BMP to SVG Converter

Turn a BMP picture into an SVG made of real vector paths: shapes you can scale to any size, recolour and edit in a vector editor. The tool traces the picture: it groups the pixels into a set number of colours, follows the edge of every area and writes each one as an SVG path with straight lines and curves. Logos, icons, scanned line art and flat drawings trace cleanly; photos turn into thousands of small shapes, so they are better kept as pixels. Our own reader opens the BMP itself, so 1, 4, 8, 16, 24 and 32-bit files, RLE-compressed files, bit-field files and files stored top-down all open the same way in every browser, and it tells you what it found: size, bit depth, compression and DPI. A 32-bit BMP with an alpha channel keeps its transparent areas empty in the SVG. For pixel art, choose Pixel squares: every pixel becomes an exact square. Download the SVG, copy its code, or get a ZIP when you add several BMPs. Nothing is uploaded and there is no sign-up.

100% private — everything runs in your browser. Everything runs in your browser; your files are never uploaded.

How to convert a BMP to SVG

1. Drop a BMP on the box, or several; or click Try a sample.
2. Pick a starting point (logo, black and white, few colours or detailed), then fine-tune Colours and Detail.
3. Compare the SVG with your picture and check the count of paths and colours under it.
4. Download the SVG, copy its code, or download all of them as a ZIP.

What you can use it for

• Turn an old BMP logo into an SVG for a website or print
• Trace a scanned black and white drawing into clean vector lines
• Get a 2-colour SVG of a BMP for a cutting machine or laser cutter
• Keep pixel art exact as crisp SVG squares
• Convert a folder of BMP icons to SVG in one go
• Wrap a BMP in an SVG file when a program only accepts .svg

What happens to each kind of BMP

Your BMP	What the tool does	Tip
1-bit (black and white)	Decoded with its 2-colour table, traced	Black and white preset
4 or 8-bit (colour table), RLE or not	Decoded with its colour table, traced	Logo or flat art
16-bit (555 or 565)	Colours expanded to 8 bits, traced	No setting needed
24-bit	Traced	Most BMPs are this kind
32-bit with alpha	Transparent areas left empty in the SVG	Keep Leave transparent areas empty ticked
Stored top-down	Read in the right row order	No setting needed
JPEG or PNG inside	Opened by the browser where it can	Save it as an ordinary BMP if not

A BMP starts with the letters BM and a header that gives the size, the bits per pixel and the compression. Rows are usually stored from the bottom up; a negative height means top-down. Files of 8 bits or fewer per pixel carry a colour table, and RLE files store runs of the same colour to save space. The tool reads those fields first and shows them in the line above the preview.

Choosing Colours and Detail

Start from	Colours	Detail	Good for
Logo or flat art	16	5	Most icons, logos and illustrations
Black and white	2	6	Line drawings, stamps, cutting machines
Few colours, smooth	6	4	Soft or anti-aliased edges
Detailed	32	8	Artwork with many colours; larger files

Colours sets how many colours the picture is reduced to before tracing; Detail sets how closely the outlines follow the pixels and how small a speck is kept. They work the same way as on our PNG to SVG and JPG to SVG pages.

Three kinds of SVG

SVG type	Inside the file	Sharp when enlarged	Best for
Traced vector paths (default)	smooth path elements, one per colour area	Yes	Logos, icons, flat art
Pixel squares	one path per colour made of exact 1 × 1 squares	Yes, as crisp blocks	Pixel art, tiny favicons kept exactly
Picture inside an SVG	your BMP as a PNG, in an image element	No, it blurs	Programs that only accept .svg

Some converters only wrap the picture in an SVG file. That gives an .svg that still blurs when you enlarge it, so here it is a separate, clearly named option.

Tips for a clean result

• Start from the largest, sharpest picture you have.
• Fewer colours give fewer, cleaner shapes and a smaller file.
• If small specks appear, lower Detail; if corners look rounded, raise it.
• For pixel art, choose Pixel squares: every pixel stays a crisp square at any size.

Next steps: tidy and shrink the result with the SVG Optimizer, change its colours with the SVG Color Changer, or edit it in the SVG Editor. Tracing a different format? Use PNG to SVG or JPG to SVG. To keep a BMP as pixels in a smaller file, use BMP to PNG or BMP to JPG.

Sources

Sources: Microsoft Learn: BITMAPINFOHEADER (the BMP header); W3C Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 2; imagetracerjs on GitHub (The Unlicense).

Frequently asked questions

Is this BMP to SVG converter free?

Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit on how many files you convert. Everything runs in your browser, so your BMP never leaves your device.

Is the SVG really vector?

Yes, with Traced vector paths or Pixel squares. Every colour area becomes an SVG path, and the line under the preview counts the paths and colours. Only the option called Picture inside an SVG keeps the pixels, and the page says so when you choose it.

Which BMP files open here?

1, 4 and 8-bit BMPs with a colour table, 16, 24 and 32-bit BMPs, RLE4 and RLE8 compressed files, files with bit fields (colour masks), files stored top-down and old OS/2 BMPs, all read by our own decoder. BMPs with a JPEG or PNG stored inside are opened by your browser where it can.

Can a BMP be transparent?

Yes, a 32-bit BMP can carry an alpha channel, and the tool keeps those see-through areas empty in the SVG. When the alpha bytes are all zero, which some programs write, the picture is shown opaque, as browsers do. Soft, half-transparent edge pixels are made either solid or see-through before tracing, so no pale rings appear around the shapes.

What kind of BMP traces best?

Logos, icons, lettering, scanned line art and flat drawings with clear edges and a few colours. Photos become thousands of small shapes and a large file; for those, convert the BMP to PNG or JPG instead.

How do I trace a scanned drawing?

Choose Black and white: the scan is reduced to two colours and traced into clean shapes. Raise Detail for fine lines, lower it to drop specks of dust.

What size is the SVG?

By default the SVG says it is the same width and height in pixels as your BMP, and because it is vector you can set it to any size later. The picture is traced at up to 500 px on its long side; choose 1000 or 1500 px for finer edges on big pictures. The DPI in the BMP is shown but not needed for an SVG.

Is my BMP uploaded?

No. Reading the BMP, tracing it and writing the SVG and the ZIP all happen in your browser.