PNGifier

How to Convert a PNG on Mac (with Preview)

Every Mac ships with a free, built-in app called Preview that can convert images for you — no downloads, no sign-ups. This guide walks through opening a PNG in Preview, exporting it to JPG, HEIC, or TIFF, and converting a whole folder of PNGs at once.

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The free built-in option — Preview

You don't need Photoshop or any paid app to convert a PNG on a Mac. macOS includes Preview, a free image and PDF viewer that can also export your PNG to other formats — JPEG, HEIC, PNG, and TIFF — in a few clicks. Because it's already installed, it's the fastest way to change an image's format without leaving your desk.

Open the PNG in Preview

  1. Find your PNG file in Finder. Double-click it — Preview is the default image viewer on most Macs, so it will usually open there.
  2. If the file opens in another app, right-click (or Control-click) the PNG and choose Open With → Preview instead.
  3. Confirm the image is showing in a Preview window before you move on to exporting it.

Export to JPG, HEIC, or TIFF

  1. With the PNG open in Preview, open the File menu and choose Export….
  2. In the dialog, click the Format dropdown and pick your target type — JPEG, HEIC, PNG, TIFF, and a few others are available.
  3. If you chose JPEG, drag the Quality slider to balance file size against image detail.
  4. Give the file a name, choose where to save it, and click Save. Your converted image is ready.

Converting a PNG to JPG is one of the most common reasons people reach for Preview. You can also do the same job right here with our PNG to JPG converter.

Batch-converting many PNGs in Preview

Need to convert a whole folder at once? Preview can do that too, without any scripting.

  1. In Finder, select every PNG you want to convert (hold Command to pick individual files, or Shift for a range).
  2. Open them all together in Preview — they'll appear as thumbnails in the left sidebar.
  3. Click any thumbnail in the sidebar, then press Command-A to select all of them.
  4. Choose File → Export Selected Images…, pick a format, choose a destination folder, and export the whole batch in one step.

Need WebP? Convert online

Preview is great, but it doesn't offer WebP as an export format. When you want the smaller, web-friendly WebP format, use a browser-based converter instead — try our PNG to WebP converter, browse all of our conversion tools, or read up on what a PNG is first.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to install anything to convert a PNG on a Mac?
No. Preview comes built into macOS for free, and it can export a PNG to JPEG, HEIC, TIFF, and more without any extra software.
Where is the Export option in Preview?
Open the image in Preview, then choose File in the menu bar and select Export. A dialog appears with a Format dropdown where you pick the new file type.
Can Preview convert many PNGs at once?
Yes. Select multiple files in Finder, open them together in Preview, select them all in the sidebar, then choose File and Export Selected Images to convert them in one go.
Can Preview save images as WebP?
No. Preview does not offer WebP as an export format, so for WebP you'll need a browser-based converter instead.