Convert BMP to PNG
This is the safest conversion on the site. BMP and PNG are both lossless, so the pixels come out the other side identical, and PNG then compresses them. Screenshots, flat graphics, diagrams and line art routinely shrink by 80 to 95 percent with no visible change at all, because PNG's filtering plus DEFLATE is very good at long runs of repeated colour. The practical result is a file you can email, attach or upload, where the BMP was too large to bother with.
Drop your BMP files below and download PNG in seconds. Free, unlimited and completely private: the conversion runs inside your browser, so your files never leave your device and are never uploaded to a server.
No upload. Works with your network switched off. Check it yourself, or read what actually happens to your file.
Why convert BMP to PNG?
The other reason is simply that the modern world reads PNG. Browsers, chat clients, ticketing systems, design tools and upload forms all take PNG without a thought, while BMP is increasingly treated as an oddity. Worth knowing before you start: if the BMP is a photograph rather than a screenshot, PNG will still be lossless but the saving is far smaller, because photographic noise does not compress well. For photos, JPG is usually the better target.
BMP stores pixels with little or no compression, which makes files huge but trivially simple to read. It is mostly seen in legacy Windows workflows, screenshots from older tools and some scientific software. Converting to a compressed format usually shrinks a BMP by 90 percent or more.
PNG stores every pixel exactly as it was saved, which makes it the safe choice whenever detail matters more than file size. It supports a full alpha channel, so logos and UI elements keep clean, soft edges on any background. The tradeoff is that photos saved as PNG can get large.
What this converter does to your BMP file
The BMP is decoded by the browser and re-encoded as PNG, which is lossless in both directions, so the output is a pixel-for-pixel match of the input. Because a standard 24 bit BMP carries no alpha channel, the PNG that comes out is fully opaque: there is no transparency to recover, and nothing is flattened either, since there was nothing transparent to begin with. No quality setting applies, as PNG has none.
BMP vs PNG at a glance
| BMP | PNG | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bitmap image | Portable Network Graphics |
| Compression | Uncompressed | Lossless |
| Transparency | No | Yes |
| Best for | Legacy Windows software and raw pixel data | Logos, screenshots and graphics with transparency |
What changes when you convert BMP to PNG
| What happens | |
|---|---|
| Image quality | Identical. Both formats are lossless, so every pixel colour survives the trip exactly. |
| Transparency | BMP has no alpha channel, so there is no transparency to lose. |
| EXIF and GPS | Removed. The conversion goes through a pixel buffer, so camera data and location are not carried into the PNG file. |
| Colour profile | Not carried across. The image is handled in sRGB, which is right for the web and wrong for colour-managed print work. |
| Animation | Not applicable. BMP files here are single images. |
| File size | Varies with the content of the image. No figure is quoted here, because none has been measured on a documented test set. |
How to convert BMP to PNG
- Drop one or more BMP files into the box above, or click to browse.
- ImageConvert converts each file to PNG right on your device.
- Download a single file, or grab everything at once as a zip.
Frequently asked questions
Is BMP to PNG lossless?
Yes, completely. Both formats store exact pixel values, so the PNG contains the same colours as the BMP. PNG simply compresses them, which is why the file is smaller.
How much smaller will the PNG be?
It depends entirely on the picture. Screenshots, diagrams and flat colour graphics often drop by 80 to 95 percent. Photographs and noisy scans compress far less, sometimes only by half, because PNG compression relies on repetition that photographs do not contain.
Will the PNG have a transparent background?
No. A standard 24 bit BMP has no alpha channel, so there is no transparency information to carry over. The PNG is fully opaque, with whatever background colour was baked into the BMP.
What is a BMP file?
BMP is an uncompressed Windows bitmap that keeps full pixel detail at a large file size.
What is a PNG file?
PNG is a lossless format with transparency support, ideal for graphics, logos and screenshots.
Is it free to convert BMP to PNG?
Yes. There are no limits, no watermarks and no account needed. Convert as many BMP files as you like.
Are my files private?
Completely. Your BMP files never leave your browser and are never uploaded to a server, so your images stay on your device.