The choice between HEIC vs. JPG can be daunting, particularly when users want to create, save, share, or store digital images across different platforms or devices. Both image formats are raster-based and capable of handling highly detailed photographs.
The article helps you learn more about the primary key features, benefits, drawbacks, similarities, and differences between HEIC and JPG, with a specific focus on their structure, file size, performance, browser support, image quality, compression, storage, structure, transparency, and animation support.
When is JPG better than HEIC?
JPG images are widely compatible and supported by most apps, browsers, devices, and operating systems, including Android, macOS, iOS, Linux, and Windows. In contrast, HEIC images are only compatible with Apple products, including macOS iOS11 and iPhone 7.
As such, JPG is used for digital editing and web hosting because it is compatible and has better color accuracy at a lower resolution than JPG.
When is HEIC better than JPG?
HEIC images are generally smaller, support videos and multiple layers, and have a quality similar to or higher than JPG images. They also support further functionalities, including metadata and transparency for non-destructive editing, while JPG stores individual images with better color accuracy.
The benefits of HEIC images include an efficient compression technique that results in significantly smaller files and metadata, which produces high-quality images, faster loading times, and increased user experience.
HIEC versus JPG Table Comparison
| Aspect/Factor | HEIC | JPG |
| Transparency | Supports alpha channel transparency. | Does not support alpha channel transparency |
| File Size | Smaller files than JPG files. | Larger than JPG files. |
| Image Quality | High-quality images than JPG. | Low image quality compared to HEICs. |
| Performance | It is smaller and loads faster than JPG. | It is relatively larger and loads slower than HEIC. |
| Structure | Has comments and tags, uses image sequences called tracks, and saves and stores in EXIF/TIF files using indicators for display. | Starts with a binary value '0xFFD8' and ends with a binary value '0xFFD9'. |
| Animation | Supports image sequences or still image animations. | Does not support animation or animated content |
| Storage | Smaller files require less storage space than PG. | Larger; need more storage space than HEIC. |
| Compression | Uses lossy and lossless compression | Uses lossy compression |
| Browser Support | Limited browser support | Supported by nearly every web browser. |
Differences and similarities between JPG and HEIC images
When doing a JPG versus HEIC analysis, you will discover that both formats are identical in lossy compression but exhibit significant differences in image quality, file size, structure, performance, lossless compression, storage, browser support, animation, and transparency support.
Transparency
JPG files do not support transparency, while HEIC files do. HEIC files support image alpha channel transparency the same way PNG files do. This is important in web design as it enables images, including graphics and logos, to merge seamlessly with the prevailing webpage backgrounds. In contrast, JPG hardly supports transparency, limiting its flexibility in website design and making it unsuitable for logos.
File Size
Regarding the uncompressed files, HEIC supports and stores rich metadata, including GPS coordinates, creation dates, and image descriptions, in one file. The file data is used to organize and search for an extensive collection of HEIC images.
A single code stream's maximum HEIC image dimension is 35 megapixels or 8,192x4,320. Conversely, the uncompressed JPG file is info-rich as the format supports a maximum image size of 65,535 x 65,535 pixels, equivalent to 4 gigapixels for the characteristic ratio 1:1.
HEIC uses HEVC compression algorithms capable of packing extra color data in smaller-sized files in almost all situations. Thus, photographers and web designers prioritizing file size should opt for HEIC, the better option. A normal HEIC file is nearly half the size of a JPG file with equal image quality.
Image Quality
HEIC has a comparative advantage over JPG because image format supports 16-bit color, whereas a JPG file merely supports 8-bit color. This implies that HEIC files can represent a broader range of colors than JPG files and produce more sharp and precise colors.
HEIC files support a more progressive color management system, which results in more accurate and vibrant colors. In contrast, JPG files support a rather basic color management system, often resulting in less or muted realistic colors.
Performance
JPG images are comparatively larger than HEIC images. The Highly Efficient Video Coding (HEVC) compression algorithms HEIC uses significantly reduce its file sizes compared to lossy compressed JPG files using the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) and Huffman Coding coefficients.
As a result, the smaller HEIC file sizes consume fewer bytes and require less bandwidth than JPG files, which optimizes search engines and increases user experience. HEIC's smaller files load faster and improve web performance than the larger JPG files.
Structure
JPG and HEIC files are raster graphics formats. However, the HEIC file’s structure specifies the storage of specific images, image sequences, and metadata in a container file compliant with the ISO Base Media File Format. It has Exif metadata comprising all the tags and comments supported by EXIF and TIFF.
In contrast, a JPG file comprises a series of segments beginning with a marker with several binary OxFFXX data. The first marker has a binary value, 'OxFFD8', and ends with a binary value, 'OxFFD9'. The makers designate the time of the JPG data or information. A 0x00 byte is inserted after any 0xFF byte before the next byte within the entropy-compressed data. Based on each file’s features, it is challenging to compare HEIC and JPG structures.
Animation
JPG images do not support animation, while HEIC image format supports animation. HEICs can store multiple images and metadata in a single file and create short animations. It can also store a sequence of images, which can be played back as slideshows or short animated or lively content.
Storage
HEIC files require significantly less storage space than JPG files. HEIC’s advanced and innovative compression technique implies that its files or images can occupy as little as half the space as JPG files.
JPG and HEIC can store image files indefinitely in File Systems, Content Delivery Networks, Cloud, ISO Base Media Files, and Base64 Encoding. However, HEIC files or images can load faster, allowing easier file sharing or transfer than JPG images or files.
Compression
JPG uses lossy compression, while HEIC supports lossy and lossless compression techniques. HEIC uses efficient and advanced algorithms to create smaller file sizes with higher quality levels depending on the compression method.
HEIC files use Highly Efficient Video Coding (HEVC) for compression, effectively reducing image sizes by removing unnecessary data. Due to more efficient compression, lossy HEIC files are smaller and often retain better quality than JPGs of the same size. Lossless HEIC files preserve all original data, providing higher-quality images than lossy JPGs, though their file sizes are larger than lossy formats but smaller than other lossless formats.
In contrast, the JPG image format supports lossy compression, which reduces the image size by deleting certain image data, which also happens with lossy HEIC. Its lossy compression technique assumes block-based compression.
Browser Support
The JPG image format was launched in 1992, while HEIC is a new file format created in 2017. While HEIC is gradually gaining popularity and adoption across platforms, applications, and web browsers, it is still incompatible with most operations systems and unsupported by most older and new web browsers.
Now, HEIC files are only supported by Safari, Google Marketplace, Google Workspace, and Apple Safari. HEIC files are unsupported by top web browsers, including Internet Explorer, Brave, Discord, Edge, Opera, Firefox, and Google Chrome, all of which support JPG except IE6.
As a result, choose JPG over HEIC for broader compatibility and support across browsers, applications, operating systems, and platforms. Even websites demanding users to upload files for proof of purchase or a warranty claim only accept JPG as a valid format, while HEIC is rarely accepted.
Convert JPG to HEIC or HEIC to JPG
Convert JPG to HEIC files using Convertjack. HEIC efficiently compresses image data using HEVC to ensure sufficient storage space, higher-quality images, comprehensive image metadata, and faster loading times. The image format also supports animation and transparency, which is not possible with JPG.
Alternatively, Convertjack is an effective HEIC to JPG converter, helping web designers or developers enjoy a wider color depth, lossy compression, excellent image editing or resizing, and widely browser—and platform-supported JPG files or images.