What's the difference between HDR and PNG?

Radiance HDR (.hdr) stores high-dynamic-range images using an RGBE encoding — a shared exponent per pixel that captures a far wider range of brightness than ordinary 8-bit formats. PNG is a lossless raster format that supports transparency.

Why convert away from HDR?

Radiance HDR (.hdr) stores high-dynamic-range images using an RGBE encoding — a shared exponent per pixel that captures a far wider range of brightness than ordinary 8-bit formats. Where it falls down: direct display on the web (needs tone-mapping first); general-purpose photo sharing. PNG addresses that for most workflows.

When is PNG the right format?

PNG is a good choice for: screenshots and UI captures; logos and icons with transparent backgrounds; diagrams, charts, and anything with sharp edges; images that will be edited further (the lossless round-trip preserves quality). It is a poor choice when photographs and large naturalistic images (file size is huge).

Anything surprising about HDR or PNG?

Converting HDR to an 8-bit format tone-maps it — the extreme highlights/shadows are compressed to fit. And on the PNG side: PNG-8 uses a palette of up to 256 colors and is much smaller than PNG-24, but loses gradient fidelity.

Does this work on mobile?

Yes. The drop zone falls back to your phone's file picker, and conversions run on-device just like desktop. Large files may be slower on mobile due to CPU and memory constraints, but the workflow is identical.

What's the maximum file size?

No hard limit — the browser handles it. Files under 50MB convert in a few seconds. Larger files work but may take longer as the browser allocates memory. If you hit issues, batch in smaller groups.

Convert HDR to PNG

Convert HDR files to PNG in your browser. Free, no upload, no signup.

Drop images to convert

PNG, JPG, WebP, AVIF, JPEG XL, TIFF, BMP, GIF, SVG, HDR, ICO — any combination

Files stay on your device. Open DevTools' Network tab to verify.

Output format

PNG

Overview

Why convert HDR to PNG

PNG is a more practical choice than HDR for most modern workflows: screenshots and UI captures. Coming from HDR, the thing to know is that direct display on the web (needs tone-mapping first).

Comparison

HDR vs PNG: what actually differs

HDR compared with PNG across encoding, fidelity, file size and support.
Attribute	HDR	PNG
Compression	Lossless	Lossless
Transparency	No	Yes
Animation	No	No
Typical file size	Varies	Very large
Browser support	Not natively displayable in browsers — convert to PNG, JPG, or WebP to view or share.	Universally supported in every browser since the late 1990s.

How to

How to convert HDR to PNG

01
Drop your HDR files
Drag one or more HDR files onto the dropzone above, or click to browse. Files stay on your device — nothing uploads.
02
Convert in your browser
convert.now decodes each HDR and re-encodes it as PNG via WebAssembly. The conversion runs in a Web Worker so the page stays responsive.
03
Download the result
Download a single PNG file or, for batch conversions, a zip of all converted files. Filenames preserve the originals.

Why here

Why convert.now

Private
Files stay in your browser. No upload step. Nothing for anyone to see.
Fast
No queue, no upload wait. Conversion starts the moment you drop a file.
Free
No ads. No file-count limit. No sign-up wall. Just the converter.

FAQ

HDR to PNG: common questions

No. The conversion from HDR to PNG runs entirely in your browser using WebAssembly. Files never leave your device. Open DevTools' Network tab if you'd like to verify — there are no network requests with file contents.

Related HDR converters

Last updated 27 August 2026

Why convert HDR to PNG

HDR vs PNG: what actually differs

How to convert HDR to PNG

Drop your HDR files

Convert in your browser

Download the result

Why convert.now

HDR to PNG: common questions

Related HDR converters