# PNG to HEIC

> Convert PNG to HEIC in your browser. Shrink screenshots and graphics while keeping transparency. Free, private and nothing is uploaded to a server.

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

Screenshots and PNG graphics eat storage. Convert them to HEIC to make them much smaller, with transparency kept, without sending a single file anywhere.

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 PNG files above, or paste a screenshot straight from the clipboard.
2. Each PNG is encoded to HEIC on your device. Transparent areas stay transparent. Allow a few seconds per large image.
3. Download the HEIC files or one **ZIP** and move them into Photos or your archive folder.

## The screenshot problem

Screenshots pile up. Recipes, tickets, chat receipts, error messages, maps: they're usually PNG, and a full-resolution PNG screenshot can be surprisingly heavy, especially when it contains a photo or a busy web page. Thousands of them quietly fill a phone or laptop.

HEIC can store the same picture in a fraction of the space. That makes PNG to HEIC a decent clean-up job for screenshot folders you want to keep but rarely open.

## Transparency is preserved

This is where HEIC beats the obvious alternative. If you converted PNGs to JPG to save space, every transparent pixel would be filled with a solid colour. HEIC supports an alpha channel, so logos, icons, stickers and cut-out subjects keep their see-through backgrounds after conversion.

## What shrinks well, and what doesn't

| PNG content | Expected result |
| --- | --- |
| Photos saved as PNG | Big savings |
| Screenshots of web pages and apps | Good savings |
| Cut-outs with transparency | Good savings, alpha kept |
| Tiny icons and flat-colour logos | Small savings, sometimes none |

PNG is already very efficient at flat colour, so simple graphics are the least worth converting. Try a few files and compare sizes before doing a whole folder.

## Before you delete the originals

HEIC is lossy. For screenshots you keep for reference, that's fine. For design source files, UI assets you'll edit, or anything that must stay pixel-exact, keep the PNG. Also remember that HEIC isn't welcome everywhere: to share a converted file later, you may need [HEIC to PNG](https://ihateheic.com/heic-to-png) to go back again. You can check how a converted file looks first in the [HEIC viewer](https://ihateheic.com/heic-viewer).

## Encoded in your browser, slowly but privately

Screenshots often contain things you'd never upload on purpose: bank balances, private messages, two-factor codes. This tool encodes them with an HEVC encoder (kvazaar) compiled to WebAssembly, running inside your browser tab. It's slower than a native app, a few seconds for a large image, but your screenshots stay on your device the whole time. To shrink JPGs instead, use [JPG to HEIC](https://ihateheic.com/jpg-to-heic).

## FAQ

### Does PNG to HEIC keep transparency?

Yes. If your PNG has transparent areas, the HEIC keeps them as an alpha channel, so logos and cut-outs still sit cleanly on any background.

### How much smaller will my files get?

It depends on the image. Photos saved as PNG usually shrink dramatically because HEIC uses lossy compression. Simple graphics with flat colour may shrink less, since PNG already handles those well.

### Is PNG to HEIC lossless?

No. HEIC uses lossy HEVC compression, so some fine detail is discarded. Keep your PNG originals if you need pixel-perfect copies for editing.

### Will text in screenshots stay readable?

Normally yes. HEVC generally copes with sharp edges better than JPG. If a screenshot has very small text you need to read later, compare a converted copy before deleting the PNG.

### Can I change the quality?

No. The HEIC encoder uses one fixed setting on this page. There's no quality slider.

### Is the metadata copied over?

No. Metadata isn't written to HEIC output, so the converted files contain only the image.