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Free Online GIF Maker

Make a GIF from your images online for free. Turn PNG or JPG images into a GIF — fast, secure, no watermark, no signup.

Drop PNG files here
or click anywhere in this box to choose files

Max file size 50MB. Sign up for more.

PNG to GIF: lossless to palette-based

PNG supports millions of colors (24-bit + alpha) while GIF is limited to 256 colors per frame with 1-bit transparency. The conversion quantizes the PNG's full color space down to 256 colors using median-cut or octree algorithms, maps transparent pixels to GIF's binary transparency (fully transparent or fully opaque — no semi-transparency), and applies LZW compression. Photographs lose visible quality; simple graphics with few colors convert cleanly.

Convert PNG to GIF for simple graphics, logos, or icons that need to display in contexts requiring GIF format. For static images, PNG is almost always better — GIF's only advantage is its universal support for simple animations. This conversion is rarely the right choice for photographic content.

PNG vs GIF: Side-by-side

Technical comparison of the two formats — useful for deciding which to use, or for confirming what changes during conversion.

Property PNG GIF
Full name Portable Network Graphics Graphics Interchange Format
Year introduced 1996 1987
Developer / standard body PNG Development Group / W3C CompuServe
MIME type image/png image/gif
File extension .png .gif
Compression Lossless (DEFLATE) Lossless (LZW)
Color / data depth 24-bit truecolor + 8-bit alpha 8-bit indexed (256 colors)
Max dimensions / size 2,147,483,647 × 2,147,483,647 px 65,535 × 65,535 px
Transparency Yes Yes
Animation APNG extension only Yes
Standard / specification W3C / ISO/IEC 15948 GIF89a (CompuServe)
Best for Logos, screenshots, graphics with transparency or sharp edges Short animations, simple graphics with limited colors

PNG to GIF FAQ

Quick answers about compatibility, quality, metadata handling, and the most common reasons to convert PNG files to GIF.

How do I convert PNG to GIF?
Upload your PNG image to iFormat and click Convert — it's decoded and re-encoded to GIF in seconds. It's free, adds no watermark, and needs no account. Batch upload is supported, and results download individually or as a ZIP.

Can I convert PNG to GIF without losing quality?
GIF is an 8-bit format limited to 256 colours. Converting to a lossless target such as PNG, TIFF or BMP preserves every pixel exactly. Converting to a lossy one such as JPG or WebP re-encodes the image, and iFormat uses a high default quality so the difference is invisible at normal viewing size. For the sharpest result, always convert from the highest-quality source you have.

What is PNG?
PNG is a lossless format with transparency support, typically used for logos, screenshots, and graphics with sharp edges. Converting it to GIF makes the file easier to open, share, or upload where PNG is not supported.

PNG vs GIF — which format should I use?
PNG is a lossless format with transparency support best for logos, screenshots, and graphics with sharp edges. GIF is an 8-bit format limited to 256 colours best for simple animations and low-colour graphics. Use GIF when a website, form, or app requires it, or when you need GIF's specific strengths like smaller file size, wider compatibility, or transparency support.

How do I open PNG files?
On Windows: Photos, or any browser. On a Mac: Preview, or any browser. Universally supported. PNG also carries transparency, which is why screenshots and logos use it.
Need the reverse conversion?
Convert GIF back to PNG with our companion tool.
GIF to PNG converter

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