Convert GIF to PNG
Converting a still GIF to PNG is one of the safest moves on this site: both are lossless, so nothing about the image degrades, and PNG almost always produces a smaller file with better colour. GIF is capped at 256 colours per frame, a limitation from 1987 that shows badly on anything photographic, while PNG has no such ceiling and supports a proper alpha channel instead of GIF's single fully-transparent palette index.
Drop your GIF files below and download PNG in seconds. Free, unlimited and completely private: the conversion runs inside your browser, so your files never leave your device and are never uploaded to a server.
No upload. Works with your network switched off. Check it yourself, or read what actually happens to your file.
Why convert GIF to PNG?
The important caveat is animation. If the GIF moves, converting to PNG gives you one still frame, because PNG has no animation. That is sometimes exactly what you want, when you need a thumbnail or a poster image, and sometimes not what you want at all. There is no way to have it both ways in a single PNG.
GIF dates back to 1987 and is limited to a 256 color palette, which shows in photos but is fine for flat graphics. It remains everywhere thanks to animation support and universal compatibility. For still images, PNG or WebP almost always produce better quality at a smaller size.
PNG stores every pixel exactly as it was saved, which makes it the safe choice whenever detail matters more than file size. It supports a full alpha channel, so logos and UI elements keep clean, soft edges on any background. The tradeoff is that photos saved as PNG can get large.
What this converter does to your GIF file
Your browser decodes the GIF and the pixels are written out as PNG, which is lossless in both directions, so the output is an exact record of what was decoded. An animated GIF contributes a single frame, the one the browser decoded, and the rest of the animation is not carried over. The colour reduction GIF applied when it was created is permanent: PNG can store far more colours, but the ones the palette threw away are not coming back. GIF's transparency, being a single palette index rather than an alpha channel, comes through as fully transparent pixels with hard edges.
GIF vs PNG at a glance
| GIF | PNG | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Graphics Interchange Format | Portable Network Graphics |
| Compression | Lossless, 256 colors | Lossless |
| Transparency | Yes | Yes |
| Best for | Simple animations, icons and flat graphics | Logos, screenshots and graphics with transparency |
What changes when you convert GIF to PNG
| What happens | |
|---|---|
| Image quality | Identical. Both formats are lossless, so every pixel colour survives the trip exactly. |
| Transparency | Kept. PNG stores an alpha channel, so cut-out backgrounds and soft edges survive. |
| EXIF and GPS | Removed. The conversion goes through a pixel buffer, so camera data and location are not carried into the PNG file. |
| Colour profile | Not carried across. The image is handled in sRGB, which is right for the web and wrong for colour-managed print work. |
| Animation | Not preserved. An animated GIF produces a single still frame. |
| File size | Varies with the content of the image. No figure is quoted here, because none has been measured on a documented test set. |
How to convert GIF to PNG
- Drop one or more GIF files into the box above, or click to browse.
- ImageConvert converts each file to PNG right on your device.
- Download a single file, or grab everything at once as a zip.
Frequently asked questions
Does converting GIF to PNG restore the colours GIF lost?
No. GIF quantised the image to at most 256 colours when it was made, and that is permanent. PNG can hold millions of colours, but there is nothing left to hold.
My GIF was animated. Where did the animation go?
PNG has no animation, so a single frame comes through. If you need the motion, keep the GIF or convert to WebP, which does support animation, though this converter also writes single frames.
Is the PNG smaller or larger than the GIF?
Usually smaller for a still image. PNG's filtering and DEFLATE compression generally beats GIF's LZW on the same content, and both are lossless, so the saving costs nothing.
What is a GIF file?
GIF is an older format limited to 256 colors, still popular for simple graphics and icons.
What is a PNG file?
PNG is a lossless format with transparency support, ideal for graphics, logos and screenshots.
Is it free to convert GIF to PNG?
Yes. There are no limits, no watermarks and no account needed. Convert as many GIF files as you like.
Are my files private?
Completely. Your GIF files never leave your browser and are never uploaded to a server, so your images stay on your device.