GIF to PNG Converter

About the GIF to PNG Converter

GIF is limited to 256 colors and is best known for animation, while PNG supports millions of colors and smooth transparency — a better fit for a still image you want to edit or place on a page. This tool converts your GIF to PNG right in your browser, with no upload and no watermark. For animated GIFs it captures the first frame as a single still image.

The 256-colour ceiling, and what converting can and cannot fix

A GIF stores at most 256 colours, chosen into a palette at the moment the file was created, and its transparency is 1-bit — each pixel is either fully opaque or fully clear. That second limit is why GIF logos have jagged, stair-stepped edges instead of smooth ones. PNG supports 16.7 million colours and 256 levels of transparency, so the converted file has room for all of it. What it cannot do is invent the colours the palette discarded or soften edges the GIF already hardened. What it does buy you is a file that stops losing anything further as you edit and re-save it.

Animation, and what to use instead

PNG holds a single still image, so an animated GIF converts to its first frame. If you need to keep the motion, keep the GIF — or, if the destination is a web page, export to MP4 or WebM instead, which will typically be a small fraction of the GIF's size for the same animation and play far more smoothly on phones.

Frequently asked questions

Does GIF to PNG keep the animation?

No. PNG is a still-image format, so an animated GIF is converted to a single static PNG using its first frame. If you need to keep motion, keep the original GIF.

Does converting GIF to PNG improve the image?

PNG supports far more colors than GIF and better transparency, so the result can look cleaner — but it cannot add back colors the 256-color GIF never stored.

Is it free and private?

Yes — it is free with no sign-up, and the conversion happens in your browser, so nothing is uploaded.

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