Convert GIF to PNG — Free Online Converter

GIF to PNG conversion extracts a static image from the GIF format and repackages it with PNG's superior color depth, transparency handling, and compression efficiency. GIF is limited to a 256-color palette with binary (on/off) transparency, while PNG supports 16.7 million colors with smooth 8-bit alpha transparency. For any static image use case, PNG is objectively the better format — producing smaller files, sharper edges, and richer color reproduction.

Our converter uses the Sharp image processing library to decode the GIF, extract the first frame (for animated GIFs) or the full image (for static GIFs), and encode it as an optimally compressed PNG. The conversion is lossless with respect to the GIF's content — every pixel value in the source GIF is preserved exactly in the PNG output. The improvement comes from PNG's ability to represent colors and transparency with higher fidelity than GIF's constrained palette.

Animated GIFs present a special case. Since PNG is a static format, only the first frame of an animated GIF is extracted during conversion. If you need to preserve animation, consider converting to WebP (which supports animation) or to MP4 video. For extracting a specific frame from an animated GIF, our converter pulls the initial frame — the most commonly needed snapshot.

GIF's 256-color limitation creates visible banding in photographs, gradients, and complex artwork. Switching to PNG removes this constraint entirely, allowing your image to display its full color range without dithering artifacts. Icons, diagrams, and UI elements that were compromised by GIF's palette restriction benefit immediately from conversion.

PNG's alpha transparency is dramatically superior to GIF's binary transparency. GIF pixels are either fully opaque or fully transparent — there is no partial transparency, which creates jagged, aliased edges around non-rectangular shapes. PNG's 8-bit alpha channel supports 256 levels of transparency per pixel, enabling smooth anti-aliased edges that blend naturally over any background. This makes PNG essential for web icons, logos, and UI overlays.