How to Make a Photo Collage on iPhone
No app to install: build the grid in Safari, then save it back to Photos. What to do about HEIC, and how big the result comes out.
To make a photo collage on iPhone without installing an app, open Image Collage Maker in Safari, pick your photos from the library, set the number of columns, and download the grid. It comes back as one JPG, which you can then save into Photos. The photos are put together on your phone; none of them are uploaded.
Step by step
- Open babapic.com/image-collage-maker in Safari.
- Tap the drop area and choose Photo Library, then select every photo you want in one go, up to 50. Choosing again later replaces the set rather than adding to it, so pick them all at once.
- Check the thumbnails. The grid fills left to right, top to bottom, in that order, and the × on a thumbnail removes it.
- Leave Columns empty for an automatic, roughly square grid, or type a number from 1 to 8.
- Tap Create collage, then download the result.
If a photo is refused as HEIC
iPhones normally capture photos in HEIC, Apple's High Efficiency format, and the collage maker only takes JPG, PNG, WebP and BMP files. A HEIC photo isn't always refused, because the page can decode some itself. If you see a message that a .HEIC file "isn't a supported image type", the rest of your photos still go in without it. Convert those photos to JPG first and use the converted copies; how to convert HEIC to JPG walks through it. What HEIC is explains why the format trips up so many websites.
To avoid it for future photos, Apple's support page Using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices describes the switch: Settings > Camera > Formats, then Most Compatible. New photos are then saved as JPEG. Photos you already took stay HEIC.
How big the collage comes out
Every photo gets a 600 × 600 pixel square cell, with an 8 pixel white gap between cells and around the edge. So the size depends only on the grid, not on your photos:
| Photos (auto columns) | Grid | Collage size |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 × 1 | 1224 × 616 px |
| 3 or 4 | 2 × 2 | 1224 × 1224 px |
| 5 or 6 | 3 × 2 | 1832 × 1224 px |
| 7 to 9 | 3 × 3 | 1832 × 1832 px |
With 3 photos in a 2 × 2 grid, the fourth cell stays white. Setting Columns to 3 puts them in one row instead (1832 × 616 px). A full-resolution phone photo is shrunk to fit its 600 pixel cell, so a collage is for sharing on screens, not for printing large.
Get a grid with no white bars
The collage maker fits each photo whole inside its square, so a portrait or landscape shot gets white bars beside it. Crop the photos to squares first and every cell fills edge to edge. The Photos app can do this: Apple's guide Crop, rotate, flip, or straighten photos and videos on iPhone says to tap the aspect ratio button in the crop tool and choose Square. Crop to Square does the same in the browser, with a box you drag over the part to keep. How to make a photo collage goes further into why the tool fits rather than fills, and which column counts suit which job.
Save the collage to Photos
Safari doesn't put downloads in your photo library. Apple's Where to find downloads on your iPhone or iPad says they go to the Downloads folder in the Files app, and Safari also shows a Downloads button you can tap to see them. Open babapic-collage.jpg from there, tap the Share button, and save the image to Photos. From then on it behaves like any other photo, ready to post or send in Messages.
If the place you're posting it has a file size limit, Compress Image can bring the JPG down without changing the layout.
FAQ
Do I need to install an app to make a collage on iPhone?
No. Image Collage Maker runs in Safari, and the photos are combined on the phone itself rather than on a server.
How many photos can go in one collage?
Up to 50 in one selection. Every photo still gets a 600 pixel cell, so a big set makes a big image: 50 photos in 8 columns comes out at 4872 × 4264 px.
Can I change the background colour?
No. The gaps and any space around a photo are always white on this page.
Why are there white bars beside some photos?
Each photo is fitted whole into a square cell, so non-square photos leave white space. Crop them to Square first to fill every cell.