Does this convert animated GIFs?

No. Only the first frame is converted. Animated WebP encoding is a different problem to still image encoding and is not supported here.

Why is my GIF so much larger than the WebP?

GIF uses LZW compression, designed in the 1980s, and stores an explicit colour palette. WebP uses a modern predictive codec. Ten-to-one size reductions on still GIFs are routine.

Will converting GIF to WebP fix the banding?

It stops it getting worse, but it cannot undo it. The 256-colour reduction already happened when the GIF was made and that information is gone. WebP simply will not add any further banding of its own.

Convert GIF to WebP

GIF caps every frame at 256 colours and compresses with an algorithm from 1987, which is why GIFs are so often enormous and so often look banded. WebP has no colour limit and a modern codec, so the same image usually comes out both smaller and better looking. GIF's one-bit transparency also becomes a proper soft alpha channel.

Best for: Rescuing still GIFs from banding and bloat, and getting real transparency instead of jagged cutouts.

What to know

Animation is not preserved — only the first frame is converted. This tool handles still images.
GIF's transparency is a single on/off bit, so edges that were already hard-cut will stay hard-cut. Converting cannot invent the smooth alpha that was never there.
Because GIF is limited to 256 colours, lossless WebP often works very well here and stays pixel-exact.

About GIF

A 1987 format kept alive by animation, capped at 256 colours per frame.

256 colours means visible banding and dithering on anything photographic.
Its LZW compression is spectacularly inefficient by modern standards.
Transparency is a single on/off bit, producing hard jagged edges.
Animated GIFs are routinely ten times the size of the equivalent video or animated WebP.

Support:: Every browser ever shipped.
Transparency:: One bit — a pixel is either fully opaque or fully transparent.

About WebP

Google's 2010 format, now the pragmatic default for the web: meaningfully smaller than JPEG and PNG, and supported everywhere that matters.

Does both lossy and lossless, so it replaces JPEG and PNG with one format.
Transparency in lossy mode — something JPEG cannot do and PNG pays dearly for.
Encodes fast enough to convert hundreds of images without waiting around.
Universal browser support since Safari 14 in 2020.

Support:: All current browsers, including Safari 14+ and Edge. Roughly 97% of users.
Transparency:: Full alpha, in both lossy and lossless modes.

Frequently asked questions

Does this convert animated GIFs?: No. Only the first frame is converted. Animated WebP encoding is a different problem to still image encoding and is not supported here.
Why is my GIF so much larger than the WebP?: GIF uses LZW compression, designed in the 1980s, and stores an explicit colour palette. WebP uses a modern predictive codec. Ten-to-one size reductions on still GIFs are routine.
Will converting GIF to WebP fix the banding?: It stops it getting worse, but it cannot undo it. The 256-colour reduction already happened when the GIF was made and that information is gone. WebP simply will not add any further banding of its own.

Related conversions

Converting from something else? Convert any image to WebP