# HEIC to AVIF

> Convert HEIC to AVIF in your browser for the smallest web images modern browsers can show. Batch convert iPhone photos for free, with nothing uploaded.

URL: https://ihateheic.com/heic-to-avif  
Updated: 2026-10-04

AVIF squeezes photos smaller than WebP or JPG while keeping them looking sharp. Convert your iPhone HEIC files to AVIF here, privately, on your own device.

This tool runs entirely in the browser: photos are decoded and encoded on the visitor’s device and are never uploaded. It is free, needs no sign-up and works offline after the first visit.

## How to use it

1. Drop your HEIC photos above, or tap **Choose files**. Start with a handful to get a feel for the encoding speed.
2. Each photo is encoded to AVIF at quality 60. Expect a few seconds per photo; files run in parallel on your CPU cores.
3. Download the AVIF files or one **ZIP**. Keep a WebP or JPG copy if some of your visitors use older software.

## AVIF in one paragraph

HEIC and AVIF are close cousins. Both sit in the same HEIF container; HEIC fills it with HEVC (H.265) compression, AVIF with AV1. The big difference is licensing and adoption: AV1 is royalty-free, so browser makers embraced it, and AVIF now displays in all the major current browsers. HEIC, meanwhile, is still mostly an Apple thing. Converting HEIC to AVIF keeps much of HEIC's efficiency while making the image usable on the open web.

## What to expect: smaller files, slower encoding

AVIF's strength is size. For photos on a web page it often beats WebP, and usually beats JPG by a wide margin at similar visual quality. The price is encoding time.

| | JPG | WebP | AVIF |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Typical size | Largest | Smaller | Smallest |
| Encoding speed | Very fast | Fast | Seconds per photo |
| Metadata kept | Yes | Yes | No |
| Opens everywhere | Yes | Most places | Modern browsers |

On a recent laptop, a batch of 50 photos is a coffee break, not a lunch break. On a phone it takes longer, because we limit work to one or two photos at a time so the browser doesn't run out of memory. Want speed today and smaller files later? [HEIC to WebP](https://ihateheic.com/heic-to-webp) is a fine compromise.

## Support caveats worth knowing

AVIF is a web format first. Before you commit, check where the files are going:

- **Websites you control:** great choice. Serve AVIF with a WebP or JPG fallback for older browsers.
- **CMS and site builders:** many accept AVIF uploads, some don't yet. Test one file before converting a whole gallery.
- **Email, printing, old desktop apps:** use JPG. AVIF support there is unreliable.
- **Archiving originals:** keep the HEIC. Converting anything lossy to another lossy format loses a little more each time.

## Tuning quality

The default of 60 is a good starting point for photos on a page. Fine textures like hair, foliage and fabric hold up surprisingly well at that setting. If you notice smoothing in a key image, nudge quality to 70. Pair it with [Resize HEIC](https://ihateheic.com/resize-heic) so you're not shipping 4032-pixel images to a 1200-pixel layout; that alone often matters more than the format.

## Your photos stay put

The AV1 encoder runs inside your browser tab, so the slow part happens on your hardware rather than ours. That's a deliberate trade: no queue, no upload limits, no copy of your photos on someone's server. And because no metadata is written to AVIF, published images leak nothing about where or when they were taken.

## FAQ

### What is AVIF?

AVIF is an image format based on the AV1 video codec. It usually makes smaller files than JPG and WebP at similar visual quality, which is why performance-minded websites use it.

### Why does AVIF take longer to convert?

AVIF encoders do a lot more work to find the smallest file, so encoding takes seconds per photo rather than a fraction of a second. Decoding is fast, so your visitors don't pay that cost.

### Is a quality of 60 too low?

Not for AVIF. Its quality scale isn't the same as JPG's, and 60 typically looks comparable to a much higher JPG setting. Raise it to 70 or 75 for portfolio work.

### Which browsers support AVIF?

Recent versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari can display AVIF. Older browsers, some email clients and many desktop apps can't, so it's best for websites where you control the fallbacks.

### Does AVIF keep my photo's metadata?

No. Metadata isn't written to AVIF output, so the date, camera details and location are all left out. That's handy for public web images, but keep your originals if the dates matter to you.

### Can I convert HEIC to AVIF on my phone?

Yes, but it's slower than on a computer because phones process one or two photos at a time. For a big batch, a laptop or desktop will finish much sooner.