Free online BMP to SVG converter

What the BMP format is

BMP (Bitmap Image File) is a raster format that stores an image as a grid of pixels. BMP supports several color depths, including indexed 1-bit, 4-bit, and 8-bit images, as well as 24-bit RGB and some 32-bit variants with alpha data. Most BMP files are uncompressed, although the format also supports limited RLE compression in particular modes.

Windows Paint, older Windows applications, scanners, screenshot utilities, and graphics editors can create .bmp files. BMP is straightforward and widely supported, but its uncompressed files are often much larger than PNG or JPEG files. The format preserves pixel data well for direct editing, legacy software, and archival exports, but it does not contain scalable shapes or paths.

What the SVG format is

SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) is an XML-based format that describes paths, shapes, text, fills, strokes, gradients, and other drawing instructions. Browsers and vector applications can render those instructions at different sizes without the enlargement blur associated with raster images.

SVG works well for logos, icons, diagrams, maps, line art, and other images with identifiable boundaries. Individual elements can be edited, styled with CSS, searched as text, and embedded in web pages. SVG can also contain an embedded or linked raster image, but placing BMP pixels inside an SVG container does not make them vector artwork or improve their resolution.

How to convert BMP to SVG

First decide whether the output needs vector paths or only an SVG file that contains the original raster image. A format-only conversion can preserve the BMP as an image element, while tracing reconstructs approximate shapes from its pixels.

For a free conversion without installing software, use the converter on 101convert.com: upload the .bmp file, select SVG as the output format, start the conversion, and download the resulting file. Check the output in a browser or vector editor. If it contains an image element rather than paths, it is an SVG wrapper around raster data and will not scale like native vector artwork.

For editable paths, use Inkscape:

1. Open Inkscape and choose File → Import; select the .bmp file and embed it if Inkscape asks how to place the image.
2. Select the imported image, then open Path → Trace Bitmap.
3. Choose Brightness cutoff for black-and-white artwork, Edge detection for outlines, or a color/multiscan mode for artwork with several flat colors.
4. Adjust the threshold, scan count, smoothing, and speckle suppression while previewing. More scans retain more colors but create more overlapping paths and a larger, harder-to-edit file.
5. Apply the trace, move the new vector aside to check it against the original, and delete the BMP layer if the final file must contain only vectors.
6. Choose File → Save As, select Plain SVG for broad compatibility, and save the result as image.svg.

Adobe Illustrator provides a similar workflow: open or place the BMP, select it, run Window → Image Trace, choose a preset, expand the result into editable paths, and use File → Export → Export As to select SVG. Inkscape and Illustrator both support manual tracing with the Bézier or Pen tool; for a logo, signature, or icon, redraw the important boundaries over a locked BMP layer and remove that layer before exporting.

Quality and compatibility limits

Automatic tracing is approximate. It can discard photographic texture, soft shadows, subtle color changes, anti-aliased edges, and very small details. A high-resolution, clean, high-contrast BMP generally traces better than a small or compressed-looking source, but increasing the source resolution cannot recover detail that is absent from the pixels.

Inspect the result at its intended size. Too many nodes make an SVG slow to edit and render; simplify paths cautiously because aggressive simplification changes contours. Multicolor tracing can produce hundreds of overlapping shapes, so reduce the color count or rebuild the artwork manually when a compact file is required.

For compatibility across browsers, cutting machines, and graphics software, prefer standard paths, fills, strokes, and embedded resources. Editor-specific filters, linked files, and unsupported SVG features may render differently or fail to load. Convert text to paths when the recipient may not have the original fonts, but keep editable text when font substitution is acceptable. Retain the original BMP because tracing is lossy and cannot be reversed into the original pixels.