FormatDrop
Image Format

APNG

Animated Portable Network Graphics

APNG extends the PNG format with animation support — think of it as animated GIF but with PNG quality. APNG supports 24-bit colour (vs GIF's 256-colour palette), transparency without the rough edges GIF creates, and significantly better image quality for animated graphics. All major browsers support APNG, and it's the format used for animated emoji on some platforms.

What is APNG?

APNG (Animated Portable Network Graphics) was created by Stuart Parmenter and Vladimir Vukićević at Mozilla in 2004 as an extension to the PNG format. The specification adds three new chunks to the PNG file format: acTL (Animation Control Chunk) — number of frames and loops. fcTL (Frame Control Chunk) — per-frame delay, position, and disposal method. fdAT (Frame Data Chunk) — compressed image data for each frame. APNG is designed to be backward-compatible with PNG: a software that doesn't understand APNG will display the first frame of the animation as a static PNG (unlike GIF, where non-animated GIF displays fine but animated GIF in an unsupported viewer shows a broken image). APNG uses the same DEFLATE compression as PNG for each frame. This means APNG files are significantly larger than GIF for the same animation length, but with much higher quality. APNG supports: full 24-bit RGB colour (16.7 million colours vs GIF's 256), true transparency with full alpha channel (vs GIF's binary transparency), lossless compression per frame, and arbitrary frame timing. Browser support: Chrome (since 2017), Firefox (since 2007), Safari (since 2014), Edge (since 2017). Internet Explorer never supported APNG. Android (since Android 9). iOS (since iOS 8 via Safari). Server-side: most image processing libraries support APNG.

APNG pros and cons

Advantages

  • Full 24-bit colour (no 256-colour palette limit like GIF)
  • True alpha transparency with smooth edges
  • Lossless compression per frame
  • Backward-compatible with PNG viewers (shows first frame)
  • Universal browser support (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
  • Better quality than GIF at similar file sizes for colourful animations

Limitations

  • Larger file sizes than GIF for simple animations
  • No hardware acceleration for decoding (unlike video formats)
  • Not supported in Internet Explorer
  • Less universal than GIF in non-browser contexts
  • Large APNG files can cause performance issues (no hardware video decode)
  • Lossy WebP animation often achieves better compression for complex animations

When should you convert APNG files?

Use APNG for animated graphics on websites where you need better-than-GIF quality: animated icons, stickers, simple animated illustrations, and any animated content with transparency. Convert from GIF to APNG for better quality at similar file size. For animated photos or video-like content: use video (MP4 or WebM) or animated WebP instead — they achieve much better compression. Convert from APNG to WebP animation if you need the smallest possible file size for animated content with lossy quality acceptable.

Convert APNG files

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APNG FAQ

Is APNG better than GIF?
For quality: yes, significantly. APNG supports 16.7 million colours vs GIF's 256; full alpha transparency vs GIF's binary transparency; and lossless compression. For an animated logo, emoji, or simple graphic: APNG looks noticeably better than GIF. For file size: APNG is often larger than GIF for simple animations (GIF's palette compression works well for simple content). For complex, colourful animations: APNG is smaller than GIF at equivalent quality.
Can I use APNG in email?
APNG works in Apple Mail and some modern email clients. Outlook and many other email clients don't support APNG — they display the first frame as a static image (the backward compatibility feature). For animated email content with broad compatibility: stick with GIF despite its limitations. For Apple Mail specifically: APNG is excellent.
How do I create an APNG?
Tools: APNG Assembler (free, command line and GUI) takes individual PNG frames and creates APNG. Photoshop: doesn't export APNG natively — use the APNG Photoshop plugin or export individual frames and assemble with APNG Assembler. ezgif.com (online): can convert GIF to APNG. FFmpeg: ffmpeg -framerate 24 -i frame%d.png -plays 0 output.apng. The '-plays 0' means loop forever.

More formats

HEICWebPAVIFEPUBWebMOpusMP3WAVM4AFLACAACMP4AVIMKVMOVJPGPNGGIFSVGTIFFICOBMPEPSARWOGGWMVPPTXPagesPDFDOCXRAWHEVCH.264AIFFM4VWMA3GPDNGRTFPSDOGVTSFLVAIXLSXCSVZIPMIDIJPEG XLMPG/MPEGVOBM2TSAC3ALACDTSJP2HEIFAPECBZ3G2SRTDOCPPTXLSODTODSM3URAR7ZM4BAMRTXTMOBITARGZJSONXMLYAMLKEYMTSCR2NEFMXFTGACAFASSVTTDSFRMF4VWVASFRMVBORFRW2EAC-3TTAISODMGXZDjVuFB2AUM4RAZW3MKAEXRVCFICSAAXPRCMP2SPXXSPFM3U8