What's the difference between BMP and PNG?

BMP is a Windows-era uncompressed raster format. PNG is a lossless raster format that supports transparency.

Why convert away from BMP?

BMP is a Windows-era uncompressed raster format. Where it falls down: anything where file size matters (which is almost everywhere); web display, email, archive — pick literally any other format. PNG addresses that for most workflows.

When is PNG the right format?

PNG is a good choice for: screenshots and UI captures; logos and icons with transparent backgrounds; diagrams, charts, and anything with sharp edges; images that will be edited further (the lossless round-trip preserves quality). It is a poor choice when photographs and large naturalistic images (file size is huge).

Anything surprising about BMP or PNG?

BMP can technically carry a small palette and run-length compression, but in practice 99% of BMPs in the wild are uncompressed. And on the PNG side: PNG-8 uses a palette of up to 256 colors and is much smaller than PNG-24, but loses gradient fidelity.

Does this work on mobile?

Yes. The drop zone falls back to your phone's file picker, and conversions run on-device just like desktop. Large files may be slower on mobile due to CPU and memory constraints, but the workflow is identical.

What's the maximum file size?

No hard limit — the browser handles it. Files under 50MB convert in a few seconds. Larger files work but may take longer as the browser allocates memory. If you hit issues, batch in smaller groups.

Convert BMP to PNG

Convert BMP files to PNG in your browser. PNG files are typically smaller than BMP. Free, no upload, no signup.

Drop images to convert

PNG, JPG, WebP, AVIF, JPEG XL, TIFF, BMP, GIF, SVG, HDR, ICO — any combination

Files stay on your device. Open DevTools' Network tab to verify.

Output format

PNG

Overview

Why convert BMP to PNG

PNG files are typically much smaller than BMP at equivalent quality — usually the main reason to make this conversion. Smaller files mean faster page loads, smaller email attachments, and less storage. BMP is uncompressed, so expect a dramatic size reduction.

Comparison

BMP vs PNG: what actually differs

BMP compared with PNG across encoding, fidelity, file size and support.
Attribute	BMP	PNG
Compression	—	Lossless
Transparency	No	Yes
Animation	No	No
Typical file size	Very large	Very large
Browser support	Major browsers will render BMP, but it's never the right choice for the web.	Universally supported in every browser since the late 1990s.

How to

How to convert BMP to PNG

01
Drop your BMP files
Drag one or more BMP files onto the dropzone above, or click to browse. Files stay on your device — nothing uploads.
02
Convert in your browser
convert.now decodes each BMP and re-encodes it as PNG via WebAssembly. The conversion runs in a Web Worker so the page stays responsive.
03
Download the result
Download a single PNG file or, for batch conversions, a zip of all converted files. Filenames preserve the originals.

Why here

Why convert.now

Private
Files stay in your browser. No upload step. Nothing for anyone to see.
Fast
No queue, no upload wait. Conversion starts the moment you drop a file.
Free
No ads. No file-count limit. No sign-up wall. Just the converter.

FAQ

BMP to PNG: common questions

No. The conversion from BMP to PNG runs entirely in your browser using WebAssembly. Files never leave your device. Open DevTools' Network tab if you'd like to verify — there are no network requests with file contents.

Related BMP converters

Last updated 27 August 2026

Why convert BMP to PNG

BMP vs PNG: what actually differs

How to convert BMP to PNG

Drop your BMP files

Convert in your browser

Download the result

Why convert.now

BMP to PNG: common questions

Related BMP converters