Updated · Built and checked by the PlinzoTools team, formulas tested against published sources
Convert a GIF image to ICO instantly, right in your browser.
Upload a GIF file to convert it to ICO.
This tool converts a GIF image to Windows Icon entirely in your browser -- the file is decoded, redrawn onto a canvas, and re-encoded as ICO without ever being uploaded to a server. GIF is a legacy format limited to a 256-color indexed palette, which is why photographs saved as GIF often show visible color banding. It supports single-bit (fully on/off) transparency and simple frame animation. This tool reads a GIF's first frame only -- for a static image export from an animated GIF, that's usually the cover frame; true animation isn't something a canvas-based export like this can carry through to a static PNG/JPG/WebP/ICO.
Click the upload area and choose a GIF file. The converted preview appears immediately; click Download to save it as a real .ico file.
Need to go the other way? Use the ICO to GIF tab above, or open the ICO to GIF converter directly.
The most common reason to convert a GIF into ICO is building a favicon or a Windows app icon -- most platforms that ask for a favicon file specifically want a real .ico, not a renamed PNG/JPG. ICO is the Windows icon/favicon format. This tool embeds your source image as a single-size PNG-in-ICO container (the same approach browsers themselves accept for a site favicon) rather than the old multi-resolution ICO bundles image editors sometimes produce.
The tool decodes your GIF, draws its first frame onto a canvas at the GIF's own pixel width and height, and encodes that canvas as a PNG which is then wrapped in an ICO container. Only images larger than 256 pixels on a side are scaled down, keeping their proportions. The ICO you download contains one image at your source's dimensions (scaled down only if it is larger than 256 by 256), and the result panel shows the source dimensions along with the original and output file sizes.
Since the tool only scales down images larger than 256 pixels, the size of your GIF becomes the size of your icon (up to 256 by 256). Favicons and Windows icons are normally square and small. Common practice is to supply sizes such as 16, 32, 48 or 256 pixels on a side, and the ICO format stores dimensions in a single byte per side, which tops out at 256. This tool writes the true dimensions of the embedded PNG, but a very large source is a poor icon: it will be scaled down by whatever displays it and may look muddy or waste bytes. Also, a GIF that is not square will produce a non-square icon, and platforms may stretch or crop it.
A practical workflow: resize your GIF to a square size such as 256 by 256 in an image editor first, then convert it here. For a site favicon, check what your platform or theme recommends, since needs differ.
Say you have a 128 by 128 pixel GIF logo with a transparent background. After conversion the panel shows 128 by 128 pixels and the file size for the ICO. Because a GIF supports fully on-or-off transparency, the transparent areas remain transparent in the icon, and the result displays over the checkerboard preview so you can confirm the background. Colors stay limited to whatever the original 256-color palette contained, since converting cannot add more.
The tool also has an ICO to GIF tab. For a real .ico file it reads the embedded PNG from the icon (choosing the largest PNG-based entry it finds) and encodes the result as a GIF. Icons that use the older bitmap-style entries rather than embedded PNG may not be readable, and the tool then reports that it could not read an image out of the file.
No -- the whole conversion happens locally in your browser using the Canvas API. Your file never leaves your device.
There's no artificial limit in the tool itself, but very large images take longer to process since everything runs in your browser rather than on a server.
No -- only the GIF's first frame is used. Canvas-based conversion produces a single static image, not an animation.
The icon keeps your GIF's size up to 256 by 256 (larger images are scaled down), so start with a square image at the size you need, for example 256 by 256, or another size recommended by your platform.
Yes, transparent pixels are preserved in the PNG inside the ICO. The preview shows a checkerboard behind the image so you can check.
Only the first frame of an animated GIF is used. If that frame is blank or a partial frame, choose another frame in an editor and save it as a single-frame GIF first.
No. It contains one image at your GIF's original dimensions.
Converting GIF to ICO changes more than the file extension -- GIF is best suited to simple graphics and short looping animations, while ICO is built for favicons and Windows application icons.
| GIF | ICO | |
|---|---|---|
| File extension | .gif | .ico |
| Compression | lossless, but limited to a 256-colour palette | a container holding PNG or BMP images |
| Transparency | On/off transparency only | Full transparency (alpha channel) |
| Animation | Supported | Single image |
| Colours | 256 per frame | up to 32-bit colour with alpha |
| Best for | simple graphics and short looping animations | favicons and Windows application icons |
| Support | every browser, chat app and editor | all browsers for favicons and Windows for icons |
The conversion happens in your browser; the file is never uploaded.