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AVIF

GIF to AVIF Converter — Free, Online, No Upload

Replace a bulky GIF with a tiny AVIF — modern browsers deliver the same image at a fraction of the bandwidth.

Free · no signup2 free files a day100% in-browser · no upload

Tap to select GIF files

or click to browse

2 free files per day (2 left today) · Up to 10 MB each · Upgrade for more

Free image outputs include a repeating formatdrop.com watermark · Remove with Pro

✓ Files never uploaded✓ 100% browser-based✓ No account required
Need the reverse?AVIF → GIF

How to convert GIF to AVIF online

  1. 1

    Drop your GIF file

    Drag your Graphics Interchange Format file onto the box above, or click it to pick a file.

  2. 2

    Wait a few seconds

    Conversion starts on its own and runs on your device, not on a server.

  3. 3

    Download your AVIF

    Click Download to save the AV1 Image File Format file.

GIF vs AVIF: format overview

GIF

Graphics Interchange Format

CompuServe (Steve Wilhite) · 1987

Compression
lossless
Color depth
8-bit
Transparency
Yes
  • ✓ Universal animation support in browsers
  • ✓ Supported everywhere including email clients
  • ✗ Only 256 colors (8-bit palette)
AVIF

AV1 Image File Format

Alliance for Open Media · 2019

Compression
lossy
Color depth
12-bit
Transparency
Yes
  • ✓ Smallest file size of any image format (50% smaller than WebP)
  • ✓ Excellent HDR and wide-gamut color support

GIF magic bytes: 47 49 46 38 39 61

AVIF magic bytes: 00 00 00 .. 66 74 79 70 61 76 69 66

Why convert GIF to AVIF?

GIF is one of the oldest image formats still in active use, and it shows. The 256-color limit produces visible banding on anything with gradients. The file sizes for animated GIFs are notoriously large — a 3-second looping animation can easily exceed 5 MB. Browsers support GIF for backward compatibility, but it's not a format that was designed for the web as it exists today.

AVIF supports full color, HDR, and animation (AVIF sequences), and achieves file sizes 50–80% smaller than equivalent GIF animations. For still images, converting a GIF to AVIF almost always produces a smaller file with noticeably better color fidelity. For animated content, the size reduction is even more dramatic. Platforms that serve image-heavy content — news sites, e-commerce, social media — have largely moved to AVIF or WebP for exactly this reason.

One compatibility note: AVIF animation is supported in Chrome and Firefox but not yet everywhere. If you're serving to a broad audience including Safari on older iOS or some mobile browsers, check your target browser support before replacing animated GIFs with AVIF sequences. For still images converted from GIF, AVIF support is near-universal in modern browsers. The color accuracy improvement alone — going from 256 colors to full 24-bit color — often makes a visible difference even on simple graphics.

Quality & file size: GIF to AVIF

Typical sizes: GIF 5–50 MB (animated clip (3s)); AVIF 0.8–2 MB (12MP photo).

On the free tier, AVIF output has a repeating formatdrop.com watermark; Pro output doesn't.

AVIF output is encoded at quality 85 — a small file with no visible difference for most photos.

Frequently asked questions

Does GIF to AVIF work for animated GIFs?
This converter handles static images. An animated GIF will be converted using only its first frame. For animated content, use a video converter to export to AVIF sequence or WebM.
How much smaller will the AVIF be compared to the GIF?
For photographic content, AVIF is typically 50–70% smaller than GIF at similar quality. For flat-colour graphics, GIF's palette compression may be competitive, but AVIF will still usually win on file size.

Your GIF file never leaves this tab — FormatDrop has no endpoint that receives file data. How it works