JPG vs BMP
How do JPG and BMPcompare? Here's everything you need to know to choose the right format — and how to convert between them.
.jpg
Full guide →Joint Photographic Experts Group
JPG (also known as JPEG) is the most widely used image format for photographs and complex images. It uses lossy compression to significantly reduce file size while maintaining acceptable visual quality.
.bmp
Full guide →Bitmap Image File
BMP is an uncompressed raster image format native to Windows. While it produces very large files, BMP preserves every pixel with zero quality loss, making it useful for raw image data and legacy applications.
| Specification | JPG | BMP |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joint Photographic Experts Group | Bitmap Image File |
| Extension | .jpg | .bmp |
| MIME type | image/jpeg | image/bmp |
| Category | Image | Image |
| Developer | Joint Photographic Experts Group | Microsoft |
| Year introduced | 1992 | 1986 |
| Compression | Lossy | Lossless |
JPG advantages
- Very small file sizes for photographs
- Universally supported everywhere
- Adjustable compression quality
- Ideal for web and email sharing
JPG limitations
- Lossy compression — quality degrades with each save
- No transparency support
- Not suitable for text or sharp-edge graphics
- Artifacts visible at high compression
BMP advantages
- Zero quality loss — completely uncompressed
- Simple format, easy to read and write
- Native Windows support
- No compression artifacts
BMP limitations
- Very large file sizes
- No transparency support in most versions
- Not suitable for web use
- Outdated format for most modern applications
Which should you use?
Choose JPG for smaller file sizes, especially for photos and web content. Choose BMP when you need lossless quality, transparency, or pixel-perfect output.
Best uses for JPG
Best uses for BMP
Convert between JPG and BMP
Need to switch formats? Convert for free with SquishConvert.