Best Free Image Converters 2026: 7 Options Compared

An image converter has two jobs that people mix up: changing the format, say HEIC or WebP to JPG, and keeping the result usable. Most free tools handle the first well; the second depends on options you may not see, such as color profile handling, transparency and metadata. Pick by volume. For one or two files, an online converter is simplest, and CloudConvert allows 10 conversions a day on the free tier with a 5 minute processing limit per job. For folders, desktop software is faster and keeps files off the internet: XnConvert reads over 500 formats and exports to about 70, and is free for private or educational use. ImageMagick does the same from the command line and fits scripts. Squoosh converts to modern web formats right in the browser without uploading. GIMP and Photopea open almost anything and re-export it, which suits files that need editing first. Check three things before you convert a batch: whether transparency survives, whether the tool rewrites color profiles, and whether it keeps or strips metadata. The trade-off is convenience against privacy and volume: web tools need no install but cap usage, while desktop tools are unlimited. Seven options follow.

ImageMagick

Open-source command-line converter covering a very wide range of formats. Ideal for scripts and bulk jobs; there is no graphical interface to learn from.

Price: Free (Free open-source command-line toolkit for converting and editing images) (ImageMagick pricing, checked 2026-10-23).

Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. ImageMagick License (open source).

Project activity: 17.8k GitHub stars · latest release 7.1.2-34 (Oct 14, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026

Best for: Automated bulk conversion.

XnConvert

Batch converter reading over 500 formats and writing about 70, with resize and filters. Freeware for private or educational use; business use costs from 15 EUR per license.

Price: Free (Freeware for private or educational use, including non-profits; company use needs a license); paid from EUR 15 per per license, one-time (1 license) (XnConvert pricing, checked 2026-10-23).

Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. Freeware.

Best for: Batch jobs on Windows, Mac or Linux.

Worth knowing: Reads more than 500 formats and exports to about 70 per the site. License price tiers drop with volume.

Squoosh

Converts to web formats such as WebP and AVIF in the browser, with no upload. Limited to one image at a time and focused on web delivery.

Price: Free (Free web app; compression runs locally in the browser, images are not sent to a server) (Squoosh pricing, checked 2026-10-23).

Platforms and license: Web. Apache-2.0 (open source).

Project activity: 26.1k GitHub stars · last commit Oct 22, 2026

Best for: Converting for the web.

CloudConvert

Web converter for many file types beyond images. Free tier allows 10 conversions per day with a 5 minute processing cap; files are uploaded to its servers.

Price: Free (10 conversions per day, up to 5 minutes processing time each) (CloudConvert pricing, checked 2026-10-23).

Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary.

Best for: Occasional conversions of odd formats.

GIMP

Opens a large range of image formats and exports to many more. A full editor is heavy for plain conversion, but handy when edits come first.

Price: Free (Free; source tarballs offered, donation link only, no paid tier. Store packages are third-party and not from the GIMP team) (GIMP pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Linux, macOS, Windows. Open source (license not named on gimp.org/downloads) (open source).

Best for: Convert and edit together.

Worth knowing: Raster image editor for photo retouching and compositing.

Caesium Image Compressor

Free GPLv3 desktop tool that compresses and can write several output formats, for Windows and macOS. Better known for compression than conversion.

Price: Free (Free software; the site has a donate page and lists no paid tier) (Caesium Image Compressor pricing, checked 2026-10-23).

Platforms and license: Windows, macOS. GPL-3.0 (open source).

Project activity: 6.4k GitHub stars · latest release v2.8.5 (May 17, 2025) · last commit Oct 5, 2026

Best for: Compress and convert together.

Worth knowing: Site also mentions a command-line tool and an online compressor at caesium.app. License from the repository LICENSE file (GPLv3).

XnView MP

Image viewer and organizer from the XnConvert maker, free for private, non-commercial and educational use. Handy for browsing a folder before converting it.

Price: Free (Free for private, non-commercial and educational use; commercial use needs a paid licence (see the pricing page)) (XnView MP pricing, checked 2026-10-23).

Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. Proprietary.

Best for: Browsing then converting.

Which one to pick

• You convert a folder of photos to JPG: XnConvert
• You convert one image to WebP for a site: Squoosh
• You convert a rare file type once: CloudConvert
• You convert files inside a script: ImageMagick