GIF to WebP converter
Convert GIF images to WebP in your browser — a much smaller file, with a slider for how much detail to trade. Free, no sign-up, nothing uploaded.
Part of image tools and design tools.
What happens to quality
GIF stores every pixel exactly; WebP is lossy — it discards the detail the eye is least likely to miss, which is where the size saving comes from. On photographs the result is typically several times smaller and looks the same at around 80% quality. On screenshots, text and flat graphics the loss shows first, as haloes around sharp edges, so compare before you replace the original. A GIF holds at most 256 colours, and fakes the rest with dithering — a fine pattern of dots that lossy compression handles badly, so a dithered graphic can come out blotchy in WebP. The colours the GIF already dropped do not come back either; if you have the original the GIF was made from, convert that instead. WebP is typically 25-35% smaller than a JPEG of the same visual quality and every current browser displays it, which makes it the sensible target for images going on a website.
What happens to transparency
GIF and WebP both have an alpha channel, so transparent and semi-transparent pixels come through as they are — a logo on a transparent background stays on a transparent background. GIF transparency is all-or-nothing per pixel, and it stays that way: the converter does not invent soft edges the original did not have.
Animated GIF files
An animated GIF is converted as a single still. The conversion goes through a canvas, which holds one picture, so the WebP you download is the first frame only. For a still image that is exactly what you want; for an animation, this is the wrong tool.
If your browser cannot write WebP
Every current browser displays WebP, but not every one can write it — older Safari versions in particular. When the browser silently hands back something else, the converter notices and says so, rather than giving you a file named .webp that is really a PNG. PNG and JPG work everywhere.
Your GIF never leaves this page
Most online GIF to WebP converters upload the file to a server and send the result back. This one decodes and re-encodes it with the image APIs built into your browser, so the WebP you download was produced on your own machine — you can check by opening the network tab, or by going offline and converting anyway.
Other conversions
Or open the full image converter and pick any output format.