CONVERT
HEIC → AVIF
Fast, secure HEIC to AVIF conversion. No registration required.
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Setup: HEIC is Apple's HEVC-based photo container, half the size of JPEG for the same apparent quality. Goal: an interchangeable AVIF. If you have ended up with a HEIC and need a AVIF, the mismatch is almost always about where the image is going next rather than the picture itself. Our server reads the HEIC with ImageMagick, decodes each pixel, and re-writes it as a AVIF using defaults tuned for fidelity first and file size second. In practice HEIC is Apple's HEVC-based photo container, half the size of JPEG for the same apparent quality. On the other end, AVIF is the AV1-based next-gen image codec, extremely efficient with full HDR and alpha support.
HEIC Image
Source formatHEIC is the default photo format on Apple devices since iOS 11. It offers roughly 50% better compression than JPEG at similar quality but has limited support outside the Apple ecosystem.
AVIF Image
Target formatAVIF is a next-generation image format based on the AV1 video codec. It offers significantly better compression than JPEG and WebP while maintaining excellent visual quality, including HDR and wide color gamut support.
Why convert HEIC to AVIF
Both HEIC and AVIF describe a grid of pixels — the difference lies in how that grid is compressed, whether transparency is supported, and which software opens it natively. Moving from HEIC to AVIF is worth it when the AVIF ecosystem is broader for your use case, or when AVIF compresses photographs more efficiently than HEIC.
HOW TO CONVERT
HEIC → AVIF
Drop the HEIC file
Drag and drop or click to upload your HEIC. The image is transferred securely over HTTPS and queued for conversion.
Re-encode with ImageMagick
ImageMagick decodes every pixel of the HEIC and writes a matching AVIF with sensible default quality settings.
Download the AVIF
The converted AVIF is ready to download as a single file; both files delete automatically within two hours.
Common Use Cases
Web publishing and CMSes
AVIF uploads cleanly to WordPress, Ghost, Webflow and most blogging platforms; many CMSes silently transcode or reject HEIC.
Email attachments
Email clients preview AVIF inline while HEIC may arrive as an unrecognised attachment on older Outlook or mobile apps.
Social media uploads
Platforms like Instagram, X and Facebook accept AVIF natively; HEIC is often rejected or silently converted with unpredictable results.
Design hand-off
Designers shipping assets to developers prefer AVIF for faster pipeline imports and consistent display across build tools.
HEIC vs AVIF — Strengths and limitations
What each format does best, and where it falls short.
HEIC Strengths
- Roughly 50% smaller than JPEG at equivalent visual quality.
- 10- and 12-bit color depth supports HDR photography.
- Container format holds depth, Live Photo, bursts, and thumbnails in one file.
- Supports transparency and multi-image sequences.
- Built into iOS, macOS, and most modern Samsung and Google flagships.
Limitations
- Patent-encumbered (HEVC) — Windows users must buy a $0.99 codec pack from the Microsoft Store.
- Not supported by most web browsers or older image editors.
- Sharing to non-Apple platforms usually auto-converts to JPEG, losing metadata.
AVIF Strengths
- Best-in-class compression efficiency — 30-50% smaller than JPEG for the same quality.
- Royalty-free and patent-unencumbered (unlike HEIC).
- Supports alpha transparency, HDR, wide gamut (BT.2020), and up to 12-bit color.
- Progressive decoding: a blurry preview appears while the file is still downloading.
- Supported in all major browsers since late 2022 — no polyfills needed.
Limitations
- Encoding is CPU-expensive — an AVIF export can take 10-30× longer than JPEG.
- Older software (pre-2022) cannot open AVIF without plugins.
- Email clients still largely ignore it — stick to JPEG for attachments.
HEIC vs AVIF — Technical specifications
Side-by-side comparison of the technical details.
| Specification | HEIC | AVIF |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | image/heic | image/avif |
| Compression | HEVC (H.265) intra-frame | — |
| Color depth | 8, 10, or 12 bits per channel | Up to 12-bit per channel |
| Container | HEIF (ISO/IEC 23008-12) | HEIF (ISOBMFF) |
| Transparency | Supported | — |
| Max dimensions | 8,192 × 4,320 (practical) | 65 536 × 65 536 px |
| Codec | — | AV1 (intra-only) |
| Color spaces | — | sRGB, Display-P3, BT.2020, arbitrary ICC |
HEIC vs AVIF — Typical file sizes
Approximate file sizes for common scenarios.
HEIC
- iPhone photo (12 MP) 1.5–3 MB (half of JPEG)
- Live Photo with 3s video 3–6 MB
- Portrait mode with depth map 2–4 MB
AVIF
- Thumbnail (400px) 10-30 KB
- Web photo (1920px) 80-300 KB
- 4K photo (3840px) 300 KB - 1.2 MB
- Lossless copy of 24MP photo 8-15 MB
Quality & Compatibility
If AVIF is a lossless format (PNG, TIFF, BMP) the output keeps every pixel of the decoded HEIC exactly. If AVIF is a lossy codec (JPEG, WebP, HEIC), the encoder re-compresses the image at the quality level you select — default 85 is transparent for photographs, quality 92+ for illustrations with hard edges.
Tips for Best Results
- Keep the original HEIC alongside the AVIF output — re-encoding already-lossy images accumulates detail loss on each round.
- If the AVIF will be uploaded to a CMS, check whether the platform has a max dimension and downscale once on export rather than letting the CMS resize automatically.
- For thumbnails and avatars, export the AVIF at exactly the display size; browsers will otherwise resample and the image may look soft.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the codecs involved. If both HEIC and AVIF are lossy, the pixels are re-encoded and a small amount of detail is discarded — invisible at default quality settings on photographs. If AVIF is lossless (PNG, TIFF, BMP) the output keeps every pixel of the decoded HEIC exactly, but cannot recover detail that HEIC had already compressed away.
Often yes, especially when AVIF is lossless. HEIC tuned for efficient web delivery will usually produce smaller files than AVIF's default settings. If file size matters, drop the quality in Advanced or pick a more compressed target format instead.
KaijuConverter uploads over HTTPS, processes the image in an isolated container and deletes both the source and the output within two hours. No account is required, file contents are never logged, and we do not use uploads to train any model. For confidential material, the paid plan includes a data-processing agreement.
Related comparisons
See these formats side by side to understand which fits your use case best.
Related Guides
AVIF Image Format: AV1-Powered Next-Generation Compression
Complete guide to AVIF image format: AV1 intra-frame compression, HEIF container, HDR and wide color gamut support, avifenc/ffmpeg encoding, browser compatibility, and comparison with WebP/JPEG/HEIC.
Read guideHEIC/HEIF Format: Complete Guide to Apple's High Efficiency Image Format
Complete guide to HEIC/HEIF format: HEVC compression, multi-image containers, HDR support, Live Photos, and how to convert HEIC to JPEG, PNG, or WebP.
Read guideAVIF: AV1 Image Format & Next-Generation Compression
Complete guide to AVIF image format: AV1 codec, 50% better compression than JPEG, HDR support, color gamut, and browser compatibility.
Read guideSecure & Private Conversion
Your files are encrypted during transfer, processed in isolated containers, and automatically deleted within 60 minutes. We never read, share, or store your data.