Output format
90%
Resize
Convert PNG to GIF Online Free — Fast Batch Conversion
How to Convert Images Online
1Upload PNGs
Drag and drop one PNG for static GIF, or multiple PNGs for animated GIF. Transparency is detected automatically.
2Configure settings
Choose transparent or solid background, matte color for anti-aliased edges, frame delay (centiseconds), dithering method, and loop count.
3Download GIF
Click Convert and download. Files are deleted from the server immediately after download.
Supported Image Formats
PNG
Lossless format that preserves every pixel. Best for screenshots and logos.
GIF
Classic format for simple animations. Supports transparency and up to 256 colors.
HEIC
Apple photo format used by iPhone and iPad. High quality with small file size.
HEIF
High Efficiency Image Format — same as HEIC, used on Apple devices.
WebP
Modern image format by Google. Up to 30% smaller than JPG with the same quality.
JPG
Universal format for photos. Supported everywhere, great balance between quality and file size.
BMP
Uncompressed bitmap format. Maximum quality but very large file size.
TIFF
Professional lossless format used in printing and photography.
AVIF
Next-gen format with excellent compression. Up to 50% smaller than JPG.
PPM
Portable Pixmap format used in Unix/Linux environments.
HDR
High Dynamic Range format storing extended brightness data.
FITS
Flexible Image Transport System used in astronomy and science.
PDF
Portable Document Format. Convert PDF pages to JPG, PNG or WebP images.
AVIF vs WebP vs HEIC vs JPG
Quick comparison to help you choose the right format
AVIF
- Size: Up to 50% smaller than JPG
- Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari
- Transparency: ✓
- Best for: Web performance
WebP
- Size: 25-35% smaller than JPG
- Browsers: All modern browsers
- Transparency: ✓
- Best for: Web compatibility
HEIC
- Size: ~50% smaller than JPG
- Browsers: Safari only
- Transparency: ✓
- Best for: iPhone storage
JPG
- Size: Baseline
- Browsers: All browsers & apps
- Transparency: ✗
- Best for: Universal sharing
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does converting PNG to GIF preserve transparency?
- Partially. GIF supports only binary transparency — each pixel is either fully transparent or fully opaque. PNG has 256 alpha levels per pixel. Semi-transparent pixels are thresholded: above 50% becomes opaque, below becomes transparent. Hard-edged cutouts convert perfectly. Anti-aliased edges may produce a halo effect.
- Why does my transparent GIF have a white halo?
- Your PNG had anti-aliased edges composited against a white canvas. Those edge pixels contain near-white RGB values that become fully opaque in the GIF. Fix: matte your PNG against the target display background (white for light pages, dark gray for Discord) before converting.
- How do I combine multiple PNGs into an animated GIF?
- Upload PNG files in order, set frame delay in centiseconds (10 cs = 10 fps), choose dithering method, and enable loop. Convertify writes a multi-frame GIF89a with correct disposal methods and full canvas composition.
- Is PNG or GIF better for transparency?
- PNG is dramatically better — 256 alpha levels vs binary on/off. Only convert to GIF when the destination requires it: Discord emoji, Slack emoji, GitHub README, Outlook email, or legacy forums.
- Can I convert an APNG to a regular GIF?
- Yes. Convertify extracts each APNG frame and re-encodes the sequence as GIF89a. Expect transparency quality to drop from 8-bit to 1-bit alpha.
- Why is my PNG-to-GIF file larger than the original?
- GIF LZW compression is less efficient than PNG DEFLATE for photographic or gradient-heavy content. For flat-color content GIF is roughly equal. If size matters, consider APNG or animated WebP instead.
- Can I use this for Discord custom emoji?
- Yes. Discord custom emoji must be GIF for animation, exactly 128×128 pixels, under 256 KB, and max 50 frames. Convertify outputs GIF that meets these specs.
- What dithering should I choose?
- Floyd-Steinberg for photographic PNGs and screenshots (smoothest gradients). Bayer/ordered for smaller file size with a retro crosshatch look. None for pixel art and flat-color illustrations where dithering would add unwanted noise.
- Should I use APNG or WebP instead of GIF?
- If your destination supports them — yes. APNG preserves PNG quality and alpha at 20–50% smaller than GIF. WebP is 30–70% smaller. Use GIF only for Discord/Slack emoji, email, README files, and legacy forums.
- Does Convertify delete my files after conversion?
- Yes. Files are processed and deleted immediately after download. Nothing is stored or logged.
The transparency downgrade — 256 alpha levels to binary on/off
PNG supports a full 8-bit alpha channel: each pixel can have any of 256 levels of opacity, from fully transparent through semi-transparent to fully opaque. GIF supports exactly one palette index flagged as transparent — every pixel is either 100% transparent or 100% opaque. There is no in-between. When Convertify converts your PNG to GIF, every pixel with alpha above the threshold (typically 50%) becomes fully opaque, and every pixel below becomes fully transparent. This works perfectly for hard-edged cutouts — pixel art, aliased icons, simple shapes with no anti-aliasing. It causes problems for anti-aliased content — logos with soft edges, text with subpixel rendering, photographs with feathered selections.
The halo problem — why your transparent GIF has a white outline
This is the number one complaint about PNG-to-GIF conversion and no competitor explains it properly. When a designer creates a PNG with anti-aliased edges, the edge pixels are semi-transparent — they blend the foreground subject with whatever background is behind it. In Figma, Photoshop, or Affinity, these edge pixels are stored as RGBA values with alpha between 1 and 254. When the GIF encoder thresholds at 50%, pixels above 50% become fully opaque and retain whatever RGB color they had. If the design app composited those edge pixels against white (which is the default canvas in most tools), they contain light-gray or near-white RGB values. On a dark background, those pixels form a visible white halo around the subject. The fix is alpha matting — premultiplying the PNG against the expected display background color before thresholding. If the GIF will appear on a white page, matte against white (the halo disappears because it matches). If it will appear on a dark Discord theme, matte against #36393F. There is no universal matte — this is why transparent GIFs look perfect in one context and terrible in another.
