds of GB off a multi-thousand-photo archive.
HEIF vs HEIC vs JPG
| Property | HEIF (.heif) | HEIC (.heic) | JPG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Container / codec | HEIF + HEVC (or other) | HEIF + HEVC (H.265) | JFIF + JPEG |
| Extension used by | Non-Apple encoders, software exports | Apple devices (iOS 11+, 2017) | Everything |
| Size at same quality | ~50% of JPG | ~50% of JPG | 100% (baseline) |
| Color depth | Up to 10-bit (HDR) | Up to 10-bit (HDR) | 8-bit only |
| Native browser decode | Safari 17+ | Safari 17+ | Every browser |
| Best for | High-quality re-saves, storage | iPhone/iPad photos | Universal sharing, printing |
HEIF and HEIC are the same underlying format — HEIC just signals that HEVC is the codec. If a recipient can't open either, convert to JPG instead of only compressing.
Compression Mode Quick Guide
| Mode | What it does | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| Target file size (%) | Output ≈ N% of the input, auto-scaled | You want predictable shrinkage across many photos |
| Specific file size | Output ≤ an exact KB/MB you set | You're hitting a hard cap (upload form, attachment) |
| Image Quality (%) | Tunes the HEVC quality slider directly | You want to trade a little quality for size manually |
| Resolution (Auto Scale off) | Lowers pixel dimensions | The photo is only viewed on-screen — biggest saver for HEIF |
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between HEIF and HEIC?
HEIF is the container standard (ISO/IEC 23008-12); HEIC is a HEIF file whose image data is compressed with the HEVC (H.265) codec — Apple's default flavor, saved with a .heic extension since iOS 11. The plain .heif extension is the generic, codec-unspecified name used by non-Apple software. Every HEIC file is a HEIF file, but not every HEIF file is a HEIC. For compression purposes they behave identically, and this tool accepts both.
How much can I compress a HEIF file without losing quality?
Less than you'd expect from a JPG or PNG, because HEIF is already HEVC-compressed. In our production data, High Efficiency photos (HEIF and HEIC share the same encoding) drop about 75% in Target file size mode — a 4.4 MB original to roughly 1.1 MB — while staying visually clean. Pushing the Image Quality slider below ~50% starts to introduce visible blocking in skin tones and smooth gradients, so for bigger cuts, lower the resolution instead.
Why is my HEIF photo still large after compression?
Raw resolution dominates file size once a format is this efficient. A 48 MP phone shot carries roughly four times the pixels of a 12 MP shot, so no quality setting will make it small on its own. Turn off Auto Scale and drop the resolution (for example to 1920×1440 for on-screen use) — that removes pixels rather than just re-compressing them, and it's the single most effective lever for HEIF.
Should I compress HEIF or convert it to JPG?
Compress HEIF if your audience is on iPhone, iPad, modern Mac, Windows 10+ with the HEIF extension, or Safari 17+. Convert to JPG if you're sharing with Android users on older systems, embedding in legacy documents, or uploading to a service that rejects HEIF. JPG is universally readable but roughly twice the size at the same visual quality — so you trade compatibility for bytes.
Will compressing strip EXIF, GPS, or date metadata?
No. EXIF metadata — date taken, GPS coordinates, camera model, and exposure settings — is preserved by default through compression, so a compressed HEIF carries the same information the original did. If you'd rather not share location data, strip it on your device before uploading.
Can I open a compressed HEIF file on Windows or Android?
The output stays HEIF, so support depends on the viewer. Safari 17+, macOS, iOS, and Windows 10/11 with the free HEIF Image Extensions can open it; Chrome, Firefox, and Edge do not decode HEIF natively, and many Android builds need a viewer app. If the file is bound for a mixed audience, convert to JPG for guaranteed compatibility instead of compressing.
Does compressing affect Live Photo or depth data?
A HEIF still can carry auxiliary streams like depth maps, but our compressor outputs a single still image, so a Live Photo motion clip and depth data are not carried through. If you need those intact, share the original via AirDrop or an iCloud link rather than running it through a compressor.
Can I compress a HEIF to a specific size like 200 KB?
Yes. Choose "Specific file size," enter 200 and pick KB, and the tool auto-scales quality and dimensions to land at or under that cap across every file in the batch. This is the mode to use for upload forms, application portals, or ID systems that enforce a strict maximum.
Is compressing HEIF on xconvert private?
Files are uploaded over an encrypted (TLS) connection, processed on our servers, and deleted automatically after a few hours — no sign-up, no watermark, and nothing is shared or made public. The real limit on very large libraries is upload time, not any per-file size cap.