What does GIF Compressor do?
Compress animated GIFs in your browser by reducing colours, frame rate and width, with a dithering choice. Preview and compare before and after sizes.
- Price
- Free
- Account
- Not required
- Processing
- Entirely in your browser; your data and files are not uploaded
- Works on
- Any modern browser on desktop, tablet or phone
- Category
- Video and Audio Tools
How to use the gif compressor
- Drop a GIF (up to 50 MB). The tool reads its size, frame count and loop setting.
- Choose the maximum number of colours, and optionally a lower frame rate or smaller width.
- Pick a dithering method. Bayer or none usually gives the smallest files.
- Click Compress GIF, compare the sizes and previews, and download the smaller file.
How it works
FFmpeg decodes every frame, optionally applies fps and scale=W:-1:flags=lanczos, then rebuilds the palette with palettegen=max_colors=N:stats_mode=diff and remaps the frames with paletteuse using your dithering choice and diff_mode=rectangle, so unchanged areas are not redrawn. The original loop count is read from the GIF's NETSCAPE2.0 block and written back.
Assumptions
- Frame timing is kept unless you choose a lower frame rate.
- Fewer colours and no dithering can show banding on gradients.
Frequently asked questions
Are my files uploaded?
No. The file is processed by FFmpeg compiled to WebAssembly, running inside your browser. Only the engine itself is downloaded (once, from cdn.jsdelivr.net); your video, audio or images never leave your device.
Why did my GIF not get smaller?
GIFs already produced by an optimiser, or photographic GIFs full of noise, may not shrink much from colour reduction alone. Lowering the width or frame rate removes far more data. If the result is larger, keep the original.
Which settings save the most?
Width and frame rate have the biggest effect because they reduce how many pixels are stored. Then fewer colours and Bayer or no dithering.
Why does the first run take longer?
The first time you use any of the video and audio tools, your browser downloads the FFmpeg engine, about 31 MB. It is stored in your browser, so later runs on this device start without downloading it again unless you clear site data.
Limitations
- GIFs up to 50 MB are accepted.
- Transparency is kept only as on/off per pixel, as in any GIF.
- FFmpeg runs as single-threaded WebAssembly in the browser, which is much slower than desktop FFmpeg. Processing time depends on the file length, resolution and your device; long HD videos can take many minutes.