Secure server conversion
BMP to JPG Converter
Convert BMP images to JPG and watch the file size collapse. BMP stores pictures essentially uncompressed, so a conversion typically removes 85–95% of the file with no visible difference — and considerably more than that on screenshots. If you have a BMP that seems absurdly large for what it contains, this is why.
Drag and drop your BMP images here
Add several at once. Each file is processed and then deleted from our server.
Up to 20 MB per file Batch ready
Higher keeps more detail; lower makes a smaller file. Applies to images you add after changing it.
Conversion queue
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Step by step
How to convert BMP to JPG in 3 steps
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Add your BMP files
Drag them in or click to browse.
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Choose a quality
88 by default, which keeps the image looking unchanged.
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Download
Compare the sizes — the saving is usually dramatic.
Format comparison
BMP vs JPG
BMP (Windows Bitmap)
UncompressedAn early Windows format that stores pixels more or less raw, with little or no compression.
- Read by old and embedded software that knows nothing newer
- No compression artefacts
- Very large files for the image size
JPG / JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
LossyShrinks photographs to a fraction of their size by discarding fine detail the eye is least likely to notice.
- Small files for photographs
- Opens on virtually every device, browser and app
- Blurs text and sharp edges, and re-saving loses a little more each time
BMP is one of the oldest formats still in circulation, introduced with Windows in the 1980s, and it is startlingly simple: for the most part it writes down the colour of every pixel, one after another, with no compression at all.
That simplicity was the point. In 1985, decompressing an image cost more than storing it, and a format a program could read straight into memory was worth the disk space. Forty years later the trade-off has inverted completely.
The practical consequence is size. A 1920×1080 screenshot as a 24-bit BMP is about 6 MB, regardless of what it shows — a photograph and a plain white rectangle take exactly the same space, because both store 2,073,600 pixels explicitly. The same image as a JPG is usually 200–500 KB.
JPG, by contrast, analyses the image and discards detail the eye is least likely to miss. On photographs the result is visually identical at a fraction of the size.
Two things to be aware of:
- BMP is lossless, JPG is not. Converting discards some real detail. For a photograph at quality 88 this is invisible; for a screenshot with text it is not.
- Some BMPs have transparency. 32-bit BMPs can carry an alpha channel, though most do not. JPG cannot store it, so any transparent area becomes solid. If your BMP has transparency, convert to PNG instead.
Quality
Quality and file size
Because the source is lossless, this is a single clean compression pass — there is no accumulated damage to work around, unlike converting from another lossy format.
- 92–100 — Effectively indistinguishable from the BMP. Worth it for images containing text.
- 82–91 — The default range and right for most photographs.
- 65–81 — Much smaller again, fine for web use.
- Below 65 — Visible artefacts, especially in flat areas.
If your BMP is a screenshot — which many are — think carefully before using JPG. Screenshots are full of text, window edges and flat colour, which is exactly what JPEG compression handles worst: you get faint halos around letters and blotching in solid panels. PNG is the right target for a screenshot. It is lossless, still cuts the BMP down enormously, and keeps text perfectly sharp.
A rough rule: if it is a photograph, JPG. If you can read words in it, PNG.
Where BMP files still come from
BMP has largely disappeared from everyday use, so meeting one is usually a sign of a specific source:
- Microsoft Paint, which defaulted to BMP for decades and still offers it.
- Screenshots from older Windows software, and some remote-desktop and automation tools that capture to BMP.
- Scanners and cameras with older drivers.
- Industrial, scientific and medical equipment, where simple formats are preferred for predictability.
- Games and legacy software that store textures or sprites as BMP.
- Embedded systems and microcontrollers, where a format needing no decompression genuinely helps.
- Windows wallpaper, which the system has historically cached as BMP.
Why converting matters more than usual here
With most conversions on this site the saving is meaningful but incremental. With BMP it is transformative — often the difference between a file you cannot email and one you barely notice. BMPs also frequently exceed upload limits for no good reason, since the format inflates a simple image just as much as a complex one.
Choosing the right target
- Photographs — JPG. Smallest file, no visible difference.
- Screenshots, text, diagrams, pixel art — PNG. Lossless, still far smaller than BMP, edges stay crisp.
- Images with transparency — PNG, since JPG cannot carry it.
- For a website you control — WebP beats both, though you may want to convert to PNG first and then to WebP.
Privacy
What happens to your file
This tool runs on our server, so it works the same on every phone and computer. Your file is uploaded, and this is exactly what happens to it:
- Stored outside the public web root under a random name, never under your file's name.
- Processed, with the original upload deleted immediately — whether it succeeded or failed.
- The result sits behind a signed link that only you receive, which stops working after 20 minutes, and the file is deleted the moment you download it.
- Anything never collected is deleted automatically within 30 minutes.
- The image itself is never logged or kept. If a conversion fails, we record the formats involved and the error — not the file.
- Camera metadata, including any GPS coordinates recording where a photo was taken, is removed from the result. Only the rotation needed to show the image the right way up is kept.
Questions & answers
BMP to JPG: frequently asked questions
Why is my BMP file so enormous?
Because BMP stores every pixel explicitly with no compression. A 1920×1080 screenshot is about 6 MB regardless of what it shows — a photograph and a plain white rectangle take identical space. That design made sense in 1985, when decompressing cost more than storing.
How much smaller will the JPG be?
Typically 85–95% for a photograph, and often over 99% for a screenshot or a flat-colour graphic — the largest proportional saving of any conversion on this site. A 6 MB BMP commonly becomes a few hundred kilobytes with no visible difference.
My BMP is a screenshot. Should I use JPG?
Probably not. Screenshots are full of text, window edges and flat colour, which is precisely what JPEG handles worst — you get faint halos around letters and blotching in solid panels. PNG is lossless, still cuts the BMP down enormously, and keeps text sharp. A rough rule: if you can read words in it, use PNG.
Will I lose quality?
Some, since BMP is lossless and JPG is not. It is a single clean compression pass on a perfect original, so at quality 88 the result is visually identical for a photograph. For text and graphics the loss is much more visible.
Does my BMP transparency survive?
No. 32-bit BMPs can carry an alpha channel, though most do not, and JPG cannot store transparency at all — any transparent area becomes solid. Convert to PNG instead if your image has transparency.
Is my file uploaded?
Yes. The conversion runs on our server so that it works the same on every device. Your upload is deleted the moment the JPG is made, the JPG is deleted as soon as you download it, and no one looks at your images.
Keep going
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