PBM Converter

Convert Portable bitmap images (PBM) online for free


Drop or upload your .PBM file

How to convert your PBM file

  1. Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your PBM file.
  2. You'll see a preview.
  3. Click the "Convert file to..." button to save your file in the format you want.

Convert PBM to another file type

The converter easily converts your PBM bitmaps to various formats - free and online. No Netpbm or or other Raster Image software needed.

  • PBM to JPG
  • PBM to PNG
  • PBM to BMP
  • PBM to PDF
  • PBM to GIF
  • PBM to TIFF
  • PBM to TIF
  • PBM to WEBP
  • PBM to ICO
  • PBM to PSD
  • PBM to PSB
  • PBM to PFM

Convert a file to PBM

The converter also works in reverse, so you can convert other "Monochrome Raster Graphic" formats to PBM without using software like Netpbm or a similar tool.

  • RAW to PBM
  • PNG to PBM
  • AI to PBM
  • NEF to PBM
  • PSB to PBM
  • DNG to PBM
  • SVG to PBM
  • GIF to PBM
  • EPS to PBM
  • JPG to PBM
  • ARW to PBM
  • PDF to PBM

About PBM files

A .PBM (Portable Bitmap) is a 1-bit monochrome raster image file, originally developed by Jef Poskanzer as part of the Netpbm project in the 1980s. It stores pixel data as a simple grid of 1s and 0s, resulting in strictly black-and-white graphics. While historically useful as a 'lowest common denominator' format for basic image exchange between incompatible platforms, .PBM files are heavily outdated for modern use. You can open them with open-source image editors like GIMP or viewers like XnView, but native OS support is extremely limited. The format generally lacks compression, leading to unnecessarily large file sizes for basic graphics, and modern web browsers refuse to render it. Converting your .PBM files is virtually mandatory for modern workflows. For web usage and highly efficient lossless compression, convert to PNG or WEBP. If you need to distribute the image in a standard document format, convert to PDF. To vectorize the monochrome graphics for infinite scaling, trace and convert to SVG. Just drag and drop your file here to analyze and convert it - free, online, and without installing software.

Use Convert.Guru to open and convert your PBM file.

Users also converted BPM, PNG, JPG, PSD, PCD, PGM and BMP files.


FAQ

If you want to convert PBM file to CUR, you can use Netpbm or similar software from the "1-bit Monochrome Image Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….

To convert files to PBM, try Netpbm or another comparable tool in the "1-bit Monochrome Image Storage" category.



The PBM Converter Story

The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our PBM converter.