BMP to PNG Converter
Convert BMP to PNG online for free. Lossless compression, dramatically smaller files, transparency support. Up to 50 MB.
Drop your BMP file hereTap to choose your BMP file
or
Also supports JPG, WebP, TIFF, GIF, HEIC, AVIF, PSD • Max 50 MB
How to Convert BMP to PNG
Upload
Drag and drop your BMP file into the converter above, or click Choose BMP File to browse your device.
Convert
Click Convert to PNG. Our server compresses your image losslessly in seconds.
Download
Click Download PNG to save the converted file. That's it — no registration, no email required.
Convert BMP to PNG on Any Device
On Windows 10/11
BMP is the native Windows bitmap format, and many legacy applications, scanners, and industrial software still output BMP files. While Microsoft Paint can technically "Save As" PNG, it requires opening each file individually and manually changing the format — tedious when you have multiple files. Windows 11 Photos app can edit images but does not offer batch format conversion. If you received a BMP from a scanner, fax software, or older application and need to email it or upload it to a website, an online converter produces a properly compressed PNG in seconds without installing any software.
On Mac
macOS Preview can open BMP files and export to PNG via File > Export, but the process requires changing the format dropdown for each file individually. Mac users encounter BMP files less frequently than Windows users, but they appear when receiving files from Windows-based systems, medical imaging software, or legacy corporate applications. A browser-based converter is the fastest solution — no need to figure out Preview's export settings or install additional tools.
On iPhone / iPad
iOS has limited native support for BMP files. The Files app may display them, but sharing BMP images via email or iMessage often fails because of the enormous file sizes. BMP files received as email attachments or downloaded from legacy web portals need to be converted to PNG before they can be practically used on iOS. Safari-based online conversion is the simplest path: choose the BMP file, convert, and save the much smaller PNG to your camera roll or Files app.
On Android
Android can display BMP files in most gallery apps, but the format's massive file size causes slow loading and wastes storage space. If you received a BMP from a scanner, legacy Windows application, or medical device, converting to PNG reduces the file size by 5–10x while preserving identical image quality. Android's built-in tools cannot convert file formats, but any mobile browser can handle the conversion through an online tool.
What is BMP?
BMP (Bitmap Image File) is a raster image format developed by Microsoft for Windows. Introduced with Windows 1.0 in 1985, BMP stores images as a grid of pixels with no compression by default — every pixel's color value is written directly to the file, resulting in extremely large file sizes.
A typical 1920×1080 BMP image at 24-bit color depth weighs approximately 5.9 MB — compared to about 500 KB for a JPG or 1–2 MB for a PNG of the same image. BMP's lack of compression means pixel-perfect quality, but makes it impractical for web use, email attachments, or storage-constrained environments.
BMP supports 1-bit (monochrome), 4-bit, 8-bit (256 colors), 16-bit, 24-bit (16.7 million colors), and 32-bit color depths. The 32-bit variant technically includes an alpha channel, but very few applications support BMP transparency in practice. BMP remains common in legacy Windows software, industrial equipment, medical imaging, and embedded systems where simplicity matters more than file size.
How to Open BMP Files
On Windows, BMP files open natively in Paint, Photos, and any image viewer. On Mac, Preview opens BMP files. On Linux, most image viewers (Eye of GNOME, Gwenview) handle BMP. All major web browsers can display BMP images, though this is rarely used on actual websites. For editing, GIMP (free) and Adobe Photoshop both support BMP with full color depth options.
What is PNG?
PNG (Portable Network Graphics) is a lossless image format that preserves every pixel exactly while applying DEFLATE compression to dramatically reduce file size. Developed in 1996 as a patent-free replacement for GIF, PNG has become the standard for lossless web images, screenshots, and graphics.
PNG supports 24-bit true color (16.7 million colors) plus a full 8-bit alpha channel for transparency, enabling smooth semi-transparent effects that GIF and JPG cannot achieve. PNG's lossless compression means you can open, edit, and re-save a PNG file unlimited times with zero quality degradation.
