PCX to PPM Converter
Processing entirely on your device — large files may take a moment.
ZSoft Paintbrush PCX and Portable Pixmap exist for different jobs: PCX was THE DOS-era image format: ZSoft Paintbrush's RLE-compressed raster that every 1990s game, scanner and clipart CD shipped in. Simple enough that its spec fits on one page. Convert PPM renders to PNG/JPG to make them shareable, or emit PPM for tools that expect the raw format.
This converter runs entirely in your browser using WebAssembly — your files never leave your device, nothing is uploaded, and there are no watermarks, sign-ups or queues. Drop in several files at once to convert them as a batch.
How PCX compares to PPM
| PCX | PPM | |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | 128B header + RLE rows + 769B palette | P3 (ASCII) / P6 (binary) header + RGB triplets |
| Types / schema | 1/4/8-bit paletted, 24-bit RGB | 8-bit RGB (16-bit variants exist) |
| Compatibility | DOS era, GIMP, ImageMagick | netpbm, GIMP, renderers |
| Best for | Retro game and clipart archives | Render outputs, graphics coursework |
How to convert PCX to PPM
- 1
Select your files
Drag & drop your PCX 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 PPM". The conversion runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly — no upload, no queue, no waiting.
- 3
Download results
Download each converted PPM file individually, or grab everything at once as a ZIP archive.
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
About the PPM format
PPM is the color member of the netpbm trio: a header line, then uncompressed RGB triplets. It is the format every graphics course teaches first because you can write a working encoder in twenty lines — and the format every renderer exports because twenty lines is all it takes.
Files are enormous but bulletproof: converting PPM to PNG or JPG costs nothing but space savings, and PNG keeps every bit of the original data.
+ Strengths
- ✓Zero-compression simplicity — unbreakable
- ✓The standard renderer/graphics-course output
- ✓Lossless conversion to PNG preserves everything
! Limitations
- −Huge files (3 bytes per pixel, raw)
- −No alpha channel
- −Browsers do not display it natively
Why convert PCX to PPM?
Converting makes sense where the strengths of PPM meet what PCX cannot give you. Zero-compression simplicity — unbreakable Meanwhile Effectively dead since Windows 95 One pass through the converter above puts your file on the right side of that trade-off.
Frequently asked questions
Is this PCX to PPM 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 PCX to PPM?
No — PPM is a lossless format, so every pixel of the converted image matches your original PCX 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 PCX files matters (camera model, GPS, timestamps), keep the original file as the master and treat the converted copy as the shareable version.
Will transparent areas survive the conversion to PPM?
Transparency is kept whenever PPM 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.