What happens when you convert GIF to AVIF
- ImageMagick, the open-source image toolkit, reads the GIF on our conversion server and saves it as an AVIF at quality 70.
- AVIF is written here without transparency, so transparent areas are filled with white.
- AVIF often comes out at half the size of a JPG of the same quality or less. Current browsers show it, but many desktop programs, older phones and upload forms cannot open it yet.
- Only the first frame of an animated GIF is converted.
- This conversion runs on our server: the file is uploaded, converted, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result has been sent back to you. Nothing is kept. Files up to 25 MB are accepted.
How to convert GIF to AVIF online
- Press "Choose GIF files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. Files up to 25 MB each can be converted.
- There are no settings to choose: the converter keeps everything the target format can hold.
- Press "Convert to AVIF". The file is uploaded to our conversion server, converted in a few seconds, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result is sent back.
- Save each AVIF with its download button. Our server has already deleted both your GIF and the AVIF by then.
Why convert GIF to AVIF?
GIF files usually come from short looping animations, reactions and simple graphics. People convert them to AVIF because AVIF makes images far smaller than JPG at the same quality, which speeds up websites.
In short, GIF is good at what it was made for, and AVIF is the more practical choice when the file has to open, upload or print somewhere else. GIF opens and animates in every browser, while AVIF opens in current Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge.
How to convert GIF to AVIF on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android
On Windows
Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your GIF files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each AVIF is saved to your Downloads folder.
On a Mac
Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the GIF files from Finder onto the drop zone and the AVIF files land in Downloads.
On iPhone and iPad
Open the page in Safari and tap Choose GIF files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted AVIF appears in Files, in the Downloads folder; to put it in your photo library, open it there, tap Share and choose Save Image.
On Android
Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose GIF files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The AVIF is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.
Best settings for GIF to AVIF
There are no settings: the image keeps its full size and is saved at quality 70.
Keep the GIF as your original, and convert from it again if you need another format.
GIF vs AVIF: the differences
| GIF | AVIF | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Graphics Interchange Format | AV1 Image File Format |
| Type | image | image |
| Created by | CompuServe | the Alliance for Open Media |
| First released | 1987 | 2019 |
| Compression | Lossless | Lossy or lossless |
| Transparency | Yes | Yes |
| Animation | Yes | Yes |
| Vector or raster | Raster | Raster |
| Colour | 256 colours per frame from a palette | up to 12 bits per channel, including HDR |
| In a browser | opens and animates in every browser | opens in current Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge |
| Common uses | short looping animations, reactions and simple graphics | images served by modern websites and CDNs |
| MIME type | image/gif | image/avif |
About GIF and AVIF files
What is a GIF file?
GIF stores each frame with a palette of at most 256 colours, so photos turn grainy and animations get large fast. Transparency is on or off per pixel, with no soft edges.
What is an AVIF file?
AVIF uses the AV1 video codec to compress still images and often beats WebP by another 20 percent. Encoding it is slow and many desktop programs cannot open it yet.
GIF to AVIF not working? Common problems
- "Files up to 25 MB can be converted." Server conversions have a size limit. Save the image at a smaller size first.
- "The conversion took too long and was stopped." Very long or complex files can pass the 90 second limit. Split the file and convert the parts.
- "This file is not really in GIF format." The converter checks every file before it runs anything, so a file of another format renamed to .gif is refused. Choose the page for its real format.
Convert GIF to AVIF from the command line
ImageMagick does the same on your own computer:
magick input.gif[0] -background white -flatten -quality 70 output.avifConverting on your own computer keeps the file entirely local, which is worth it for very large or very sensitive documents. For everything else, the converter on this page does it without installing anything.
GIF to AVIF converter FAQ
Will I lose quality converting GIF to AVIF?
A little, because AVIF is lossy. At this quality the difference is hard to see, and the file is much smaller.
Why is the AVIF a different size from the GIF?
Usually far smaller than the GIF, because lossy compression discards detail the eye hardly notices.
Are my GIF files uploaded?
Yes, for this conversion. A faithful GIF to AVIF conversion needs ImageMagick, the open-source image toolkit, which cannot run in a browser. The file travels over an encrypted connection, is converted in a private temporary folder, and is deleted together with the AVIF as soon as the result has been sent back to you. We do not keep, read or share it.
Can I convert several GIF files to AVIF at once?
Yes. Select or drop as many files as you like; they are converted one after another and each gets its own download button.
How do I open an AVIF file?
AVIF opens in current Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge. AVIF is common for images served by modern websites and CDNs.
Is this GIF to AVIF converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up and no watermark. Because this conversion uses our server, there is a fair-use limit of 25 MB per file and a number of files per hour, which stops the service being overloaded.
Can I convert GIF to AVIF on my phone?
Yes. It works in Safari on iPhone and iPad and in Chrome on Android. The conversion happens on our server, so it is as fast on a phone as on a computer; the AVIF is saved to your Downloads folder.