CONVERT
TIFF → BMP
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Fast, secure TIFF to BMP conversion. No registration required.
TIFF is a container format that can hold virtually anything: uncompressed RGB, LZW-compressed layers, CMYK separations, 16-bit-per-channel data, alpha channels, embedded ICC profiles, EXIF and IPTAG metadata, and even multi-page sequences in a single file. BMP is the opposite — a fixed, headerless raster format native to Windows that stores pixels as uncompressed 24-bit RGB (or 32-bit with a rarely-used alpha channel in BITMAPV4/V5 headers) in a bottom-up scanline order with no metadata container to speak of. Converting TIFF to BMP almost always means collapsing that richness into a flat, maximally-compatible Windows bitmap. The main real-world driver is legacy software: older Windows applications, industrial control panels, embedded HMI systems, and certain GDI-based printing pipelines that accept BMP as a known-good input but choke on multi-strip or LZW-compressed TIFFs. A second driver is forensic and testing toolchains where "no compression, no ambiguity" is a requirement for pixel-exact comparisons.
TIFF Image
Source formatTIFF is a flexible, high-quality image format widely used in publishing, printing, and professional photography. It supports multiple compression methods and color spaces including CMYK.
BMP Image
Target formatBMP 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.
Why convert TIFF to BMP
The concrete reason to drop a TIFF in favor of BMP is interoperability with GDI-era Windows software that predates broad TIFF decoder support. Windows Paint (before Windows 10), many older CAD viewers, early HMI scada interfaces, and some thermal-printer drivers ship with a built-in BMP loader but no TIFF library. A second reason is eliminating decoder variance: LZW or ZIP-compressed TIFFs can decompress differently across imaging libraries if strip boundaries or predictor tags are set unconventionally, while a 24-bit BMP has exactly one valid reading. For automated image-comparison pipelines and regression test suites, BMP removes that ambiguity entirely.
HOW TO CONVERT
TIFF → BMP
Drop the TIFF file
Drag and drop or click to upload your TIFF. The image is transferred securely over HTTPS and queued for conversion.
Re-encode with ImageMagick
ImageMagick decodes every pixel of the TIFF and writes a matching BMP with sensible default quality settings.
Download the BMP
The converted BMP is ready to download as a single file; both files delete automatically within two hours.
Common Use Cases
Share across platforms
Send BMP files to anyone without worrying about whether they have the right software for TIFF.
Embed in documents
Drop BMP output into Word, Google Docs, PowerPoint, Notion or a website without conversion warnings.
Optimize size
BMP often produces smaller files than TIFF 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.
TIFF vs BMP — Strengths and limitations
What each format does best, and where it falls short.
TIFF Strengths
- Lossless by default — no generation loss on successive edits and saves.
- Supports any bit depth (1 to 32 bits per channel), any color model, any number of channels.
- Extensible tag system means vendor-specific data survives alongside standard tags.
- Multi-page containers are perfect for scanned documents, faxes, and DICOM-like stacks.
- Industry-standard for archival, museums, scientific imaging, and high-end print prepress.
Limitations
- File sizes are huge compared to JPEG/WebP/AVIF — often 10-30× larger.
- Not a web format — no browser displays TIFF natively.
- Ambiguous spec areas mean some TIFFs only open correctly in the tool that created them.
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.
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).
TIFF vs BMP — Technical specifications
Side-by-side comparison of the technical details.
TIFF
- MIME type
- image/tiff
- Extensions
- .tif, .tiff
- Standard
- TIFF 6.0 (1992); BigTIFF extension for 64-bit offsets
- Max file size
- 4 GB (TIFF); 2^64 bytes (BigTIFF)
- Compression options
- None, LZW, Deflate, JPEG, CCITT G3/G4, PackBits, JBIG
BMP
- MIME type
- image/bmp
- Extensions
- .bmp, .dib
- Compression
- None (typical); RLE 4/8 bit (rare)
- Color depths
- 1, 4, 8, 16, 24, 32 bits per pixel
- Byte order
- Little-endian
| Specification | TIFF | BMP |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | image/tiff | image/bmp |
| Extensions | .tif, .tiff | .bmp, .dib |
| Standard | TIFF 6.0 (1992); BigTIFF extension for 64-bit offsets | — |
| Max file size | 4 GB (TIFF); 2^64 bytes (BigTIFF) | — |
| Compression options | None, LZW, Deflate, JPEG, CCITT G3/G4, PackBits, JBIG | — |
| Compression | — | None (typical); RLE 4/8 bit (rare) |
| Color depths | — | 1, 4, 8, 16, 24, 32 bits per pixel |
| Byte order | — | Little-endian |
TIFF vs BMP — Typical file sizes
Approximate file sizes for common scenarios.
TIFF
- Scanned A4 page (300 dpi, B&W) 100-300 KB
- Scanned A4 page (600 dpi, color) 15-40 MB
- Print-quality magazine photo 30-150 MB
- Satellite GeoTIFF tile 50 MB - 5 GB
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
Quality & Compatibility
If the source TIFF is 8 bits per channel RGB with no alpha, the conversion to 24-bit BMP is lossless at the pixel level — every RGB triplet maps directly, no quantization occurs. What is permanently discarded: any layer beyond the first (TIFF is multi-page, BMP is single-image), the alpha channel (standard BMP stores no alpha; BITMAPV4/V5 can, but almost no software reads it correctly), all ICC color profile data, all EXIF/IPTAG metadata, CMYK or Lab color modes (which must be converted to sRGB before writing BMP, introducing a color-space transform with minor rounding), and 16-bit-per-channel depth (BMP caps at 8 bits per channel, so a 16-bit TIFF is downsampled with truncation). The resulting BMP is uncompressed, so file size grows substantially compared to a LZW-compressed TIFF of the same image.
Tips for Best Results
- If your TIFF has an alpha channel and the target application requires transparency, BMP is the wrong destination — consider PNG instead, which preserves a full 8-bit alpha channel without loss.
- For CMYK TIFFs from print workflows, verify the RGB conversion intent before you convert: a perceptual rendering will shift saturated colors less than a relative colorimetric intent on images with out-of-gamut cyan or yellow.
- BMP files store scanlines bottom-up by default (negative biHeight value in the DIB header), which confuses some non-Windows image loaders. If your pipeline reads the converted BMP upside-down, your loader is ignoring the height sign rather than the converter producing a corrupt file.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the codecs involved. If both TIFF and BMP are lossy, the pixels are re-encoded and a small amount of detail is discarded — invisible at default quality settings on photographs. If BMP is lossless (PNG, TIFF, BMP) the output keeps every pixel of the decoded TIFF exactly, but cannot recover detail that TIFF had already compressed away.
Often yes, especially when BMP is lossless. TIFF tuned for efficient web delivery will usually produce smaller files than BMP'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.
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Related Guides
TIFF/TIF Format: The Professional Imaging Standard
Complete guide to TIFF format: tag-based IFD architecture, 8/16/32-bit depth, CMYK print support, LZW compression, multi-page TIFF, BigTIFF, and professional workflow commands.
Read guideBMP Bitmap Format: The Complete Technical Guide
Everything about the BMP format: DIB header variants, pixel storage, color depths (1 to 32-bit), RLE compression, alpha channels, and BMP vs PNG vs TIFF.
Read guideTIFF Format: The Complete Guide to Tagged Image File Format
Everything about TIFF: IFD tag structure, compression types (LZW, ZIP, JPEG), colour spaces, multi-page TIFF, BigTIFF, TIFF vs PNG vs PSD vs RAW, and when to use TIFF.
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.