PNG to GIF Converter

PNG to GIF, still or animated. Nothing ever uploads.

Drop PNG files below — get a GIF per image, or combine them into one looping animated GIF. Converted entirely on your device.

  • Your file data never leaves the device
  • Still GIF or one animated GIF
  • Batch up to 20 files
  • Works offline after load

Convert PNG to GIF

Add your PNG files

Drag & drop PNG files here

or browse your files · you can also paste from clipboard (Ctrl+V)

Your browser decodes PNG natively — no decoder download, no waiting.

    No files yet. Everything stays on this device. Downloads start instantly.

    Privacy you can verify, not just trust

    Most online PNG converters upload your images to their servers first — and some keep a download link live for 30 days. This one can't: your browser decodes PNG natively and the GIF encoder runs entirely in your browser. Your file data never leaves the device — the only third-party requests are the site's own analytics, which count page views — and it uploads nothing, ever. There is no decoder to download and no file fetched after load for the conversion itself. Don't take our word for it:

    New cross-origin requests during use: 0
    1. Press F12 to open developer tools, then the Network tab.
    2. Convert any PNG above. Watch: apart from the site's analytics, nothing new is requested — no uploads, and no file data ever leaves your device.
    3. Extra credit: disconnect your internet after this page loads — conversion still works.

    How to convert PNG to GIF without uploading it

    Every "free" online PNG converter you've used uploads your images to a company server, converts them there, and — in several documented cases — keeps a copy or a live download link for days. For personal screenshots, logos, and anything you wouldn't post publicly, that's an unnecessary risk. The safer approach is to convert the file where it already is: on your own device.

    This tool does exactly that. When you drop a PNG here, your browser:

    1. Decodes the PNG natively — every browser includes a PNG decoder, so there is no decoder file to download and no waiting for a library to load.
    2. Reads the image's orientation data and stores the output upright, so a portrait image doesn't come back sideways.
    3. Flattens transparency onto the background colour you pick, because GIF transparency is all-or-nothing — a semi-transparent pixel becomes the background colour.
    4. Quantises the pixels to at most 256 colours and re-encodes them as a GIF with a JavaScript GIF encoder — one still GIF per file, or one frame per file in combine mode. Your original file is never modified.

    Still GIF or combined GIF — which should you pick?

    Pick still GIF when you need one shareable image per file — a reaction image, a sticker, or a picture that has to open in an app that cannot read PNG. Pick combine when you have several still PNGs that tell a story together: each one becomes one frame of a single looping GIF. An animated PNG (APNG) does not keep its motion either way: browsers only expose its first frame, and the tool says so on the file card.

    Why does the GIF look worse than the PNG?

    GIF was designed in 1987 for simple graphics, and it stores at most 256 colours per frame. A photo contains thousands of shades, so the converter has to pick the 256 that matter most and dither the rest — speckling pixels to fake the missing shades. Smooth skies, skin, and gradients suffer most; flat graphics, logos, and text survive well. That is a limit of the format, not a defect in the conversion. If the image has to look its best, keep it as a PNG: PNG keeps every pixel exactly. If it has to be smaller, use our PNG to JPG converter instead.

    Why won't my PNG open on Discord, Slack or a forum?

    PNG is the web's default for screenshots and logos, but some chat apps, forums, email clients and upload forms still won't play it inline, reject it as an attachment type, or strip it to a download link. GIF opens everywhere and even plays inline — which is why it is the shareable format for an image that has to be seen, not just stored. If the destination has a size limit, pick a destination preset and the converter will aim for it.

    Honest limitations

    Only 256 colours

    Photos lose detail and smooth gradients band or dither. Dithering softens the banding but adds a speckled texture. For faithful photos, keep the PNG or convert to JPG instead.

    GIFs are larger than PNGs for photos

    Expect a photo GIF to be bigger than the PNG it came from, and an animated GIF to grow with every frame. There is no quality slider that makes a GIF small — only fewer colours, a smaller width, or fewer frames. Flat graphics usually shrink.

