Convert PNG to GIF
GIF is the format that works in every chat app, forum, email client and legacy CMS, and it supports transparency. Converting a PNG to GIF reduces the image to a 256-colour palette; this page explains when that is fine and when it is not. The conversion runs in your browser with no uploads.
Drop files here or click to browse
Results
How to convert PNG to GIF
- Drop one or many PNG images into the tool below.
- The output format is already set to GIF. Adjust the quality if you like.
- Click run to convert.
- Download each GIF, or grab them all as a ZIP.
Understanding the 256-colour limit
GIF stores an image as indexes into a palette of at most 256 colours. That was generous in 1989 and is very limiting today. A PNG can hold 16.7 million colours plus a full alpha channel. When you convert, the converter has to pick the 256 colours that best represent the image and map every pixel onto one of them. For a logo with five colours, a chart, an icon or pixel art, nothing is lost. For a photograph, the result shows banding in skies and skin tones and a grainy, dithered look in gradients.
Before converting a photo to GIF, ask whether the destination really needs GIF. If it only needs a widely supported still image, JPG will look far better at a smaller size.
When PNG to GIF makes sense
- Email signatures and newsletter templates in clients that mishandle PNG transparency.
- Forum avatars and signature images with strict format lists.
- Legacy content management systems and intranet tools.
- Very small icons where GIF's simplicity produces a tiny file.
- Pixel art, where the limited palette is part of the aesthetic and GIF stores it exactly.
Transparency behaves differently
PNG transparency is a smooth 0 to 255 scale per pixel, which allows soft edges and drop shadows. GIF transparency is a single palette entry marked as "see through", so each pixel is either fully visible or fully invisible. During conversion, semi-transparent pixels are rounded one way or the other, which can leave a jagged fringe around anti-aliased edges. The fix is to flatten the PNG onto the background colour of wherever it will appear before converting, so the anti-aliasing blends into that colour rather than into transparency.
Expected results by image type
| PNG content | GIF result |
|---|---|
| Logo, flat icon, chart | Identical, usually a smaller file |
| Pixel art | Identical |
| Screenshot with text | Good; slight colour shifts in shaded areas |
| Illustration with gradients | Visible banding |
| Photograph | Grainy and posterised; use JPG instead |
Frequently asked questions
Why does my GIF look worse than the PNG?
GIF can only hold 256 colours per image. Photographs and smooth gradients get reduced to that palette, which can cause visible banding or speckling. Flat graphics, logos and pixel art convert perfectly.
Is transparency preserved?
Yes, but GIF transparency is on or off per pixel. Soft, semi-transparent edges from the PNG become hard edges. Put the image on a solid background first if it has a soft shadow.
Can I make an animated GIF here?
No. This converts a single still image. Animated GIFs need a sequence of frames or a video source.
Why use GIF instead of PNG or WebP?
Compatibility. GIF is supported by absolutely everything, including some very old software, email signatures and forum systems that reject PNG or WebP.
Your files never leave your device
Every tool on Squishly Tools is 100% free and runs entirely inside your browser. Your images and documents are processed on your own computer and are never uploaded to a server. There are no accounts, no watermarks and no catch.