BMP vs PCX — Differences, File Size & When to Use Each

BMP vs PCX

A detailed comparison of BMP Image and PCX Image — file size, quality, compatibility, and which format to choose for your workflow.

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BMP

BMP Image

Raster & Vector Images

BMP is an uncompressed raster image format native to Windows. Files are large but preserve exact pixel data with no compression artifacts. Rarely used on the web due to file size.

About BMP files

PCX

PCX Image

Raster & Vector Images

PCX (PiCture eXchange) is a legacy raster image format created by ZSoft for their PC Paintbrush program. It was one of the first widely supported image formats on IBM PC compatibles and uses simple run-length encoding compression.

About PCX files

Strengths Comparison

BMP Strengths

Dead-simple format — trivially easy to read and write.
Lossless and uncompressed — perfect bit-exact pixel storage.
Universally supported in Windows applications since 1985.
Supports 1, 4, 8, 16, 24, and 32-bit color depths.

PCX Strengths

Simple format — easy to parse in any language.
RLE compression keeps flat-color images compact.
Historic archive format for 1985-1995 PC art.
Stable since 1985 with no breaking changes.

Limitations

BMP Limitations

Enormous file sizes — no meaningful compression in typical use.
Not a web format — browsers support it but nobody serves BMPs over HTTP.
No metadata support (no EXIF, no ICC profile in practice).
Multiple header versions mean "a BMP" is ambiguous — parsers must handle several variants.

PCX Limitations

Legacy — no new content created as PCX in 2026.
Inefficient for photographs (RLE is wrong algorithm).
Limited to 24-bit color depth.
Web browsers do not display PCX.

Technical Specifications

Specification	BMP	PCX
MIME type	image/bmp	image/x-pcx
Extensions	.bmp, .dib	—
Compression	None (typical); RLE 4/8 bit (rare)	Run-Length Encoding (RLE)
Color depths	1, 4, 8, 16, 24, 32 bits per pixel	—
Byte order	Little-endian	—
Extension	—	.pcx
Header	—	128 bytes fixed
Creator	—	ZSoft Corporation (1985)

Typical File Sizes

BMP

Small icon (32×32) 4 KB
Screenshot (1920×1080) ~6 MB
4K image (3840×2160) ~25 MB
Scanned A4 at 300 dpi ~25 MB

PCX

Simple clipart 2-40 KB
VGA-era screenshot (320×200) 30-80 KB
Scanned page 200 KB - 2 MB

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Frequently Asked Questions

BMP (Bitmap) is a raster image format developed by Microsoft for Windows. It stores images with no compression by default, resulting in large file sizes but pixel-perfect quality. It has been part of Windows since version 1.0.

BMP (Bitmap) is a raster image formato developed by Microsoft para Windows. It stores images com no compressão by default, resulting in large tamanho do arquivos mas pixel-perfect quality. It has been part of Windows since version 1.0.

BMP files open in Windows Paint, Photos, macOS Preview, GIMP, Photoshop, and virtually any image viewer. All Windows applications support BMP natively.

BMP arquivos abrir in Windows Paint, Photos, macOS Preview, GIMP, Photoshop, e virtually any image viewer. All Windows aplicativos support BMP natively.

PNG is better than BMP in almost every scenario since it provides lossless compression (smaller files), transparency support, and wider cross-platform use. BMP is mainly relevant for legacy Windows applications.

PNG is melhor que BMP in almost every scenario since it fornece sem perdas compressão (smaller files), transparência support, e wider cross-platform use. BMP is mainly relevant para legacy Windows aplicativos.