HEIF to GIF Converter

How to Convert HEIF to GIF Online

1. Upload Your HEIF File: Drag and drop or click "Add Files" to select HEIF photos straight from iPhone, iPad, or a Mac Photos export. A single still works, but the page really shines when you drop in a sequence — a burst, a series of timelapse frames, or a folder of photos you want to assemble into one animated GIF. Batch is supported.
2. Pick the Color Palette and GIF Quality: Choose a Color Palette Size — 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, or 256 colors. 64-128 is the sweet spot for screenshots and graphics; 256 for photographic content from an iPhone camera. Set Image quality (%) to balance dithering against output file size.
3. Set Frame Rate, Resolution, and Frame Selection (Optional): Pick a Framerate from 1-50 fps (10-15 fps is the readable sweet spot for an animated GIF). Choose a Preset Resolution, scale by Resolution Percentage, keep original, or set custom Width × Height. For long bursts, Drop Frames lets you take every 2nd through 9th frame to shorten the timeline; Specific Frame and Multiple Screenshots pull a single still or a sampled sequence.
4. Convert and Download: Click Convert. Files are uploaded over an encrypted connection, processed on our servers, and deleted automatically after a few hours — no sign-up, no watermark, never shared.

Why Convert HEIF to GIF?

HEIF (High Efficiency Image Format) is the still-image format Apple ships by default on every iPhone since the iPhone 7 / iOS 11, and HEIC is just Apple's branded .heic extension for the same container. HEIF wraps HEVC (H.265) compression around photo data and routinely halves the file size of an equivalent JPG. GIF is the opposite — a 1987-era format with an 8-bit, 256-color palette and basic LZW compression — but GIF is the one format every email client, chat app, message thread, README viewer, and 30-year-old image viewer can render without a plugin. Converting HEIF → GIF trades quality for universal playback, and the conversion makes sense any time the destination needs animation or an Apple-free image:

• Turning iPhone bursts and timelapses into one shareable animation — Burst Mode, NightCap, and Pro RAW timelapse apps all save sequential .heic files (IMG_0001.heic, IMG_0002.heic…). Drop the whole sequence in, set 10-15 fps, and the output is a single animated GIF playable in Slack, Discord, GitHub, or a basic email client without Apple software.
• Sharing iPhone photos with non-Apple recipients — AirDrop a HEIF to a friend on Android or attach one to a Gmail thread and the recipient often sees a broken-image icon or a thumbnail-only preview. A GIF (even of a single still) renders inline everywhere.
• Embedding in GitHub READMEs, pull requests, and Notion docs — GitHub renders .gif inline in markdown but does not render .heic at all. A short looping GIF of a UI flow or before/after photo embeds where a HEIF would 404.
• Reaction and meme content for Discord, Reddit, and X — These platforms expect animated GIFs (or convert uploads to their own format). Going HEIF → GIF skips the macOS Preview → JPG → animation tooling chain.
• Documentation, slideshows, and digital signage with no Apple stack — Many CMS uploaders, e-reader formats, signage players, and learning-management systems still reject HEIF outright. GIF gets through every uploader.
• Long-term archival of short loops — Every image viewer made since the early 1990s can decode GIF. HEIF still requires a recent OS update or a paid HEIF Image Extension on Windows 10/11 — fine today, less safe for a 20-year archive.

If you only need a single still and don't need animation, HEIF to JPG or HEIF to PNG preserves photographic detail far better.

HEIF vs GIF — Format Comparison

Color Palette and Frame Rate Quick Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Will this animate my iPhone Live Photo's motion clip?

Not from a .heic file alone. A Live Photo on iPhone is two files — the HEIF/HEIC still and a paired ~1.5-second .mov motion clip — and most apps strip the motion half on export. If you only have the .heic, this tool produces a GIF of the still frame (single frame or repeated). To animate the motion, AirDrop both halves off the iPhone or use Photos → Share → "Save as Video," then run the resulting clip through MOV to GIF or HEIC to MP4 for a video target.

Why is my GIF so much larger than the original HEIF?

HEIF uses HEVC compression — modern, inter-frame-aware, often 50% smaller than JPG at the same visible quality. GIF stores every frame independently with a 256-color palette and 1987-era LZW compression. A 2 MB iPhone HEIF can become a 6-12 MB GIF for a single frame, and far larger for a sequence. To shrink: drop the palette to 64 colors, scale resolution to 720 px wide or smaller, and use 10-12 fps instead of 24-30.

How do I make one GIF from an iPhone burst or a folder of HEIFs?

Upload the whole sequence — burst frames or a manually picked set of HEIFs share the same dimensions and convert cleanly. Set Framerate to 10-15 fps for readable motion or 24 fps for cinematic playback, and pick a Preset Resolution (or scale by percentage) so the output isn't the full 12-MP iPhone width. The order follows the upload order; rename files before dropping them in if the sort isn't right.

What palette size should I pick — 256, 128, 64, or smaller?

256 colors is the GIF maximum and is the only realistic choice for photographic content (skin tones, gradients, sky). 128 is a near-lossless drop on most photos and noticeably shrinks the file. 64 is the screenshot-and-UI-demo sweet spot — color banding shows up only on smooth gradients. 32 or fewer is for logos, diagrams, and long animations that must stay under a forum or Discord upload cap; expect visible banding on photographs.

How do I keep the GIF under Discord's 10 MB (or 50 MB Nitro Basic) cap?

Drop palette to 64 colors, scale to 480-720 px wide, and use 10 fps. A 2-3 second loop at those settings typically lands at 1-3 MB. For tighter caps, use Drop Frames to take every 2nd or 3rd frame, or trim the sequence by uploading fewer HEIFs.

Why won't Windows or Android open my HEIF directly in the first place?

HEIF is built on HEVC (H.265), a codec Apple licensed and bundled but Microsoft and most Android OEMs did not. Windows 10/11 needs the paid HEIF Image Extension from the Microsoft Store, and Android 10+ added partial support but many gallery and chat apps still show only a thumbnail or fail entirely. Converting to GIF sidesteps every codec licensing gap because GIF decoding has been bundled with operating systems since the early 1990s.

Will Live Photos, Portrait depth data, or HDR survive the conversion?

No — none of those survive HEIF → GIF. The Live Photo motion clip is a separate .mov and isn't in the .heic file. Portrait Mode depth maps are stripped because GIF has no depth metadata. HDR / 10-bit color is collapsed because GIF caps at 8-bit indexed color. If you need to keep depth or HDR, HEIF to PNG preserves more, and a video output via HEIF to MP4 preserves motion.

Can I convert just one frame from a HEIF sequence?

Yes — use Specific Frame to grab a single still at a chosen index, or Multiple Screenshots to sample a sequence at a set capture rate. If you need the still as a non-animated image instead of a GIF, HEIF to JPG or HEIF to PNG is a better target.