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How to convert HEIC to JPG on Mac

Updated 12 November 2026.

Drop your HEIC photos into Cutaway's Convert tab and click Convert. JPG is chosen for you, the JPGs are saved next to the originals, and the photos never leave your Mac.

Download for MacNo account. macOS 15 or later, Apple silicon.

Steps

  1. Add the photos. Open the Convert tab and drop in the HEIC files, or click Choose files. One photo or a few hundred, the steps are the same.
  2. Check the format. Cutaway suggests JPG for HEIC photos. To change every file at once, use Set all to….
  3. Pick a quality. Smaller, Balanced or Best. Balanced is a sensible default for photos you will share or drop into an edit.
  4. Click Convert. Each JPG is saved next to its original unless you choose another folder. Every row shows the size before and after.

What is kept

The conversion runs through macOS itself, so the date, camera details, orientation and colour profile carry over to the JPG.

Location data carries over too. If a photo holds the place it was taken, the JPG holds it as well, so check before you publish it.

Your original HEIC files are not changed or deleted.

Do you need an app for this?

For one photo, no. Open it in Preview and choose File, Export, JPEG. Finder's Convert Image quick action handles a small selection.

Cutaway earns its place when the job is bigger or mixed: a card of HEIC stills alongside MOV clips and a WAV, all converted in one pass, each to the format your editor wants.

Why not a converter website?

A converter website needs your photos uploaded to someone else's server before it can work. Cutaway converts them on your Mac. It has no server to send them to.

Questions

Can I convert HEIC to PNG instead?

Yes. Pick PNG as the output. Cutaway also writes AVIF, WebP, TIFF, BMP and GIF.

Will the JPG look worse than the HEIC?

JPG is a lossy format, so some detail is always traded for size. Choose Best to keep the most detail, or Smaller when file size matters more.

Why are my iPhone photos HEIC in the first place?

HEIC stores the same picture in roughly half the space of a JPG, so iPhones use it by default. Many editors, websites and older apps still expect JPG.

Does it work for a whole folder of photos?

Yes. Select the files and drop them in together. They convert as one batch.

Related guides

Get Cutaway

Cutaway is a Mac app that downloads, trims and converts the media around your edit. It runs on your Mac, with no account and no analytics.

Download for MacNo account. macOS 15 or later, Apple silicon.