How to Convert GIF to Animated WebP (Smaller Files)
Turn GIFs into animated WebP — usually 30–70% smaller, with full colour — to speed up websites. Transparency, timing and looping are kept. Free, no upload.
3 min read ·
To convert a GIF to animated WebP, open GIF to WebP, add the GIF, set the Quality (75–85 looks the same as the GIF for most animations) or tick Lossless (exact pixels), and press Convert to WebP. Compare the Original GIF and WebP sizes, then press Download WebP. Transparency, frame timing and looping are kept.
Convert step by step
- Open GIF to WebP.
- Add the GIF.
- Set the Quality — higher looks better, lower makes smaller files — or tick Lossless (exact pixels) for pixel art and screenshots.
- Press Convert to WebP. The first conversion downloads the converter engine (about 30 MB) once.
- Compare the sizes and download the WebP.
Why WebP?
| GIF | Animated WebP | |
|---|---|---|
| Colours | 256 per frame | Millions |
| Transparency | On/off per pixel | Smooth (alpha) |
| Typical size | 100% | 30–70% of the GIF |
| Support | Everywhere | All modern browsers |
WebP is supported by Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari and their mobile versions — every modern browser. Replacing large GIFs with WebP is one of the easiest ways to make a page load faster and improve its Core Web Vitals.
How much smaller?
Results depend on the content: flat graphics and screen recordings often shrink by 50–70%, video-like GIFs by 30–50%. Lossless WebP is usually smaller than the GIF too, but by less. The tool shows both sizes side by side, so you can try a couple of quality settings and keep the best.
Using WebP on a website
Most sites can use a WebP exactly like a GIF:
<img src="animation.webp" alt="What the animation shows" width="480" height="270">
To keep a GIF fallback for very old browsers:
<picture>
<source srcset="animation.webp" type="image/webp">
<img src="animation.gif" alt="What the animation shows">
</picture>
Content management systems like WordPress accept WebP uploads too.
Where WebP doesn't work (yet)
- Many email clients don't display WebP — keep GIFs for email.
- Some chat apps and upload forms only accept GIF.
- Older image editors may not open animated WebP.
For those, keep the GIF, or convert back with WebP to GIF.
Converting a whole site's GIFs
For a site with many GIFs, convert the largest ones first — they make the biggest difference to load times. Keep the original GIFs as backups, upload the WebP versions alongside them, and switch the image references over one page at a time. Check a page on a phone afterwards: animations should look the same and load noticeably faster.
Quality settings
- 75–85: visually identical for most animations, large savings.
- 60–70: smaller, slight softness in detailed areas.
- Lossless: every pixel exact — ideal for pixel art, flat graphics and UI recordings; sometimes larger than lossy.
Even smaller
If the WebP is still large, the GIF itself may be bigger than it needs to be — shrink it with the GIF Compressor, trim it with Cut GIF or resize it with the GIF Resizer first. From a video, Video to Animated Image makes WebP directly, skipping GIF's 256-colour limit.
Privacy
The conversion runs in your browser; your GIF is never uploaded.
Frequently asked questions
Will the animation play the same?
Yes — each frame keeps its timing and the loop count is kept.
Is transparency kept?
Yes. WebP even supports smooth edges, though a converted GIF keeps the GIF's hard edges.
Why is the first conversion slow?
The converter engine downloads once (about 30 MB); later conversions start straight away.