For images that BMP typically stores — screenshots, scans, graphics, diagrams — PNG is the ideal modern replacement. It preserves 100% of the image quality while reducing file size by 5–10x through intelligent lossless compression. PNG is universally supported by every web browser, operating system, and image editing application.
How to Open PNG Files
PNG is supported by every modern device and browser. On Windows, Photos and Paint both open PNG files. On Mac, Preview handles PNG natively with full transparency support. On Android and iPhone, PNG files display in the gallery and Files apps. All web browsers render PNG images, including transparency. For professional editing, GIMP, Photoshop, and Figma all support PNG with alpha channels.
BMP vs PNG: File Size in Practice
The most compelling reason to convert BMP to PNG is the dramatic file size reduction. Both formats are lossless — they preserve every pixel exactly — but PNG applies DEFLATE compression while BMP stores raw, uncompressed pixel data.
Here are typical file sizes for the same image in both formats:
| Image Type | Resolution | BMP Size | PNG Size | Reduction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screenshot (desktop) | 1920 × 1080 | 5.9 MB | 0.8 MB | 86% |
| Scanned document | 2480 × 3508 | 24.9 MB | 3.2 MB | 87% |
| Photograph | 4032 × 3024 | 34.8 MB | 8.5 MB | 76% |
| Simple diagram | 800 × 600 | 1.4 MB | 45 KB | 97% |
| Logo / icon | 512 × 512 | 768 KB | 28 KB | 96% |
Flat-color graphics (diagrams, logos, screenshots with solid backgrounds) compress the most — often 90%+ reduction. Photographs with complex color gradients compress less, but still achieve 70–80% savings. In every case, the PNG is identical in quality to the BMP — no pixels are lost.
BMP vs PNG: Quick Comparison
| Feature | BMP | PNG |
|---|---|---|
| Compression | None (uncompressed) | Lossless (DEFLATE) |
| Quality | Lossless (pixel-perfect) | Lossless (pixel-perfect) |
| File size | Very large | 5–10x smaller |
| Transparency | Limited (32-bit only, rarely used) | Full alpha channel |
| Color depth | 1-bit to 32-bit | Up to 48-bit + 16-bit alpha |
| Web use | Not recommended (huge files) | Standard web format |
| Email friendly | No (too large, often blocked) | Yes |
| Editing friendly | Yes (no re-save degradation) | Yes (no re-save degradation) |
| Browser support | Supported but impractical | Universal |
| Best for | Legacy software, raw pixel data | Web, screenshots, graphics, everything |
Why Convert BMP to PNG?
Dramatically smaller files
BMP files are uncompressed and enormous. A single 1080p screenshot is nearly 6 MB in BMP format. PNG compresses the same image to under 1 MB with zero quality loss. If you're dealing with BMP files from scanners, legacy software, or medical devices, converting to PNG frees up massive amounts of storage and makes files practical to share via email or upload to web platforms.
Web and email compatibility
While web browsers can technically display BMP files, no website uses BMP images because the files are impractically large. Many email servers reject or strip BMP attachments due to file size limits. PNG is the universal web image format — supported everywhere, optimized for fast loading, and accepted by every platform and service.
Transparency support
Standard BMP files have no transparency. PNG supports a full alpha channel with 256 levels of transparency per pixel, enabling smooth edges, drop shadows, and transparent backgrounds. If you need to place a BMP graphic over a colored background in a presentation or design project, converting to PNG is the first step toward adding transparency in an image editor.
Zero quality loss
Unlike converting to JPG (which introduces lossy compression artifacts), converting BMP to PNG is completely lossless. Every single pixel in the PNG output is identical to the original BMP. You get a smaller file with the exact same image — there is no trade-off. This makes BMP-to-PNG conversion one of the rare upgrades that is pure benefit with no downside.