GIF to APNG Converter

Encoding: the GIF uses lossless LZW over a palette of at most 256 colours; APNG uses lossless DEFLATE per frame, like PNG, and the download is an animated PNG with every frame in full colour.

Bit depth: 8 bits per pixel, as indexes into a palette in the GIF; APNG allows 8 bits per channel, and the APNG written here has 8 bits per channel.

Colour: an indexed palette of up to 256 colours per frame in the GIF; APNG supports RGB or an indexed palette, 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 APNG keeps it as full alpha on every frame.

Animation: image blocks with their own delay and disposal method, looped by the NETSCAPE2.0 extension; the APNG keeps every frame and its timing, as fcTL frame-control chunks with fdAT frame data after the first image.

Metadata: the GIF can carry comment and application extension blocks, but no EXIF; APNG can carry the same text and ICC chunks as PNG, 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.

APNG extends PNG with animation frames. Unlike GIF it keeps full 24-bit colour and smooth 8-bit transparency, at the cost of larger files.

An APNG is a valid PNG with an acTL chunk announcing the frame count and loop count; each later frame is an fcTL chunk (size, offset, delay, blend and dispose rules) followed by fdAT data. Software that does not know APNG simply shows the first frame.

APNG is the better choice for high quality animated stickers and UI animations, while GIF suits short animations and reactions that must play everywhere.

APNG strengths: Full colour animation (no 256-colour limit); Smooth alpha transparency; Falls back to a still PNG in old software. Drawbacks to weigh: Large files; Few editors can create it.