Images conversion
Convert GIF to HEIC
A GIF is an old format built for simple animations and flat graphics, capped at 256 colours per frame. Converting GIF to HEIC re-saves the picture with modern compression, which usually makes it much smaller and lets it hold far more colour. The important caveat is animation: HEIC here is a still-image format, so a moving GIF becomes a single frame. Everything runs on your own computer.
All 2,748 conversions verified on macOS, Windows, and Linux against the shipping release, this one included. Every conversion runs entirely on your own computer.
- Extension
- .gif
- Type
- Images
- Typically
- Animations, memes
- Transparency
- Supported
- Extension
- .heic
- Type
- Images
- Typically
- Default iPhone photo format
- Compression
- Lossy
- Transparency
- None
- Metadata
- Carries EXIF
Convert GIF to HEIC on your own computer. Nothing uploads.
One-time purchase, no subscription. 14 days to change your mind.
How to convert GIF to HEIC
- Open Morphjet and drag in your GIF files. Whole folders work if you have a batch of them.
- Choose HEIC as the output. Nothing is uploaded; the work happens on your own machine.
- Pick a destination for the converted copies. The originals stay exactly where they were.
GIF vs HEIC: what actually changes
| GIF | HEIC | |
|---|---|---|
| Colours | 256 per frame | Millions |
| Animation | Yes, that is its main use | No, a single still frame |
| Compression | Dated, inefficient for photographs | Modern, built for photos |
| Transparency | Yes, but one fully transparent colour only | Yes, with soft edges |
| Good for | Short loops and simple graphics | Still photographs |
When to convert, and when not to
Convert GIF to HEIC when the GIF is really a still picture, a screenshot, a scan or a photo someone saved in the wrong format, and you want it smaller and better looking. It is also worth doing when a photographic GIF looks banded, since 256 colours cannot render a smooth sky.
Do not convert if the GIF actually animates and the movement is the point. You will get one frame and lose the rest. A video format is the right destination for a loop you want to keep moving.
Why not just use an online converter?
GIFs get passed around chat apps and forums, and the ones worth converting are often screenshots, which can carry more than you remember: a visible filename, a notification, an open tab. Converting on your own machine means the picture is never handed to a stranger's server on its way to a smaller file.
Questions
What happens to the animation?
It is not carried over. The conversion produces a single still image from the first frame. If the movement matters, convert to a video format instead.
Will a GIF actually get smaller as HEIC?
Usually yes, and often dramatically so for photographic content, because GIF compression was never designed for photographs. A flat two-colour graphic is the exception and may not shrink much.
Will the result open on an iPhone or Mac?
Yes. HEIC is what Apple devices shoot in by default, so the files land in Photos, Messages and AirDrop with no extra step.
Does this need an internet connection?
No. Conversion runs locally, so it works offline and nothing is sent anywhere.
Morphjet runs this conversion and 2,747 others, all on your machine. Available now.
One-time purchase, no subscription. 14 days to change your mind.