What happens when you convert GIF to TIFF
- The image is decoded and written as an uncompressed RGBA TIFF.
- TIFF cannot animate, so only the first frame of an animated GIF is kept.
How to convert GIF to TIFF online
- Press "Choose GIF files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. You can add files of any size your device can hold in memory.
- Adjust the settings if you need to. The output is lossless, so there is no quality setting to worry about.
- Press "Convert to TIFF". Images convert in a second or two each.
- Save each TIFF with its download button. Close the tab and every trace of the files is gone from memory.
Why convert GIF to TIFF?
GIF files usually come from short looping animations, reactions and simple graphics. People convert them to TIFF because TIFF is the format printers, scanners and archives trust for lossless images.
In short, GIF is good at what it was made for, and TIFF is the more practical choice when the file has to open, upload or print somewhere else. GIF opens and animates in every browser, while Safari shows TIFF; Chrome, Edge and Firefox download it instead of displaying it.
How to convert GIF to TIFF 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 TIFF is saved to your Downloads folder. Paint can also re-save an image as TIFF with Save as, provided Windows can open the GIF in the first place.
On a Mac
Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the GIF files from Finder onto the drop zone and the TIFF files land in Downloads. Preview can do single images too: open the file, choose File, then Export, and pick TIFF.
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 TIFF 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 TIFF is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.
Best settings for GIF to TIFF
The TIFF is written uncompressed with an alpha channel, four bytes per pixel, which every TIFF reader can open. A 12 megapixel image is about 48 MB. That is normal for print and archive work, where no loss is the point.
GIF vs TIFF: the differences
| GIF | TIFF | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Graphics Interchange Format | Tagged Image File Format |
| Type | image | image |
| Created by | CompuServe | Aldus Corporation |
| First released | 1987 | 1986 |
| Compression | Lossless | Lossy or lossless |
| Transparency | Yes | Yes |
| Animation | Yes | No |
| Vector or raster | Raster | Raster |
| Colour | 256 colours per frame from a palette | up to 32 bits per channel, including CMYK |
| In a browser | opens and animates in every browser | Safari shows it; Chrome, Edge and Firefox download it instead of displaying it |
| Common uses | short looping animations, reactions and simple graphics | print production, scanning, archiving and medical imaging |
| MIME type | image/gif | image/tiff |
About GIF and TIFF 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 a TIFF file?
TIFF is the format printers and archives trust because it can store uncompressed or losslessly compressed pixels, CMYK colour and several pages in one file. It is also why a single scan can run to 100 MB.
GIF to TIFF not working? Common problems
- Colours look slightly different. Browsers convert images to the standard sRGB colour space when they decode them, so wide-gamut and CMYK images can shift a little.
- A phone photo comes out upright even though it looked sideways elsewhere. That is correct: the rotation stored in the photo is applied during conversion, so the TIFF is always the right way up.
- The file is bigger than expected. It depends on the settings. At the defaults, the TIFF usually comes out close in size to the GIF; lower the quality for a smaller file.
Convert GIF to TIFF from the command line
If you work in a terminal, ImageMagick converts GIF to TIFF in one line:
magick input.gif output.tiffTo convert every GIF in a folder at once, use magick mogrify -format tiff *.gif. The converter on this page does the same job without installing anything.
GIF to TIFF converter FAQ
Will I lose quality converting GIF to TIFF?
No. TIFF is written losslessly, so the result matches the GIF exactly.
Why is the TIFF a different size from the GIF?
It depends on the settings. At the defaults, the TIFF usually comes out close in size to the GIF; lower the quality for a smaller file.
Are my GIF files uploaded anywhere?
No. The conversion runs inside this browser tab using your browser's own image decoder, so your files stay on your device. You can disconnect from the internet after the page has loaded and it still works.
Can I convert several GIF files to TIFF 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 a TIFF file?
Safari shows TIFF; Chrome, Edge and Firefox download it instead of displaying it. TIFF is common for print production, scanning, archiving and medical imaging.
Is this GIF to TIFF converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit on how many files you convert. The site is paid for by advertising, and because conversions run on your device there is no server cost per file.
Can I convert GIF to TIFF on my phone?
Yes. The converter works in Safari on iPhone and iPad and in Chrome on Android. Converted files are saved to the Downloads folder.