Guide
How to reduce GIF file size without losing the point
Shrink dimensions, frames, and colors in that order. Dithering is how you spend the colors you kept.
1 min read · Updated October 9, 2026 · GIF maker
Change the expensive things first
GIF size scales with width times height times the number of frames, and then with how badly those frames compress. Cut the long side toward 480 before you touch anything else. A 1080-wide loop is often several times larger for a difference chat windows hide.
Then cut frames. 12 to 15 fps is enough for most loops. Dropping from 30 fps to 15 fps nearly halves the frames. Trim the dead time at the start and end before you lower the frame rate of the part people actually watch.
Spend the palette on purpose
A GIF holds at most 256 colors per frame, often fewer if you want a smaller file. Flat illustrations survive 32 or 64 colors. Photos and gradients need more, or they band.
Dithering trades banding for noise. Floyd–Steinberg looks more photographic. Ordered dither looks like a print screen and compresses more predictably. Turn dithering off for flat logos and UI, where the noise is pure waste.
Sometimes the GIF should not be a GIF
If the destination plays silent video, MP4 will be smaller and cleaner. WebP can animate with more than 256 colors, but not every chat app accepts it. Use the format guide before you spend an hour shaving a GIF that should have been a video.