GIF→PNG

GIF to PNG — full color depth, no 256-color limit

Convert GIF to PNG in the browser. PNG overcomes the 256-color limit of GIF and delivers lossless quality with a full alpha channel. Note: only the first frame is converted.

🖼️

Drop GIF file here or click

Akzeptiert: GIF → PNG

Tips & notes

✓ First frame is extracted

The Canvas API can only render single frames. For animated GIFs, the first frame is extracted as PNG. For animated conversion, use a specialized tool.

✓ Advantages of PNG over GIF

PNG supports 16.7 million colors instead of 256, has a real alpha channel for smooth transparency, and is often smaller than GIF at the same quality.

✓ For animations: choose WebP

For animated GIFs, animated WebP is the best alternative — same animation, 10× smaller, full color depth.

Frequently asked

What happens to my animation? +

Animated GIFs lose their animation — only the first frame is converted. That's a limitation of the browser Canvas API.

Why is PNG better than GIF? +

PNG supports 16.7 million colors (GIF only 256), true semi-transparency (alpha channel), and lossless compression without artifacts.

GIF has 256 colors — does PNG look better? +

Yes. PNG renders the GIF in full quality without the palette limit. Particularly for photos and gradients, the difference is clearly visible.

Background & guide2 min read

About this tool

In shortConvert GIF to PNG — lossless, for static use instead of animation.

Most people converting GIF to PNG want one of two things: extract a still frame from an animated image, or move an old 256-color GIF into a modern 24-bit color space. This converter does both, locally in the browser.

What happens to animations?For animated GIFs the first frame is extracted and saved as PNG. Need a different frame? Load the GIF into the Multi-Format Compare and pick a frame there. Want to keep the animation? PNG is the wrong target — switch to animated WebP via the GIF compressor.

What does conversion gain you qualitatively?GIF is limited to 256 colors per frame, which causes visible dithering on photo content (dot patterns). PNG can store up to 16.7 million colors in a 24-bit pixel, and even 16 bits per channel (65,536 steps). But: if the source GIF only had 256 colors, the PNG won't magically gain new ones. What conversion does enable: further editing (recolor, filters, composition) without color-quantization artifacts.

Transparency.GIF supports only binary transparency (all or nothing); PNG supports partial transparency with alpha values from 0 to 255. The GIF transparency is carried over but not "upgraded" — it stays binary. For smooth alpha (e.g. soft logo edges over varied backgrounds) you'll need manual rework.

Size and efficiency.GIF and PNG use different compression algorithms. For very color-poor content (logos, icons) PNG can be smaller than GIF; for color-rich content it's usually larger. If your only goal is a smaller file, WebP or AVIF is the better target.

Practical use cases.First: extract a still from an animated GIF (e.g. for thumbnails). Second: bring a GIF into modern image editing (Photoshop accepts both, but PNG has better color depth). Third: embed a GIF on platforms that reject GIF format (some older CMSes).

Privacy.Local in your browser. No upload. Related: GIF vs. WebP, image formats compared.