JPG to Vector Converter
Turn a JPG into vector shapes, in the format you need, without uploading it anywhere. A JPG is a grid of pixels, saved with compression that leaves soft, blocky edges; vector files are shapes that stay sharp at any size. So the picture is traced, and this page is set up for JPGs: it smooths out JPEG noise before tracing, starts from a poster preset that turns a photo into a few flat colours, can remove a plain background colour, and sets photos from phones upright using their camera rotation tag. The picture is traced once, and the same shapes are saved as SVG, PDF, EPS, AI and DXF, each read back after it is made. Logos, scans of drawings and simple graphics trace best; detailed photos become posters of flat colour, not copies of the photo. Your picture never leaves your device.
100% private — everything runs in your browser. Your picture is traced and saved as vector files on your device; nothing is uploaded or stored.
Your JPG
Traced vector shapes
Format
Each format, read back from the file
Tracing
Fewer colours give fewer, cleaner shapes. Photos trace into many small shapes, so start from a poster preset.
Size
Leave the width empty to match the artboard (72 pt = 1 inch). The DXF is scaled so its picture is exactly this wide.
Runs in your browser: imagetracerjs (public domain) traces the picture once with the same settings as our PNG to SVG tool; our own code writes the SVG, EPS and DXF, svg2pdf.js and jsPDF (MIT) write the PDF and AI, and pdf.js (Apache-2.0) checks them; the libraries load from jsDelivr. Your picture is never uploaded and nothing is saved. You may use what you make here, including commercially, with no credit needed. The rights in your own pictures stay as they were. Not affiliated with Adobe.
How to convert a JPG to vector
- Drop your JPG on the box, or click Try a sample.
- Pick a starting point: Photo poster, Bold poster, Black and white, or Logo photographed or scanned. Tick Remove the background colour if the picture sits on a plain colour.
- Move the Colours and Detail sliders until the traced shapes look right, then pick SVG, PDF, EPS, AI or DXF.
- Click Download, or Download all five formats for a ZIP.
What you can use it for
- Turn a photo of a logo into clean vector artwork
- Make a poster-style vector picture from a photo
- Trace a scanned drawing or signature in black and white
- Make a DXF outline for a laser cutter from a JPG
- Give a print shop an EPS or PDF of a JPG logo
- Drop the white or coloured background from a scanned graphic
Photo presets
| Start from | Colours | Detail | JPEG smoothing | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photo poster | 8 | 5 | On | Photos turned into flat-colour posters |
| Bold poster | 4 | 4 | On | Strong, simple shapes from a photo |
| Black and white | 2 | 6 | On | Scans of drawings, signatures, stencils, laser cutting |
| Logo photographed or scanned | 16 | 6 | On | A logo that only exists as a JPG |
| Detailed | 32 | 8 | Off | Clean graphics saved as JPG |
JPG has no transparency, so a logo saved as JPG always sits on a background. Remove the background colour drops the traced shapes in the colour that covers most of the picture’s edge, in every format.
To cut the number of colours yourself first, try Posterize Image; to cut out a background that is not one plain colour, use Remove Background and trace the PNG it makes. For an SVG with the same tracing engine and no extra formats, use JPG to SVG.
Which format for what
| Format | Best for | What is inside |
|---|---|---|
| SVG | Websites, cutting machines such as Cricut, most vector apps | Filled paths, sized to your picture |
| Printers, proofs, opening in any vector editor | The same paths as PDF drawing commands | |
| EPS | Print shops, sign makers, older layout apps | The same paths in PostScript, with a bounding box |
| AI | Designers who ask for an .ai file | A PDF-compatible .ai: the PDF part every modern .ai holds |
| DXF | Laser and CNC cutting, CAD apps | Closed outlines (R12 polylines), one layer per colour, at the width you set |
Every format comes from one trace, so the shapes in the SVG, PDF, EPS, AI and DXF are the same shapes. After writing them, the tool reads each file back and shows what it holds: paths in the SVG, vector paths and 0 pictures in the PDF and AI, a valid EPS structure, and closed polylines and layers in the DXF.
Tested on real JPGs
| Our test JPG | Traced at | SVG paths | DXF polylines (layers) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The sample (480 × 320 px, light background) | 480 × 320 px | 282 | 337 (7) | Background removed: #f1eee5 |
| RGB photo-like test picture, 300 ppi | 300 × 200 px | 40 | 58 (8) | Photo poster preset |
| Saved sideways with camera rotation tag 6 | 120 × 200 px | 103 | 119 (8) | Traced upright |
Each file made in testing was also opened by independent programs: the PDF and AI in a second PDF reader (vector drawings, no pictures), the EPS in a PostScript interpreter, and the DXF in a separate DXF parser.
Not affiliated with Adobe.
Sources
Sources: imagetracerjs on GitHub (The Unlicense); Library of Congress: Encapsulated PostScript File Format (one page, the %%BoundingBox comment); DXF Reference: header variables incl. $INSUNITS (4 = millimetres, 1 = inches); svg2pdf.js on GitHub (MIT licence); pdf.js on GitHub (Apache-2.0 licence); CSS Values and Units (W3C): 1 in = 96 px = 72 pt.
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See all free tools →Frequently asked questions
Is this JPG to vector converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no daily limit. The tracing and all five files are made in your browser, so your JPG never leaves your device.
Can a photo become a vector?
Only as a poster of flat colours. Tracing turns each area of similar colour into a shape, so a photo becomes a few to a few dozen colours with sharp edges, not a copy of the photo. Photo poster (8 colours) and Bold poster (4 colours) are made for this.
Why smooth out JPEG noise?
JPEG compression adds small blocks and speckles around edges. Traced as they are, they become hundreds of tiny extra shapes. Smoothing blurs the picture slightly before tracing, so edges trace as clean lines. Turn it off for crisp scans of line art.
How does Remove the background colour work?
The tool looks at the colour around the edge of the picture. If most of the edge is one colour, the traced shapes in that colour are left out of every format, so a logo on a white or coloured background becomes the logo alone.
My phone photo was sideways. Why is the trace upright?
Phones often save a photo sideways and add a tag that says how to turn it. The tool reads the picture the way it is meant to be shown, so the vector files come out upright.
Which vector format should I choose?
SVG for websites and cutting machines, PDF for printing, EPS when a print shop or sign maker asks for it, AI when a designer asks for an .ai file (a PDF-compatible .ai), and DXF for laser cutters and CAD apps.
Are the files real vectors?
Yes. Only the traced shapes go into the files, never the photo. The table under the format buttons shows what each file holds, read back from the file: paths, and 0 pictures in the PDF and AI.
How big is the DXF?
By default it matches the artboard, 72 points to the inch. Type a width in millimetres or inches and the DXF is scaled so the picture is exactly that wide, with one layer per colour.
Is my JPG uploaded?
No. imagetracerjs, svg2pdf.js, jsPDF and pdf.js are downloaded from jsDelivr and run in your browser; the SVG, EPS and DXF are written by our own code on your device.