JPG to GIF
Turn a photo into a GIF frame — never uploaded.
How it works
Three steps, and nothing leaves your device.
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1
Drop the JPG in
It is decoded in the page; nothing is sent anywhere.
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2
Colours are reduced to 256
A palette is fitted to the picture.
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3
Download the GIF
A single still frame.
A photograph is the hardest thing to put in a GIF
- Expect visible banding, and expect it most in the sky. A photograph contains many thousands of distinct colours and GIF allows 256. Large smooth areas — skies, skin, out-of-focus backgrounds — are where the steps show first, because that is where the eye is best at spotting them.
- The file often gets bigger, not smaller. GIF compression was designed for flat graphics with runs of identical pixels. A photograph has almost none, so the GIF can end up larger than the JPG it came from while looking worse.
- You get one frame. A single JPG makes a single still GIF. Animation needs a sequence.
- Consider what you actually need. If it is for a chat tool or a forum that only takes GIF, this is the tool. If you wanted a small image for a web page, JPG to WebP will be smaller and better.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my photo look banded?
GIF allows 256 colours. Photographs have many thousands, and the smooth areas step visibly.
Why is the GIF bigger than the JPG?
GIF compression suits flat graphics, not photographs. On a photo it often loses to JPG.
Can I get an animation?
Not from a single image.
Is my image uploaded?
No. It is converted in your browser.