Resize GIF Images
A GIF is too big for an avatar slot, an email signature or a form that limits picture size, and you just want it at a different pixel size without changing what kind of file it is. This tool does that on your own device. Read the one big catch first: it keeps only the first frame, so an animated GIF will not stay animated.
How to resize GIF images
- Add your GIF files by dropping them, clicking the drop zone or pasting.
- Choose the new size: a percentage, a maximum width and height, or an exact size. The quick sizes fill in common values.
- Press Resize and compare the old and new size of each file. The file type stays the same.
- Download each file or all of them as a ZIP.
When to resize, and when not to
- A still GIF, such as a logo, badge or diagram, is larger than the space it has to fit.
- You need a quick thumbnail version of many GIF files at the same size.
- A site asks for a GIF specifically and the picture you have is too big for its limit.
- Do not use this for an animated GIF you want to keep moving: the result is a single frame and the motion is gone.
What changes
- Only the first frame is used. Every later frame of an animation is dropped, and this is the most important thing to know before you start.
- The new file is still a GIF. There is no choice of output type in this tool.
- The picture is saved with up to 255 colours plus one transparent colour, so smooth gradients can show visible bands after resizing.
- Pixels that are mostly see-through become fully transparent and the rest stay solid, so soft transparent edges turn hard.
- GIF has no quality slider. To reach a file size you choose, the tool can only make the picture smaller in pixels.
What happens to the animation
A GIF can hold many frames, but this resizer reads the picture the way a browser draws a still image, which is the first frame only. The output has one frame, so it will not play. If the animation matters, keep the original file and treat the resized one as a poster image or thumbnail.
For a GIF that was only ever a single picture, nothing is lost by this. Many logos and simple graphics saved as GIF are exactly that, and for those the resizer behaves like any other still-image tool.
Colours, banding and soft edges after resizing
GIF is limited to a small palette. When the tool resizes, it first scales the picture smoothly, which creates many in-between colours along every edge, and then it has to pick a new palette of at most 255 colours for the result. Flat graphics survive this well. Photographs and smooth gradients are where banding can appear, because there are simply not enough colours to show every shade.
Transparency works on a yes-or-no basis in GIF. After scaling, a pixel that is more see-through than solid is made fully transparent, and the others are made fully opaque. A logo with a soft shadow can end up with a hard, slightly jagged outline. If that bothers you, resize it from the largest source you have so the edge has as many pixels as possible.
The tool also scales smoothly rather than copying the nearest pixel. Tiny pixel art can therefore look softer after a resize than you might expect. Treat that as a trade-off of this tool.
Getting a GIF down to a size you choose
Because GIF has no quality dial, the file-size option works only by reducing the width and height until the file fits. The note under each result states the pixel size it settled on, or says that the target could not be reached and shows the smallest result it found.
Privacy: your files stay on your device
- The tool decodes, resizes and encodes your pictures with your browser. The files are never sent to a server.
Frequently asked questions
Will my animated GIF still move after resizing?
No. Only the first frame is kept, so the resized file is a single still picture. Keep your original for the animation.
Does the file stay a GIF?
Yes. The resizer never changes the file type, so a GIF goes in and a GIF comes out. Use the Image Converter if you want a different type.
Why do my gradients look banded now?
GIF can only show a limited set of colours. After scaling, the tool picks a fresh palette of up to 255 colours, and smooth transitions can show steps. Flat artwork is much less affected.
What happens to a transparent background?
It stays transparent, but only in a yes-or-no way. Mostly see-through pixels become fully clear and the others fully solid, so soft edges become hard.
Can I choose a target file size for a GIF?
Yes, but GIF has no quality setting, so the only lever is the pixel size. The tool shrinks the picture until the file fits and tells you the size it ended at.