ImgSquash

GIF to PNG Converter

GIF is limited to 256 colours; converting a static GIF gives smaller, better-looking files. Converting to PNG gives you pixel-perfect lossless quality with full transparency support. The palette is the whole problem. A photograph forced into 256 colours gains visible banding across skies and skin tones, and dithering to hide it adds noise that then compresses badly — so a photographic GIF is both worse-looking and larger than it needs to be. Logos, icons, screenshots, diagrams, anything with text or hard edges, and any image that needs a genuinely transparent background. Drop your files below and the work happens on your own machine — the conversion runs in the browser through the Canvas API, so nothing is uploaded and nothing is capped. PNG is lossless, so the file you get back is bigger than a JPEG of the same picture and identical in quality no matter how many times you re-save it.

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or click to browse — JPG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, AVIF, GIF, BMP, SVG

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What a GIF file actually is

GIF dates to 1987 and stores at most 256 colours from a palette, compressed losslessly with LZW. Transparency is a single on/off flag on one palette entry rather than a real alpha channel, which is why GIF edges against a coloured background look jagged.

GIFs come from the reaction-image corner of the internet, from old web assets, and from screen recorders that default to it. Anything animated and low-colour that has been passed around for years is probably still a GIF.

What you get from PNG

PNG output is lossless, so the saved pixels are exactly the pixels that went in and re-saving costs nothing in quality. It keeps a full 8-bit alpha channel, which means soft shadows and anti-aliased edges survive against any background.

Universal since the early 2000s, and the format every design tool, browser and operating system handles without argument. It is also the safest format to hand to a printer or a colleague when you do not know their software.

What changes when you convert GIF to PNG

Both formats are lossless, so nothing is thrown away in either direction — this is a container change rather than a quality decision. What differs is how efficiently each one packs the same pixels, and how widely each is supported by the software you need to open it in.

Transparency technically survives, but it improves on the way. GIF has no alpha channel — just one palette entry flagged as transparent — which is why GIF cut-outs have hard, jagged edges. PNG stores a full 8-bit alpha, so anything you composite afterwards can have genuinely smooth edges, even though the original's jaggedness is baked in.

Only the first frame survives. GIF is the one source here that can be animated, and PNG output is a still image, so an animated GIF converts to its opening frame. The upside for static GIFs is real: escaping the 256-colour palette removes the banding, and the file usually gets smaller at the same time.

Frequently asked questions

Is this GIF to PNG converter really free and private?

Yes. Conversion happens entirely in your browser using the Canvas API — your GIF images are never uploaded to a server, there is no file limit, no watermark and no sign-up.

Can I convert multiple GIF files at once?

Yes — drop any number of files and they convert in one batch. Use "Download all" to save the results as a single ZIP.

Will an animated GIF stay animated?

No — PNG output is a still image, so only the first frame is kept. For animations, keep the GIF or use a video format.

Does converting GIF to PNG lose quality?

Both formats are lossless, so nothing is thrown away in either direction — this is a container change rather than a quality decision. What differs is how efficiently each one packs the same pixels, and how widely each is supported by the software you need to open it in.

Why is the PNG larger than the original?

Because PNG is lossless and cannot cheat. Lossy formats reach their size by discarding detail; PNG has to store every pixel it is given, so a photograph converted to PNG is routinely several times bigger. That is expected, not a fault — if size matters more than losing nothing, JPG or WebP is the right target.

Why does my GIF photo look banded?

GIF stores at most 256 colours, and a photograph needs far more, so smooth gradients break into visible steps. Converting to any modern format removes the ceiling — which is why static photographic GIFs almost always improve.

Related conversions

JPG → PNGWebP → PNGHEIC → PNGAVIF → PNGGIF → JPGGIF → WebP

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