PNG vs GIF — full technical comparison
| Feature | PNG | GIF |
|---|---|---|
| Color depth | 24-bit truecolor (16.7M) + 16-bit option | 256 colors per frame (8-bit indexed) |
| Transparency | 8-bit alpha — 256 opacity levels | 1-bit binary — on or off only |
| Animation | Only via APNG extension | Native multi-frame since GIF89a |
| Compression | DEFLATE lossless | LZW lossless (after lossy palette quantization) |
| File size — flat-color logo | PNG-8 usually 5–25% smaller than GIF | Small but slightly larger than PNG-8 |
| File size — photographic | Large (lossless) | Large (256-color palette + LZW) |
| Anti-aliased edges | Smooth — full alpha blending | Jagged or haloed — binary threshold |
| Browser support | Universal for static; APNG in modern browsers | Universal including animation |
| Best for | Logos, icons, screenshots, design assets | Animation on legacy platforms, Discord/Slack emoji |
PNG sequence to animated GIF — frame extraction and timing
Game developers, motion designers, and documentation authors frequently export numbered PNG sequences (frame-001.png through frame-060.png) from tools like After Effects, Blender, Aseprite, or Cleanshot. Converting these to animated GIF requires the encoder to: resize all frames to a common canvas, build a palette (global or per-frame), threshold alpha on every frame identically, set per-frame delays in centiseconds, write disposal methods, and add a Netscape loop block. Convertify performs full-canvas composition: each frame is the complete image at that animation step, not a delta. Per-frame local palettes produce better color fidelity (each frame gets its own optimal 256 colors) at the cost of larger file size. A global palette is smaller but averages colors across all frames, which can wash out individual frames. For pixel art with consistent palettes, global is fine. For photographic sequences or color-diverse animations, per-frame is better.
When NOT to convert PNG to GIF — and what to use instead
In 2026 there are very few good reasons to convert PNG to GIF. If your destination supports APNG, use that instead — same .png extension, full 24-bit color, full 8-bit alpha, and typically 20–50% smaller than GIF. Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari all support APNG. Animated WebP is even smaller — 30–70% less than GIF — with full color and alpha. Animated AVIF is 70–95% smaller. MP4 video is 10–30× smaller. Convert to GIF only when the destination specifically requires it: Discord custom emoji (must be GIF, exactly 128×128 px, under 256 KB, max 50 frames), Slack custom emoji (under 128 KB), GitHub and PyPI README files (render animated GIF inline but not APNG), Outlook email (shows only frame 1 of any animated image — but does display GIF frame 1 reliably), phpBB and vBulletin forum signatures, and retro or pixel-art aesthetic where the 256-color constraint is part of the look.
Color quantization and dithering for PNG input
PNG-24 and PNG-32 images can contain up to 16.7 million colors. GIF supports 256 per frame. The quantization step picks the best 256 colors using median-cut or NeuQuant algorithms, then maps every pixel to the nearest palette entry. For flat-color PNGs — icons, UI elements, pixel art — this is often near-lossless because the source already has fewer than 256 distinct colors. For photographic PNGs, screenshots with gradients, or CG renders, the quantization is visibly lossy. Dithering helps: Floyd-Steinberg for smooth photographic gradients, Bayer for smaller file size and a retro crosshatch look, no dithering for pixel art and flat illustrations. Reducing the palette from 256 to 128 colors saves roughly 15–20% file size with minimal visible difference on most content. Dropping to 64 saves 30–40% but banding becomes obvious in gradients.
Platform specs for GIF uploads in 2026
Discord free accounts: 10 MB per upload. Custom animated emoji: exactly 128×128 px, under 256 KB, max 50 frames — GIF is the only accepted animated format for emoji. Slack custom emoji: 128 KB max, 128×128, GIF only for animation. Twitter/X: 15 MB web, 5 MB mobile — transcoded to MP4 server-side. Giphy: 100 MB hard limit, recommends under 8 MB, 480p, fewer than 200 frames. Reddit: 100 MB, transcoded to video. Pinterest: 20 MB. Tumblr: 10 MB. Email (Gmail): 25 MB attachment cap. Outlook: displays only frame 1 — put your key content there. GitHub README: renders animated GIF inline, does not render APNG.
Troubleshooting common PNG to GIF problems
Transparent background became white or black: the converter flattened alpha instead of preserving it. Use a converter that supports transparent GIF output and set the correct matte color. White halo around the subject: anti-aliased edge pixels were matted against white in the source PNG. Fix: matte against the target display background before conversion, or accept hard-edged (jagged) transparency. Colors look washed out: a global 256-color palette averaged across many frames dilutes per-frame colors. Switch to per-frame local palettes (larger file, better colors). Only the first frame shows: missing Netscape loop block or disposal method set incorrectly. Ensure loop=0 (infinite) and disposal=2 (restore to background). Animation has ghost frames or bleed: disposal method 1 (do not dispose) leaves previous frame pixels visible. Switch to disposal 2 or 3. File is larger than the source PNG: GIF LZW is less efficient than PNG DEFLATE for photographic content. This is expected — use APNG or WebP if file size matters. Jagged stair-step edges where PNG had smooth curves: this is the fundamental limitation of binary transparency. Either accept it, increase canvas size for higher-resolution edges, or use APNG/WebP which preserve full alpha.