Convert HEIC to BMP
Output is typically roughly 23× larger.
- Files stay on your device
- Free, no sign-up
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Will converting HEIC to BMP make the file smaller?
Usually, yes. A 12-megapixel photo is around 1.6 MB as HEIC and around 36 MB as BMP — roughly 23× larger. Because BMP is lossless the result depends entirely on the image content — flat colour and text compress far better than photographic detail.
Does converting HEIC to BMP lose quality?
No. BMP is lossless, so every pixel decoded from your HEIC file is stored exactly. Note that any compression artefacts already baked into the HEIC original are preserved too — converting to a lossless format cannot recover detail that was thrown away earlier.
Is transparency preserved when converting HEIC to BMP?
Yes. Both HEIC and BMP support an alpha channel, so transparent and semi-transparent pixels carry across unchanged — a logo with a cut-out background stays cut out, and soft drop shadows keep their gradient rather than picking up a white halo. Because BMP is lossless, the alpha channel is stored exactly as it was.
What happens to an animated HEIC?
Only the first frame is converted. Every conversion here decodes one frame onto a canvas and re-encodes it, so the result is always a still image — that applies to BMP as much as to any other target. To shrink an animation while keeping the motion, a video file (MP4 or WebM) is usually around a tenth of the size of the equivalent HEIC, and needs an encoder we do not ship yet.
Why can't Windows or Chrome open my HEIC file?
HEIC uses the patent-encumbered HEVC codec, which Google and Mozilla declined to license, so Chrome and Firefox cannot display it at all. Windows can, but only after installing a paid HEVC extension from the Microsoft Store. Converting to BMP sidesteps the whole problem — and you can stop the issue at the source by setting your iPhone to Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible, which saves JPEGs instead.
What kind of BMP does this produce?
An uncompressed 32-bit BMP with a BITMAPV4 header, which is the variant that carries an alpha channel reliably — plenty of BMP writers emit 24-bit files where transparency is silently dropped. Uncompressed means large: expect roughly four bytes per pixel, so a 12-megapixel photo lands around 48 MB regardless of what it started as.
How it works, and more about heic to bmp
How it works
- Add your HEIC file. Drag a HEIC file onto the drop zone, or click to browse. You can select several at once.
- Choose your settings. BMP is lossless, so there is nothing to configure — the output matches the input pixel for pixel.
- Download the BMP. Conversion runs on your device as soon as each file is added — no upload, no queue. Download each result when it is ready.
HEIC and BMP side by side
| HEIC | BMP | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | High Efficiency Image Container | Bitmap Image File |
| Compression | Lossy | Lossless |
| Transparency | Yes — alpha channel | Yes — alpha channel |
| Animation | Yes | No |
| Browser support | Safari only. Not supported by Chrome, Firefox or Edge. | Supported in all major browsers, though rarely used on the web |
| Typical 12 MP photo | ~1.6 MB | ~36 MB |
| Usually used for | iPhone and iPad camera output | Legacy Windows applications, scanners and embedded displays |
On a typical 12-megapixel phone photo, the BMP output comes out roughly 23× larger than the HEIC original. These are order-of-magnitude figures for one kind of image — your own results will vary a great deal, because flat colour, text and line art behave nothing like photographic detail.
What to watch out for
- Massive files — often 10× a JPEG of the same image
- No animation, and inconsistent transparency support across variants
- Impractical for the web or for sharing
- Animation is lost. Only the first frame is converted — every conversion here decodes a single frame onto a canvas and re-encodes it, so the result is a still image whatever the target format. To shrink an animation and keep the motion, a video file is typically around a tenth of the size of the equivalent HEIC.
About the two formats
HEIC has been the iPhone default since iOS 11, and it is genuinely efficient — about half the size of JPEG at the same quality, with support for depth maps and Live Photos. The problem is everything that is not an Apple device: Windows needs a paid codec, most web forms reject it, and Chrome and Firefox cannot display it at all. That gap is why converting HEIC is one of the most common image tasks there is.
BMP stores pixels essentially uncompressed, which makes it enormous — a 12-megapixel photo lands around 36 MB, roughly 11× the same image as a JPEG. It persists mainly inside legacy Windows software, scanning utilities and embedded systems where decoding simplicity beats file size.
Other conversions
Everything runs on your device — nothing is uploaded, so there is no size limit, no queue and no copy left on a server afterwards. There is more on how browser-based conversion works if you want the detail. Otherwise, browse every image tool.