    Animated PNG is first frame only

    Browsers decode only the first frame of an APNG for web pages. This tool converts that frame and says so plainly on the file card. To make an animation, combine several still PNGs instead.

    Transparency is flattened

    GIF transparency is all-or-nothing: a pixel is either fully opaque or fully gone. Partial transparency is flattened onto the background colour you pick, so choose one that matches where the GIF will be shown.

    Metadata is stripped

    Camera metadata (EXIF, including location) is dropped on re-encode, and 16-bit PNGs are tone-mapped down to 8-bit. Orientation is preserved — the output is stored upright.

    Frequently asked questions

    Will the animation in my PNG survive as a GIF?

    No. An animated PNG (APNG) carries several frames, but browsers only expose its first frame to a web page, so this tool converts that first frame and says so on the file card instead of silently dropping the motion. If you have several still PNGs and want motion, use combine mode: each PNG becomes one frame of a single looping GIF. If your source is already an animated GIF, it needs no conversion at all.

    Why is the GIF bigger than the PNG?

    For photos, usually yes: PNG compresses photos efficiently, while GIF uses a compression scheme from the 1980s with at most 256 colours, so a photo GIF is often larger than the PNG it came from. For flat graphics, logos and screenshots with few colours, the GIF usually comes out smaller. This tool shows the before and after size honestly for every file, and the destination presets aim for a target size by shrinking the width, palette and frame rate until it fits — or as close as it can get.

    Why convert PNG to GIF instead of keeping the PNG?

    PNG keeps a picture looking its best, but it cannot animate and some chat apps, forums and upload forms will not play it inline or reject it outright. GIF plays inline almost everywhere — Discord, Slack, email, forums and every browser — and it is the only widely supported format that animates. Choose GIF when the picture has to be seen and shared, and PNG when it has to look perfect. If you need the photo smaller instead, use our PNG to JPG converter.

    Why does the GIF look worse than the original PNG?

    GIF is capped at 256 colours, so a photo with thousands of shades has to be squeezed into a small palette. Smooth areas such as skies and skin can band or look speckled, and fine detail is lost. That is a limit of the GIF format itself, not of this tool. Turning dithering on softens the banding by speckling pixels to fake the missing shades. If you need the photo to look its best, keep it as a PNG or convert it to JPG instead.

    Can I combine several PNGs into one animated GIF?

    Yes. Add your PNG files, switch the mode to Combine into one animated GIF, pick a frame rate, and press Convert. Each PNG becomes one frame of a single looping GIF that plays forever, at the frame rate you choose — 6 frames per second is a good starting point. Animated GIFs grow with every frame, so keep them short, or use a destination preset to aim for a shareable size.

    What happens to transparency and metadata?

    GIF has only 1-bit transparency: a pixel is either fully opaque or fully gone. Any partial transparency is flattened onto the background colour you pick, so choose white for chat apps or black for dark backgrounds. PNG's smooth semi-transparent edges will look harder against the background. EXIF metadata, including location, is dropped on re-encode. 16-bit PNGs are tone-mapped down to 8-bit, because GIF cannot store more than 8 bits per channel. Orientation is preserved — the output is stored upright.

    Can I share the GIF on Discord, Slack or by email?

    Yes — that is exactly what GIF is for. Unlike PNG, which some chat apps, forums and web forms cannot play inline, a GIF plays inline almost everywhere: Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, email and every browser. Use the destination presets if the app has an upload size limit: Discord emoji and stickers aim for under 256 KB, forum avatars under 500 KB, and Slack or email under 1 MB. The presets aim for the target, they do not guarantee it — the tool reports the size it actually reached.

    Is there a file size or daily limit?

    There is no daily limit and no account. A 25 MB safety cap applies per file and 20 files per batch, because decoding large images in the browser is memory-heavy and GIF output is large. Most PNGs saved from the web are well under 5 MB, far below the cap. Animated GIFs are best kept to 20 frames or fewer, or the file becomes too large to share.