HEIC to AVIF Converter In your browser, nothing uploaded
EXIF metadata is removed. Decoding and redrawing the image carries no GPS coordinates, camera model or timestamp across, so the file you download has none of it. If you need that data kept, copy the originals instead.
Drag & drop images here
or click to browse — HEIC, AVIF, WebP, PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, TIFF
How to Convert HEIC to AVIF
- Drag and drop your HEIC files into the converter above, or click to browse.
- The converter automatically outputs AVIF format. Adjust quality if needed.
- Click download to save your converted AVIF files. For multiple files, use "Download All as ZIP."
What is AVIF?
AVIF is a still image wrapped in the machinery of AV1, the royalty-free video codec the Alliance for Open Media published in 2018. The image format followed a year later. It compresses photographs harder than anything else in general use. It holds 10-bit and 12-bit colour for high dynamic range, and it carries an alpha channel. Displaying an AVIF is not a problem anywhere current: Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge all render them. Creating one is a different question, and the answer depends on which browser you are reading this in, because encoding is the part most of them never implemented.
What is a HEIC File?
HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is an image format used by Apple devices running iOS 11 and later. It uses the HEVC (H.265) codec for compression, producing files roughly half the size of equivalent JPEGs while maintaining the same visual quality. Despite its advantages, HEIC files are not universally supported across all platforms and applications, which is why conversion tools like this one exist.
HEIC vs AVIF
HEIC and AVIF are close cousins. Both take a modern video codec and apply it to a single frame — HEIC using HEVC, AVIF using AV1 — and at matched quality they land within a few percent of each other on file size. The real separation is licensing. HEVC carries patent royalties, which is why HEIC stayed inside Apple's ecosystem and why Windows charges for the decoder. AV1 is royalty-free, so browsers adopted it quickly. If you can produce an AVIF it is an excellent thing to publish: browsers show it, the file is small, and nobody owes a licence fee. The catch is on the producing side. This tool encodes with the browser's own canvas, and only some browsers ship an AVIF encoder there.
Why Convert HEIC to AVIF?
- AVIF gives you roughly HEIC's compression in a file browsers will actually display, provided your browser can write one in the first place.
- The format is royalty-free, which is the reason it spread as fast as it did, although that says nothing about whether the software you use has caught up.
- You get 10-bit colour and wide gamut support, useful for photos with strong highlights, though most screens and viewing apps will never show you the difference and the file is a little larger for carrying it.
- Nothing is uploaded to make this work, which also means the encoding runs on your own machine, and AVIF is slow to encode, so a batch takes longer than the same batch as JPG.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which browsers can actually create an AVIF file?
Support changes by browser and version, so the converter does not rely on a browser-name list. It asks your browser to encode a tiny AVIF when the page loads. If the result is genuinely AVIF, the option stays enabled; otherwise it is greyed out and the selection changes to WebP. Displaying AVIF is separate from creating it.
Why can my browser display AVIF but not create it?
Decoding and encoding are separate browser features. A browser can display an AVIF that somebody else made without exposing an AVIF encoder to web pages. If the live test fails, WebP is the closest output this tool can create in that browser and the converter selects it automatically.
Why does AVIF take so long to encode?
AV1 searches through far more possible ways of describing each block than JPEG or WebP attempt, and that search is where the compression advantage comes from. Encoding a photograph takes noticeably longer as a result. A batch is a job you start and walk away from. Decoding is fast, so the person looking at the image pays none of that cost.
What quality setting works best?
The slider starts at 80, and for AVIF that is already a high setting. Its compression is efficient enough that 80 here looks about like a JPG saved at 92. For images on a web page, 60 to 70 still holds up well. Going much above 85 grows the file quickly for a difference you would need to go looking for.
Is AVIF actually smaller than the HEIC I started with?
About the same, give or take. The two formats are close enough in efficiency that the winner changes with the picture. Size is not really why you would do this. You would do it because a browser can display an AVIF and cannot display a HEIC.