Convert GIF to animated WEBP

How it works

Tap or click the box and choose your GIF; you can convert several GIFs at once. Pick a quality: "80%" makes the file smaller with a loss you will not notice in most GIFs, while "Lossless" is better for logos, flat-color drawings and pixel art, where colors must stay exact. Example: a 2.4 MB GIF made from a screen recording usually becomes a smaller WEBP at 80%; the result line shows both sizes and the percentage change. When you press "Convert to WEBP", every frame is encoded in turn, and frame times and looping are kept. This tool uses your browser's own WEBP encoder, so it works in Chrome, Edge and Firefox; Safari and the browsers on iPhone and iPad cannot write WEBP, and you will see a clear message there. Save the result with "Download"; it goes to your Downloads folder.

This tool is also known as gif to webp, convert gif to webp, gif to animated webp, animated webp maker, webp maker, gif to webp converter, make animated webp.

What is WEBP encoder?

An encoder is the software that turns a picture on screen into the bytes of a file format. This tool does not download a separate WEBP encoder; it uses the one already built into your browser and hands it the frames of the GIF one at a time. It then puts the encoded frames together into an animated WEBP file itself, writing the frame times and the loop count. Chrome, Edge and Firefox include this encoder; Safari does not, so conversion is not possible there.

What is Lossy and lossless WEBP?

WEBP can be encoded in two ways. Lossy encoding drops details the eye hardly notices to make the file smaller; the quality percentage decides how much is dropped. Lossless encoding changes no pixels at all, so the colors of a GIF, which has at most 256 of them, stay exactly the same, but the file is larger than a lossy one. Lossy usually suits GIFs made from photos or video, lossless suits logos and drawings.

What is the difference between an animated GIF and an animated WEBP?

Each GIF frame is limited to a palette of 256 colors, and a pixel is either fully transparent or fully solid, which is why GIFs made from video show color banding and jagged edges. WEBP carries full color and soft transparent edges in every frame, and its compression is stronger, so the same animation usually fits in a smaller file. The advantage of GIF is that it opens everywhere: older programs and some email apps do not play animated WEBP. Use WEBP for speed on your own website and GIF for sharing where it must open everywhere.

Why a WEBP can come out larger than the GIF

Many GIFs store only a small changed area in each frame. This tool encodes every frame as a full picture, because the browser's encoder can only produce full frames. In long GIFs where most of the picture stays still, that can make the WEBP larger than the GIF. The result line shows both sizes and the percentage change for every file and says so separately when the WEBP is larger; in that case it is better to keep using your GIF.

With the lossless option, the file is usually several times larger than a lossy one. If you choose lossless but your browser does not write lossless WEBP, the tool writes lossy WEBP at the highest quality and states this in the result line; it never quietly does something else.

Which browsers work, and which quality to pick

The conversion happens entirely on your device, with the browser's own WEBP encoder. Chrome, Edge and Firefox can write WEBP. Safari and every browser on iPhone and iPad can show WEBP but cannot write it; in those browsers the tool shows a clear message instead of converting. Open the page in Chrome on a computer or an Android phone in that case.

For GIFs made from video or screen recordings, 80% is a good start; try 90% if you do not like the result. Pick 60% if the file must be as small as possible, but smooth color gradients may look blotchy. For flat-color stickers, logos and pixel art, "Lossless" gives the cleanest result. To turn a WEBP back into a GIF, use the WEBP to GIF converter.

Frequently asked questions

How do I convert a GIF to an animated WEBP?

Choose the GIF in the box, pick a quality (80% in most cases) and press "Convert to WEBP". Every frame is encoded to WEBP and the frame times and looping are kept. Save the result with "Download".

Does converting a GIF to WEBP keep the animation?

Yes. This tool converts each frame separately and puts them together as an animated WEBP; the frame count, each frame's time and the loop count stay the same. A single-frame GIF becomes a still WEBP.

Why does it not work on iPhone or in Safari?

Safari and the browsers on iPhone and iPad can display WEBP but cannot write WEBP files. Because this tool never sends your file to a server, it needs the browser's own encoder. Open the page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox on a computer or an Android phone.

Is a WEBP always smaller than the GIF?

Usually, but not always. This tool writes every frame as a full picture, so long GIFs in which very little changes between frames can produce a larger WEBP. The result line shows both sizes and the difference, and warns you if the WEBP is larger.