BMP to JPG Converter
BMP files are uncompressed, so a single screen-sized picture can weigh several megabytes. Converting BMP to JPG keeps the picture looking the same and usually makes the file ten to twenty times smaller.
Image Converter
or drop JPG, JPEG, JPE … files here ·
Max 95 MB per file· Up to 20 files· Deleted after 30 minutes
Files are processed on our servers and deleted after 30 minutes.
85 keeps photos visually identical to the original. Lower it only when you need a smaller file.
JPG, BMP and EPS have no transparency. Transparent pixels are filled with this color.
Hex color used behind transparent pixels, e.g. #FFFFFF.
This format holds a single image. Choose GIF or WebP output if you want to keep the animation.
A multi-size icon contains several resolutions in one file; browsers and operating systems pick the one they need.
Keep the original dimensions, or enter one side and the aspect ratio is kept.
Pixels for the side you chose above.
Percentage of the original dimensions.
sRGB is right for screens and the web. Keep the original for print workflows; grayscale discards color.
Metadata only, 0 keeps the original value. Printers and some portals read this number; it does not change pixel dimensions.
How to use this tool
- 1
Upload the bitmaps
Add up to 20 .bmp files at once, up to 95 MB each, which covers even very large scans.
- 2
Pick quality and background
Quality starts at 90. If a 32-bit BMP has transparent areas, choose the fill color under Advanced settings; white is the default.
- 3
Convert to JPG
Press Convert to JPG and download each file or a single ZIP.
What is the fastest way to make a BMP file smaller?
Convert it to JPG. A bitmap stores every pixel uncompressed; the same photo as a JPG at quality 90 is typically a tenth of the size or less, and looks the same on screen.
Why BMP files are so large, and how much JPG saves
The size of a bitmap is pure arithmetic: width × height × bytes per pixel. A 24-bit BMP spends 3 bytes on every pixel, so a 1920 × 1080 image is 6,220,800 bytes before the header, whether it shows a detailed landscape or a plain white wall. A 12-megapixel scan saved as BMP is about 36 MB.
JPEG, standardized in 1992, does not store pixels one by one. It splits the image into 8 × 8 blocks, converts each block into frequency components and keeps the ones the eye notices most. At quality 90 that throws away very little you can see, and the file shrinks dramatically.
BMP original
6.2 MB
1920 × 1080 · 24-bit, uncompressed
JPG result
≈ 450 KB
1920 × 1080 · quality 90, typical photo
Convert BMP to JPG for email, web and phones
Gmail caps attachments at 25 MB, so four large bitmaps already fill a message, and many web forms stop at 2 or 5 MB per file. After converting, a whole folder of scans or old screenshots usually fits in one email. If a form needs an exact limit, finish with compress image after the conversion.
Dimensions, orientation and colors carry over unchanged. Bitmaps rarely contain metadata, so there is little to strip. If an older 8-bit or 4-bit bitmap uses a small palette, the JPG comes out in full color with the same look; nothing about the palette needs to be set by hand.
BMP
Bitmap image
BMP is Microsoft's device-independent bitmap format, native to Windows since its early versions. It usually stores pixels uncompressed, so quality is perfect but files are very large compared with PNG or JPEG. Newer BMP versions can hold an alpha channel, but many programs ignore it. The format is simple to read and write, which keeps it alive in older software, embedded systems and some industrial tools. Windows, macOS and nearly every image editor can open BMP files.
- Compression
- Lossless
- Transparency
- Yes
- Animation
- No
- Introduced
- Microsoft
JPG
JPEG image
JPEG (or JPG) is the most widely used photo format, standardised by the Joint Photographic Experts Group in 1992. It uses lossy compression that discards fine detail the eye is unlikely to notice, which keeps photos small enough for the web, email and phone storage. It handles smooth gradients and natural scenes well, but sharp text, line art and flat colours pick up visible blocky or fuzzy artefacts. JPEG has no transparency and no animation, and every re-save loses a little more quality. Every browser, phone, camera and image editor can open it.
- Compression
- Lossy
- Transparency
- No
- Animation
- No
- Introduced
- 1992 · Joint Photographic Experts Group
BMP files are converted to JPG to make old, uncompressed bitmaps small enough for email, upload forms and phones; the reverse trip only happens when a legacy program or device demands raw pixels.
Where BMP files still come from
Old Paint and scanner folders
Paint saved BMP by default until Windows 7 switched it to PNG, and many scanner utilities still offer BMP first. Archives from the 2000s are full of them.
Industrial and lab equipment
Microscope cameras, inspection systems and measuring instruments often export bitmaps because the software was built to avoid compression.
Older games and emulators
Screenshot keys in many PC games of the 1990s and 2000s, and in some emulators, write BMP files straight to disk.
BMP to JPG questions
How much smaller does a BMP get as a JPG?
For photos and scans, usually 10 to 20 times smaller at quality 90. A 1920 × 1080 bitmap at 24 bits is about 6.2 MB, and the JPG typically lands between 300 and 700 KB depending on detail. Simple graphics with flat colors shrink even more, but those are better as PNG.
Should a BMP screenshot or diagram go to PNG instead?
Yes. PNG is lossless like BMP, but compressed, so a screenshot with text or a diagram with flat colors gets much smaller without the fuzzy edges JPG adds around letters. Use BMP to PNG for those, and JPG for photos and scans.
Why won't an upload form accept my BMP file?
Most web forms, marketplaces and social networks list JPG and PNG only, and many also cap the size at a few megabytes. A BMP fails on both counts. Converting to JPG fixes the format and, almost always, the size limit too.
What happens to a BMP with transparency?
Bitmaps saved at 32 bits can carry an alpha channel. JPG cannot, so transparent pixels are filled with the color you pick under Transparent areas, white by default. Most BMP files are 24-bit and have no transparency at all.
Can I open BMP files on a Mac or a phone?
Preview on macOS opens BMP, and so do most Android gallery apps, but sharing them is the problem: messaging apps, email providers and cloud photo services either resend them as huge files or refuse them. A JPG avoids that.
Is anything lost when I convert BMP to JPG?
JPG compression discards fine detail the eye barely notices. At quality 90 the difference is invisible on a photo at normal size. Hard-edged text and one-pixel lines are where it shows first, which is why those files should go to PNG.
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