CONVERT
PGM → AVIF
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Fast, secure PGM to AVIF conversion. No registration required.
PGM is the plain-text grayscale portable map format used in image processing. Reaching a AVIF from there is one hop. A PGM to AVIF conversion is almost always about making an image land cleanly in another piece of software. PGM Grayscale Image is well-suited to its original niche, but AVIF Image opens on more platforms or fits better into a publishing pipeline. Upload a PGM file above, pick any quality knobs, and download a ready-to-use AVIF. Context: PGM is the plain-text grayscale portable map format used in image processing. AVIF is the AV1-based next-gen image codec, extremely efficient with full HDR and alpha support.
PGM Grayscale Image
Source formatPGM (Portable Graymap) stores grayscale images in a simple ASCII or binary format.
AVIF Image
Target formatAVIF is a next-generation image format based on the AV1 video codec. It offers significantly better compression than JPEG and WebP while maintaining excellent visual quality, including HDR and wide color gamut support.
Why convert PGM to AVIF
Converting keeps the picture recognisable end-to-end while changing the container that ships it. AVIF typically wins on one of three fronts: broader software support, smaller files for the same visual quality, or features like transparency that PGM cannot express. The conversion itself is fast because both sides are raster formats.
HOW TO CONVERT
PGM → AVIF
Upload your PGM
Start by dropping the PGM onto the uploader. Files up to 25 MB go through on the free tier without registration; paid plans go up to 2 GB.
Conversion happens server-side
Our imagemagick-based pipeline reads the PGM pixel grid, preserves resolution and colour profile, and encodes a clean AVIF.
Grab the result
A download button appears as soon as the AVIF is ready. Save locally or share the short-lived URL.
Common Use Cases
Share across platforms
Send AVIF files to anyone without worrying about whether they have the right software for PGM.
Embed in documents
Drop AVIF output into Word, Google Docs, PowerPoint, Notion or a website without conversion warnings.
Optimize size
AVIF often produces smaller files than PGM for web, email and storage.
Archive & future-proof
Store in a widely-supported format that will still open on future operating systems without legacy plugins.
PGM vs AVIF — Strengths and limitations
What each format does best, and where it falls short.
PGM Strengths
- Trivially simple to parse and generate.
- Ideal Unix pipeline intermediate for grayscale processing.
- Preserves 16-bit depth for scientific and medical data.
- Universal tooling (Netpbm, ImageMagick, Tesseract).
- ASCII variant is human-readable.
Limitations
- No compression — files balloon for large images.
- No metadata, no color profile.
- Grayscale only — drop to PBM for bitmap or up to PPM for color.
AVIF Strengths
- Best-in-class compression efficiency — 30-50% smaller than JPEG for the same quality.
- Royalty-free and patent-unencumbered (unlike HEIC).
- Supports alpha transparency, HDR, wide gamut (BT.2020), and up to 12-bit color.
- Progressive decoding: a blurry preview appears while the file is still downloading.
- Supported in all major browsers since late 2022 — no polyfills needed.
Limitations
- Encoding is CPU-expensive — an AVIF export can take 10-30× longer than JPEG.
- Older software (pre-2022) cannot open AVIF without plugins.
- Email clients still largely ignore it — stick to JPEG for attachments.
PGM vs AVIF — Technical specifications
Side-by-side comparison of the technical details.
PGM
- MIME type
- image/x-portable-graymap
- Extension
- .pgm
- Variants
- P2 (ASCII), P5 (binary)
- Bit depth
- 8-bit or 16-bit per pixel
- Creator
- Jef Poskanzer (1988), Netpbm toolkit
AVIF
- MIME type
- image/avif
- Container
- HEIF (ISOBMFF)
- Codec
- AV1 (intra-only)
- Max dimensions
- 65 536 × 65 536 px
- Color depth
- Up to 12-bit per channel
- Color spaces
- sRGB, Display-P3, BT.2020, arbitrary ICC
| Specification | PGM | AVIF |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | image/x-portable-graymap | image/avif |
| Extension | .pgm | — |
| Variants | P2 (ASCII), P5 (binary) | — |
| Bit depth | 8-bit or 16-bit per pixel | — |
| Creator | Jef Poskanzer (1988), Netpbm toolkit | — |
| Container | — | HEIF (ISOBMFF) |
| Codec | — | AV1 (intra-only) |
| Max dimensions | — | 65 536 × 65 536 px |
| Color depth | — | Up to 12-bit per channel |
| Color spaces | — | sRGB, Display-P3, BT.2020, arbitrary ICC |
PGM vs AVIF — Typical file sizes
Approximate file sizes for common scenarios.
PGM
- 1920×1080 grayscale 8-bit (binary P5) ~2 MB
- 1920×1080 grayscale 16-bit ~4 MB
- DICOM-equivalent medical slice 500 KB - 20 MB
AVIF
- Thumbnail (400px) 10-30 KB
- Web photo (1920px) 80-300 KB
- 4K photo (3840px) 300 KB - 1.2 MB
- Lossless copy of 24MP photo 8-15 MB
Quality & Compatibility
Converting keeps resolution, aspect ratio and colour profile identical to the source. Metadata (EXIF, XMP) transfers where AVIF supports it; otherwise it is dropped. If the PGM contained an alpha channel and AVIF does not support transparency, the background is flattened to white by default.
Tips for Best Results
- When uploading to Retina / high-DPI contexts, render the AVIF at 2× the CSS pixel size; the crispness gap over 1× is noticeable on modern screens.
- Strip EXIF metadata from the AVIF before publishing if the PGM came from a phone camera — it often contains GPS coordinates and device IDs.
- If the PGM is a screenshot of text or UI, prefer a lossless AVIF target to avoid the JPEG-style ringing around glyph edges.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the codecs involved. If both PGM and AVIF are lossy, the pixels are re-encoded and a small amount of detail is discarded — invisible at default quality settings on photographs. If AVIF is lossless (PNG, TIFF, BMP) the output keeps every pixel of the decoded PGM exactly, but cannot recover detail that PGM had already compressed away.
Often yes, especially when AVIF is lossless. PGM tuned for efficient web delivery will usually produce smaller files than AVIF's default settings. If file size matters, drop the quality in Advanced or pick a more compressed target format instead.
KaijuConverter uploads over HTTPS, processes the image in an isolated container and deletes both the source and the output within two hours. No account is required, file contents are never logged, and we do not use uploads to train any model. For confidential material, the paid plan includes a data-processing agreement.
Related comparisons
See these formats side by side to understand which fits your use case best.
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Read guideSecure & Private Conversion
Your files are encrypted during transfer, processed in isolated containers, and automatically deleted within 60 minutes. We never read, share, or store your data.