BMP to TGA Converter
Processing entirely on your device — large files may take a moment.
Converting TGA to PNG or WebP brings old game textures into modern web and design tools. If your files are still in BMP format, this page is the shortcut: BMP is Windows’ native uncompressed bitmap format. Every pixel is stored exactly as captured, which makes files large but trivially simple to read — common in older software and scanners.
iLoveConverter processes everything locally on your computer, which makes it private and fast: no upload wait, no server storage, no limits. Add as many files as you like — batch conversion is built in.
How BMP compares to TGA
| BMP | TGA | |
|---|---|---|
| Compression | Usually none (RLE optional) | None or RLE |
| Transparency | Rarely (V5 header only) | Supported (32-bit) |
| Animation | Not supported | Not supported |
| Metadata | Minimal | Minimal |
| Best for | Legacy software and scanner output | Game textures, 3D pipelines |
How to convert BMP to TGA
- 1
Select your files
Drag & drop your BMP files onto the area above, or click to browse. You can add multiple files at once for batch conversion.
- 2
Convert instantly
Click "Convert to TGA". The conversion runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly — no upload, no queue, no waiting.
- 3
Download results
Download each converted TGA file individually, or grab everything at once as a ZIP archive.
About the BMP format
BMP is Windows' native bitmap format, dating to 1990. It stores pixels essentially raw — rows of BGR values padded to 4-byte boundaries — with optional RLE compression that almost nobody uses. That simplicity is its whole personality: any program written since the dawn of Windows can read one in a dozen lines of code, which is why scanners and ancient lab software still emit it.
The cost of that simplicity is size: an uncompressed BMP of a photo runs dozens of times larger than a JPG. There is no meaningful metadata standard, transparency only exists via the rarely-implemented V5 header, and no modern workflow needs it. Treat BMP as a legacy interchange format you convert away from.
+ Strengths
- ✓Zero compression artifacts — pixels stored as captured
- ✓Trivially easy to decode, even in ancient software
- ✓Universal inside the Windows world
! Limitations
- −Enormous files — dozens of times larger than JPG
- −No real metadata or color-management story
- −No role in modern web or print workflows
About the TGA format
TGA (Truevision Targa, 1984) was the file format of early video digitizer boards and became the texture standard of classic game and 3D pipelines. It is raster data with almost no ceremony: a small header, optional RLE compression, 8/24/32-bit pixels, alpha optional. Half the 3D engines of the 90s read nothing else.
Modern design and web tools have quietly dropped it, but art asset dumps, texture mods and game extracts still arrive as TGA. Converting to PNG (lossless, with alpha intact) or JPG brings these assets into anything current.
+ Strengths
- ✓Trivially simple, lossless raster storage
- ✓Alpha channel support
- ✓The texture format of classic game pipelines
! Limitations
- −Dropped by modern design and web tools
- −No metadata ecosystem
- −Files can be large when uncompressed
Why convert BMP to TGA?
Think of it as moving your file to the container that fits the job. Enormous files — dozens of times larger than JPG TGA works differently: Trivially simple, lossless raster storage If any of that sounds like your task, run the conversion — it takes seconds and nothing leaves your device.
Frequently asked questions
Is this BMP to TGA converter really free?
Yes — completely free, with no sign-up, no watermark and no daily conversion limits. The site is supported by advertising.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. The conversion runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly, so your files never leave your device — that is what makes it instant and private.
Does it work on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android?
Yes. Anything with a modern browser works: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. No software installation is required.
Will I lose quality converting BMP to TGA?
No — TGA is a lossless format, so every pixel of the converted image matches your original BMP file. You can also adjust the quality/size balance before converting when the target format supports compression.
Will transparent areas survive the conversion to TGA?
Transparency is kept whenever TGA actually supports an alpha channel. If the target format has none (like JPG), transparent areas are flattened onto a white background — that is a property of the format, not of this tool.
What happens to EXIF data and other metadata?
Conversions here re-encode the image, and re-encoding generally does not carry the original metadata over. If the EXIF data of your BMP files matters (camera model, GPS, timestamps), keep the original file as the master and treat the converted copy as the shareable version.