GIF to PNG Converter

Encoding: the GIF uses lossless LZW over a palette of at most 256 colours; PNG uses lossless DEFLATE with a prediction filter chosen per row, and the download is a lossless 8-bit PNG with full alpha.

Bit depth: 8 bits per pixel, as indexes into a palette in the GIF; PNG allows 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 bits per channel, and the PNG written here has 8 bits per channel.

Colour: an indexed palette of up to 256 colours per frame in the GIF; PNG supports RGB, greyscale, or an indexed palette of up to 256 colours, written here as 8-bit sRGB.

Transparency: the GIF stores it as one palette entry marked transparent, so each pixel is either fully shown or fully hidden; the PNG keeps it as a full alpha channel, so edges and shadows can fade smoothly.

Animation: image blocks with their own delay and disposal method, looped by the NETSCAPE2.0 extension; the PNG holds one image, so only the first frame is converted.

Metadata: the GIF can carry comment and application extension blocks, but no EXIF; PNG can carry text chunks, an ICC profile, physical resolution and EXIF in an eXIf chunk, but nothing is copied across.

GIF is the classic animated image format. It is limited to 256 colours per frame and 1-bit transparency, so photos look grainy and files are large, but it plays everywhere.

A GIF starts with 'GIF89a' (or the older 87a), a logical screen descriptor and an optional global colour table, then image blocks, each preceded by a graphic control extension that sets its delay and transparent colour.

GIF files usually come from reaction clips, memes, old websites and screen recordings.

PNG stores pixels losslessly with full alpha transparency. It is ideal for screenshots, logos, UI and anything with sharp edges, but photos saved as PNG are several times larger than JPEG.

A PNG opens with an 8-byte signature and is a chain of chunks, each with its own CRC: IHDR (size, depth, colour type), optional PLTE and tRNS for palettes, one or more IDAT chunks with the compressed rows, and IEND.

PNG is the better choice for screenshots, logos, graphics and anything that needs transparency, while GIF suits short animations and reactions that must play everywhere.

PNG strengths: Lossless: no quality loss, ever; Full transparency with smooth edges; Perfect for text, screenshots and graphics. Drawbacks to weigh: Large files for photographs; No standard animation (that is APNG).