PNG → GIF
Converting locally: nothing is uploaded
Graphics onto the classic 256 palette: free, and finished on your machine.
Drop your PNGs in the drum
or , and nothing leaves this tab
READS JPG · PNG · WEBP · GIF · BMP · SVG · AVIF
CYCLE →
WASH TEMP
OUT OF ORDER — JAM REPORT
The PNG → GIF cycle
Some avatars, wikis and ancient CMS fields accept GIF alone. Flat-colour graphics ride the 256-colour wash cleanly; photographic PNGs should expect visible banding.
PNG carries transparency; GIF cannot keep it, so transparent areas flatten onto white. GIF caps at 256 colours, so photographic loads usually land heavier. Either way, re-encoding through the canvas collects EXIF like lint: camera model, GPS coordinates and timestamps are stripped from the folded copy.
GIF holds 256 colours, so count how many your graphic really uses. A flat logo or a pixel-art sprite will convert almost unchanged. A screenshot with gradients or soft shadows will not, and the dithering that hides banding also adds noise.
Transparency is binary in GIF. Pixels are either fully visible or fully gone, so smooth semi-transparent edges become hard-edged. If the graphic sits on a known background colour, converting against that colour avoids white halos.
Need the other direction? GIF → PNG · Other routes into JPG → GIF, WebP → GIF.
Questions at the counter
Does PNG to GIF keep transparency?
Partly. GIF supports single-bit transparency (a pixel is either fully opaque or fully gone) and this cycle flattens soft alpha edges onto white. Hard-cut graphics do fine; drop shadows will not survive.
Why does my gradient look banded?
GIF holds at most 256 distinct colours. A smooth gradient needs thousands, so nearby shades merge into visible steps. There is no setting that avoids this. It is the format’s ceiling, and the wash is not at fault.
When is PNG to GIF actually a good idea?
Flat icons, simple diagrams, pixel art and retro-styled graphics, anything built from few colours. Those convert invisibly and sometimes even shrink.
Is the conversion really private?
Yes, architecturally. This page is static files; there is no server to receive an upload. Your PNG is decoded and re-encoded inside this tab by your own machine, and you can watch the absence of network traffic in your browser’s developer tools.
Before you convert
A converter can change the container. It cannot tell you whether that was the right call for this particular image. These cover the decision itself. They were written from building the encoders that run on this page, and are checkable against your own files.