FormatDrop
How-To Guide

How to Convert JPG to BMP

BMP (Bitmap) is the uncompressed raster image format used natively by Windows since version 1.0. Most modern software has moved past BMP, but it's still required by certain Windows APIs, legacy industrial software, some microcontroller displays, and printer drivers where compressed formats aren't supported.

Open JPG to BMP Converter

Step-by-step instructions

  1. 1

    Paint (Windows built-in, simplest)

    Right-click the JPG → Open with → Paint. File → Save As → select '24-bit Bitmap (.bmp)'. No additional software required — Paint is in every Windows installation. For '1-bit', '4-bit', or '256-color' BMP (legacy formats): choose from the 'Save as type' menu.

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  2. 2

    ImageMagick (command line, any OS)

    Convert: `magick input.jpg output.bmp`. For 24-bit true color: `magick input.jpg -type TrueColor output.bmp`. For 8-bit palette: `magick input.jpg -colors 256 output.bmp`. Batch: `for f in *.jpg; do magick "$f" "${f%.jpg}.bmp"; done`.

  3. 3

    GIMP (GUI, Windows/Mac/Linux)

    File → Open → select JPG. File → Export As → change extension to .bmp → Export. In BMP export dialog, select 'RGB' for 24-bit. For legacy compatibility: choose 8-bit indexed color.

  4. 4

    Python Pillow (batch/automated)

    `pip install Pillow`. Script: `from PIL import Image; Image.open('input.jpg').convert('RGB').save('output.bmp')`. Batch: `[Image.open(f).convert('RGB').save(f.with_suffix('.bmp')) for f in pathlib.Path('.').glob('*.jpg')]`.

Why convert JPG to BMP?

BMP is the native Windows image format — no codec, no compression, just pixels. When legacy software demands BMP, this is the fastest path from JPEG.

Your files never leave your device

FormatDrop runs the conversion engine entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly. No file upload. No server. Nothing stored. You can verify this by opening DevTools → Network tab and watching: zero upload requests.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the BMP file so much larger than the JPG?
JPEG uses lossy compression to reduce file size dramatically. BMP stores every pixel uncompressed. A 1920×1080 JPEG at 200 KB becomes approximately 5.9 MB as 24-bit BMP (1920 × 1080 × 3 bytes). JPEG at 200 KB is compressing that data by 97%.
Does converting JPG to BMP improve image quality?
No. JPEG compression is lossy — artifacts are permanently baked in when JPEG is created. Converting to BMP stores those same pixels (including artifacts) uncompressed. For higher quality, obtain the original uncompressed source before the JPEG was created.
What BMP bit depth should I use?
24-bit BMP (True Color, RGB) is standard for modern use — 8 bits each for red, green, blue (16.7M colors). 32-bit adds an alpha channel. 8-bit uses a 256-color palette (posterized on photos). Unless you have a specific requirement for lower bit depth, use 24-bit.
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