HEIF to WebP Converter
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Supports: HEIF
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Need help?How to Convert HEIF to WebP Online
- Upload Your HEIF File: Drag and drop or click "Add Files" to select
.heifphotos exported from iPhone, iPad, or HEIF-capable cameras. Batch upload is supported. - Pick Quality Preset: Default is Very High (Recommended). Pick a lower tier for smaller pages, or switch the Image Compression method to Target file size (%), Specific file size (MB/KB) for upload-cap targets, or Image Quality % for fine control on the 1-100 scale.
- Toggle Lossless and Set Resolution (Optional): Under "Lossless?" choose No (Recommended) for photographs or Yes to preserve every pixel for screenshots and graphics. Under Image Resolution, pick a Preset Resolution (e.g., 1080p, 720p), enter Width x Height, or scale by Resolution Percentage. Keep original is the default.
- Convert and Download: Click "Convert" and grab your
.webpfiles. Conversion runs on our servers — no account, no watermark.
Why Convert HEIF to WebP?
HEIF (High Efficiency Image File Format) became the default iPhone and iPad photo format in iOS 11 in September 2017, wrapping HEVC-compressed image data in an ISO container. WebP, announced by Google on September 30, 2010, is the web's interoperable replacement for JPEG, PNG, and animated GIF, and now reaches ~96% of global browsers including Safari 16+ (partial since 14). Converting HEIF to WebP exchanges Apple-only playback for near-universal web compatibility.
- Publish iPhone photos on the open web — Chrome, Firefox, and Edge still do not decode HEIF natively; embedding
.heifin an<img>tag will show a broken icon for most visitors. WebP renders in every modern browser without a polyfill. - Keep the file size advantage — HEIF and WebP are both efficient. WebP is typically a few percent larger than HEIF for the same photo, but still 25-34% smaller than equivalent-quality JPEG, which is the format your alternative would be.
- Preserve transparency — Both formats support 8-bit alpha channels, so cut-out product photos and PNG-style graphics survive the conversion.
- Avoid Windows extension friction — Windows 10 and 11 need the paid HEIF Image Extensions or HEVC Video Extensions from the Microsoft Store to open HEIF; WebP has been native to File Explorer and Photos since Windows 10 1809 (October 2018).
- CDN and Lighthouse friendly — Cloudflare Polish, Fastly, Cloudinary, and AWS CloudFront all serve WebP via content negotiation. Google PageSpeed Insights still flags HEIF assets as "unsupported image format" in the "Serve images in next-gen formats" audit.
- Smaller email and Slack attachments than JPEG — If you need to share photos with Android, Windows, or Linux users without losing iPhone-camera detail, WebP is a friendlier middle ground than re-encoding to JPEG.
HEIF vs WebP — Format Comparison
| Property | HEIF | WebP |
|---|---|---|
| First released | 2015 (MPEG-H Part 12) | September 2010 (Google) |
| Underlying codec | HEVC (H.265) intra-frame | VP8 (lossy) / VP8L (lossless) |
| Color depth | 8-bit and 10-bit | 8-bit |
| Alpha transparency | Yes | Yes (lossy and lossless) |
| Animation / sequences | Image sequences, Live Photos | Animation (since Oct 2011) |
| Browser playback | Safari only (no Chrome/Firefox/Edge) | Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, Safari 16+ (~96% global) |
| Native OS open | macOS, iOS, iPadOS; Windows via paid extension | macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Windows, Android |
| Typical file size vs JPEG | ~50% smaller | 25-34% smaller |
| Patent / royalty status | HEVC patent pool (MPEG LA, Access Advance) | Royalty-free, open-source libwebp |
| Best for | Apple-ecosystem storage and AirDrop | Web delivery and cross-platform sharing |
Image Compression Method Quick Guide
| Method | What you set | Use when |
|---|---|---|
| Quality Preset | Highest / Very High / High / Medium / Low / Lowest | You want a one-click defensible default |
| Target file size (%) | Slider 1-100% of source size | You need a predictable size reduction across a batch |
| Specific file size | Exact MB or KB target | You have an upload cap (Discord 10 MB free tier, Reddit 20 MB, Twitter/X 5 MB images) |
| Image Quality % | 1-100 manual slider | You want a known Q value (75-85 is the typical web sweet spot) |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my WebP look almost identical to the source HEIF but the file is slightly larger?
HEIF's HEVC intra-frame coding squeezes photographs a bit tighter than WebP's VP8 baseline. At matched perceptual quality, WebP is typically 5-15% larger than HEIF for the same photo. You are trading a small size penalty for universal browser support — that is the trade most publishers want.
Do I need to convert if I just want to share photos with Android users?
You can also use HEIF to JPG for maximum compatibility (every device since the 1990s opens JPEG), but JPEG files are 25-34% larger than WebP at equivalent quality. WebP is the better choice if the recipient is opening the photo in a modern browser, Gmail, Discord, Slack, or any current Android phone (Android 4.0 added WebP decoding).
Should I turn Lossless on for HEIF photos?
No, for photographs lossy WebP at quality 75-85 is visually indistinguishable from the source and 3-5x smaller. Lossless mode is appropriate only for screenshots, line art, UI mockups, and graphics with sharp edges or solid color blocks — those are the cases where VP8L's PNG-style coding wins.
Will Live Photos and burst sequences in my HEIF transfer to WebP?
No. A HEIF container can hold multiple images (Live Photos store a still plus motion frames, burst mode stores a sequence). Standard WebP encoders extract only the primary image. If you need to keep motion, convert the .mov companion separately, or use animated WebP from a different source.
Does my Windows PC need the paid HEIF Image Extensions to use this converter?
No. xconvert decodes HEIF on our servers, so you do not need Microsoft's HEIF Image Extensions or HEVC Video Extensions installed on Windows. The output WebP opens natively in Windows 10 1809 and later, Edge, Chrome, and Photos.
What is the Quality % sweet spot for web publishing?
Google's WebP team and most CDN defaults converge on quality 75-85 for photographic content. Below 60 you start to see blocking around skin tones and sky gradients. Above 90 the file grows quickly with no perceptible gain. xconvert defaults to "Very High (Recommended)" which maps into this range.
Will EXIF metadata (camera model, GPS, timestamp) survive the conversion?
The WebP container supports EXIF, XMP, and ICC profiles via the extended file format Google added in October 2011. xconvert preserves standard metadata by default. If you are publishing photos publicly, strip GPS data first with a tool like exiftool or your phone's "Remove Location" share option.
How does WebP compare to AVIF for the same job?
AVIF (AV1 Image File Format) usually beats WebP by another 20-30% at matched quality, but AVIF encoding is slower and full cross-browser support only landed once Edge 121 (January 2024) caught up with Firefox 93 (October 2021) and Safari 16.4 (March 2023). WebP is still the safest bet for production today; AVIF is the next step once your analytics confirm your audience is fully on current browsers.
Can I convert HEIC files here too, or do they need a different tool?
HEIC is the file extension Apple uses for HEIF images encoded with HEVC — same container, same codec, just a different extension. If your file ends in .heic, use HEIC to WebP for the matching upload validator.