GeoTIFF to PCX Converter
Processing entirely on your device — large files may take a moment.
GeoTIFF and ZSoft Paintbrush PCX exist for different jobs: GeoTIFF is a TIFF that carries its geography: embedded tags map every pixel to real-world coordinates and projection (EPSG codes), making it the standard interchange format for satellite imagery, drone orthomosaics and GIS raster layers. Convert PCX files from retro games and clipart archives into PNG or JPG.
Because the whole conversion happens on your device, it is instant, unlimited and genuinely private — no accounts, no watermarks, no files on anyone's server. Multiple files are converted in one go.
How GeoTIFF compares to PCX
| GeoTIFF | PCX | |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | TIFF + GeoTIFF keys (ModelTiepoint/GeoKeyDirectory) | 128B header + RLE rows + 769B palette |
| Types / schema | 8/16/32-bit, RGB or single-band | 1/4/8-bit paletted, 24-bit RGB |
| Compatibility | QGIS, ArcGIS, GDAL, image viewers | DOS era, GIMP, ImageMagick |
| Best for | Satellite imagery, orthomosaics, elevation rasters | Retro game and clipart archives |
How to convert GeoTIFF to PCX
- 1
Select your files
Drag & drop your GeoTIFF 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 PCX". The conversion runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly — no upload, no queue, no waiting.
- 3
Download results
Download each converted PCX file individually, or grab everything at once as a ZIP archive.
About the GeoTIFF format
GeoTIFF answers a question plain TIFF cannot: where on Earth is this pixel? It is a regular TIFF image plus a set of metadata tags — ModelPixelScale and ModelTiepoint map pixel rows and columns to projected coordinates, and GeoKeyDirectory stores the projection itself as EPSG codes (UTM zones, Web Mercator, national grids). The result is the de-facto standard for satellite scenes, Landsat/Sentinel downloads, drone orthomosaics, elevation models and every GIS raster layer that has to survive being emailed between software.
Because the geography lives in TIFF tags, the pixel data is ordinary imagery — which means converting GeoTIFF to PNG, JPG or WebP is really just decoding a TIFF and dropping the map metadata. That is exactly what you want for previews: a web page, a slide deck or a chat message has no idea what an EPSG code is, but it will happily show the image. What you lose in the conversion is the georeference itself, so keep the original .tif whenever the file feeds back into QGIS or ArcGIS.
+Strengths
- ✓Self-describing: image + coordinates + projection in one file
- ✓Read by every GIS tool (QGIS, ArcGIS, GDAL, Google Earth)
- ✓Supports 16-bit, float, multi-band and tiled storage
!Limitations
- −Converting to PNG/JPG discards the georeference
- −Files are large — TIFF has no strong compression by default
- −Overkill for images that never touch a map
About the PCX format
PCX was the image format of the DOS decade: ZSoft Paintbrush's run-length-encoded raster that every scanner, game and clipart CD adopted because it was published, simple and fast on 286 hardware. The header is a fixed 128 bytes, the palette hides in the final 769, and the whole file can be decoded by one while-loop.
Retro gaming archives and 90s clipart collections are full of PCX files. Converting them to PNG or JPG finally makes them viewable — the pixels were always fine, the container was just ancient.
+Strengths
- ✓Decoded by a single RLE loop — no dependencies
- ✓Ubiquitous in DOS-era archives
- ✓Supports paletted and 24-bit variants
!Limitations
- −Effectively dead since Windows 95
- −Rows padded — some files have alignment quirks
- −256-color ceiling for most real-world files
Why convert GeoTIFF to PCX?
There is a concrete reason this conversion exists: Converting to PNG/JPG discards the georeference PCX sidesteps that — Decoded by a single RLE loop — no dependencies If that is your situation, the tool above settles it in seconds, entirely on your device.
Frequently asked questions
Is this GeoTIFF to PCX 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 GeoTIFF to PCX?
No — PCX is a lossless format, so every pixel of the converted image matches your original GeoTIFF file. You can also adjust the quality/size balance before converting when the target format supports compression.
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 GeoTIFF files matters (camera model, GPS, timestamps), keep the original file as the master and treat the converted copy as the shareable version.
Can I convert several GeoTIFF files at once?
Yes — drop as many files as you like into the tool and they are converted in one batch. When more than one file comes out, everything is bundled into a ZIP for a single download.