Does a 256-color palette hurt icons?

Usually not. Icons are flat shapes with few colors, and GIF handles them well. Smooth gradients and soft drop shadows are where you might notice banding.

What happens to the transparent background?

GIF supports only fully transparent or fully opaque pixels. Transparent icon pixels stay transparent through one reserved palette entry, and pixels that are less than half opaque become transparent while the rest turn opaque.

Is the download truly a GIF?

Yes. Canvas has no GIF encoder, so the tool writes the file itself. It starts with the GIF89a header and uses LZW-compressed pixel data, so tools that validate the header accept it.

Can it produce an animated icon?

No. ICO files hold still images only, and the output of this tool is always a single frame, so there is no motion to keep.

Image manipulation toolsInstantPrivateNo account

ICO to GIF Converter

Converts an ICO icon to GIF, a format many older web systems and chat boards still expect for small graphics.

Back to category

About ICO to GIF

Converts an ICO icon to GIF, a format many older web systems and chat boards still expect for small graphics. The tool reads the icon as an ordinary picture, redraws it, and writes it out as a genuine single-frame GIF with its own palette.

How to use it

Choose a .ico file with the dropzone, using drag and drop or the file browser.
Look at the preview to confirm it is the right icon.
Click Convert to GIF. There are no settings to change.
Take the file with Download GIF once the Output panel appears.

When to use it

Posting a small logo to a forum that limits avatars to GIF, JPG or PNG variants.
Making a badge or emoticon from an existing program icon.
Handing an icon to a system that predates PNG support.

Good to know. For soft shadows or gradients, the PNG output from ICO to PNG keeps full color and partial transparency, which GIF cannot.

Questions about ICO to GIF

Does a 256-color palette hurt icons?: Usually not. Icons are flat shapes with few colors, and GIF handles them well. Smooth gradients and soft drop shadows are where you might notice banding.
What happens to the transparent background?: GIF supports only fully transparent or fully opaque pixels. Transparent icon pixels stay transparent through one reserved palette entry, and pixels that are less than half opaque become transparent while the rest turn opaque.
Is the download truly a GIF?: Yes. Canvas has no GIF encoder, so the tool writes the file itself. It starts with the GIF89a header and uses LZW-compressed pixel data, so tools that validate the header accept it.
Can it produce an animated icon?: No. ICO files hold still images only, and the output of this tool is always a single frame, so there is no motion to keep.

Related tools

Image manipulation toolsInstantPrivateNo account

ICO to GIF Converter

Converts an ICO icon to GIF, a format many older web systems and chat boards still expect for small graphics.

Back to category

WorkbenchClient-side · Private

Drop a ICO file hereor click to browse your files

.ico allowed.

About ICO to GIF

How to use it

Choose a .ico file with the dropzone, using drag and drop or the file browser.
Look at the preview to confirm it is the right icon.
Click Convert to GIF. There are no settings to change.
Take the file with Download GIF once the Output panel appears.

When to use it

Posting a small logo to a forum that limits avatars to GIF, JPG or PNG variants.
Making a badge or emoticon from an existing program icon.
Handing an icon to a system that predates PNG support.

Good to know. For soft shadows or gradients, the PNG output from ICO to PNG keeps full color and partial transparency, which GIF cannot.

Questions about ICO to GIF

Does a 256-color palette hurt icons?: Usually not. Icons are flat shapes with few colors, and GIF handles them well. Smooth gradients and soft drop shadows are where you might notice banding.
What happens to the transparent background?: GIF supports only fully transparent or fully opaque pixels. Transparent icon pixels stay transparent through one reserved palette entry, and pixels that are less than half opaque become transparent while the rest turn opaque.
Is the download truly a GIF?: Yes. Canvas has no GIF encoder, so the tool writes the file itself. It starts with the GIF89a header and uses LZW-compressed pixel data, so tools that validate the header accept it.
Can it produce an animated icon?: No. ICO files hold still images only, and the output of this tool is always a single frame, so there is no motion to keep.

Search tools

ICO to GIF Converter

About ICO to GIF

How to use it

When to use it

Questions about ICO to GIF

Does a 256-color palette hurt icons?

What happens to the transparent background?

Is the download truly a GIF?

Can it produce an animated icon?

Related tools

ICO to GIF Converter

About ICO to GIF

How to use it

When to use it

Questions about ICO to GIF

Does a 256-color palette hurt icons?

What happens to the transparent background?

Is the download truly a GIF?

Can it produce an animated icon?

Related tools