What is a GIF file?
GIF dates to 1987 and survives almost entirely because of animation. It is limited to a 256-colour palette per frame, which makes it a poor fit for photographic content, and animated GIFs are usually several times larger than the equivalent MP4 or WebM video.
At a glance
- Full name
- Graphics Interchange Format
- Extensions
- .gif
- Type
- Image
- Introduced
- 1987
- Created by
- CompuServe
- Compression
- Lossless
- MIME type
- image/gif
Strengths
- Animation support that plays essentially everywhere
- Simple single-color transparency
- Universally recognised
Limitations
- Maximum 256 colours per frame, causing visible banding
- Animated GIFs are far larger than an equivalent short video
- No partial transparency
When to use GIF
A short looping animation must autoplay in a context that will not allow video.
Anywhere video is allowed, or for still photographs. Use MP4/WebM or PNG/WebP.
Convert GIF files
Every tool below runs in your browser unless it is labelled otherwise, so the file stays on your device.
GIF to MP4
Converts an animated GIF into a compact, widely playable MP4 video file, cutting the overall file size down quite significantly.
Video to GIF
Converts a short video clip into a looping animated GIF, ready to share on social media or embed directly inside any web page.
GIF conversions
Each page states what the target format cannot carry before you run it.
GIF compared
Related image formats
Last updated 2026-08-03