Images conversion
Convert GIF to PNG
Updated Jul 2026
GIF is the format behind animated memes and simple looping images, while PNG is a static image format built for crisp screenshots, logos, and UI graphics. To convert GIF to PNG, open the file in a converter and export a single frame as PNG. Doing it on your own computer means the image never has to leave your machine.
- Extension
- .gif
- Type
- Images
- Typically
- Animations, memes
- Transparency
- Supported
- Extension
- .png
- Type
- Images
- Typically
- Screenshots, logos, UI assets
- Transparency
- Supported
Convert GIF to PNG on your own computer. Nothing uploads.
How to convert GIF to PNG
- Open Morphjet and drag in the GIF you want to convert, or drop in a whole folder of them at once.
- Choose PNG as the output format.
- Convert. Morphjet exports a still PNG (the first frame if the GIF is animated), written next to your originals, and nothing leaves your machine.
GIF vs PNG: what actually changes
| GIF | PNG | |
|---|---|---|
| Animation | Yes, plays multiple frames in a loop | No, a single still frame |
| Color depth | Limited to 256 colors | Full color, millions of shades |
| Quality | Lossless within its 256-color palette | Lossless, and can hold every color the source had |
| Transparency | Yes, but only fully on or off | Yes, with smooth, partial transparency |
| File size | Small for simple graphics, but frame count and the color limit bloat animations | Larger for photo-like images, small for logos and screenshots |
| Compatibility | Opens everywhere | Opens everywhere |
When to convert, and when not to
Convert GIF to PNG when you want to keep just one frame of an animation as a still image, or when you're using a graphic as a logo, icon, or UI asset and need crisper color and smoother transparency than GIF's 256-color palette allows.
Keep the GIF if you need the animation itself, since a standard PNG only holds a single still frame and converting will drop every frame but the one you export.
Why not just use an online converter?
GIFs are often screenshots, memes, or clips saved from conversations, so they can carry more of your private life than you'd expect. An online converter means uploading that file to a server you don't control before you get anything back. Converting on your own computer keeps the image on your machine the whole time, no upload, no account, no copy left behind somewhere else.
Questions
Does converting GIF to PNG lose quality?
No extra quality is lost in the conversion itself. But GIF already limits color to a 256-shade palette, so any color detail dropped when the file became a GIF can't be restored by turning it into a PNG.
What happens to the animation when I convert to PNG?
A standard PNG holds one frame, not a sequence, so converting an animated GIF to PNG keeps a single still image and drops the rest of the frames.
Will the PNG be smaller or bigger than the GIF?
It depends on the image. For simple graphics like logos or screenshots, PNG is often about the same size or smaller. For a single frame pulled from a busy animated GIF, PNG can be larger since it's no longer limited to 256 colors.
Does PNG keep the transparency from my GIF?
Yes. GIF transparency is all-or-nothing per pixel, and PNG carries that over, plus it supports smoother, partial transparency if the source ever had it.
Can I convert GIF to PNG without uploading it anywhere?
Yes. A desktop app like Morphjet converts the file on your own computer, so it never has to travel over the internet to get turned into a PNG.
Morphjet converts GIF, PNG, and 1,800+ other formats, all on your machine. Launching this July.