GIF to SVG Converter
Turn a GIF into an SVG made of real vector paths: shapes you can scale to any size, recolour and edit in a vector editor. The tool traces the picture: it groups the pixels into a set number of colours, follows the edge of every area and writes each one as an SVG path with straight lines and curves. GIFs hold at most 256 colours per frame, so logos, icons, pixel art and flat drawings saved as GIF often trace very cleanly. It reads the GIF itself and tells you its size, how many colours its palette has, whether one colour is set as transparent and how many frames it has. The transparent colour stays empty in the SVG. For an animated GIF the first frame is traced to start, and the page says so; pick any other frame with the slider, or download every frame as its own SVG in one ZIP. Frames are rebuilt the way a browser shows them, including frames that only change part of the picture. Download the SVG, copy its code, or get a ZIP when you add several GIFs. Nothing is uploaded and there is no sign-up.
100% private — everything runs in your browser. Everything runs in your browser; your files are never uploaded.
Your files (click one to see it)
Picture inside an SVG: this is not traced. The SVG only wraps your picture as a PNG, so it stays a grid of pixels that blurs when enlarged, and vector editors and cutting machines cannot use it as shapes. Choose Traced vector paths for a real vector.
Your GIF
SVG
Tracing
Output
Runs in your browser: tracing uses imagetracerjs (public domain), loaded from jsDelivr, and our own code; your files are never uploaded and nothing is saved. You may use what you make here, including commercially, with no credit needed. The rights in your own pictures stay as they were. Not affiliated with Adobe.
How to convert a GIF to SVG
- Drop a GIF on the box, or several; or click Try a sample.
- For an animated GIF, pick the frame to trace (the first one is used to start).
- Pick a starting point (logo, black and white, few colours or detailed), then fine-tune Colours and Detail.
- Download the SVG, copy its code, or download every frame or every file as a ZIP.
What you can use it for
- Turn an old GIF logo into an SVG for a new website
- Get one still frame of an animated GIF as a vector
- Trace pixel art or an icon into shapes for a vector editor
- Make a 2-colour SVG of a GIF drawing for a cutting machine
- Export every frame of a short GIF as separate SVGs
- Wrap a GIF frame in an SVG file when a program only accepts .svg
What happens to each kind of GIF
| Your GIF | What the tool does | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Still GIF | Traced into vector paths | Logo or flat art works well |
| With a transparent colour | That colour left empty in the SVG | Keep Leave transparent areas empty ticked |
| Animated | First frame traced to start; any frame on request; every frame as a ZIP | Use the Frame to trace slider |
| Dithered (dotty colours) | Dots traced as small shapes | Try Few colours, smooth |
| Interlaced | Read in the right row order | No setting needed |
A GIF stores each frame as palette numbers: up to 256 colours per frame, one of which can be marked transparent. Later frames of an animation often hold only the part that changes, plus a note saying whether the frame before stays, is cleared, or is restored. The tool rebuilds each frame with those notes before tracing it.
Choosing Colours and Detail
| Start from | Colours | Detail | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logo or flat art | 16 | 5 | Most logos, icons and illustrations |
| Black and white | 2 | 6 | Line drawings, stamps, cutting machines |
| Few colours, smooth | 6 | 4 | Soft or compressed edges |
| Detailed | 32 | 8 | Artwork with many colours; larger files |
Colours sets how many colours the picture is reduced to before tracing; Detail sets how closely the outlines follow the pixels and how small a speck is kept. They work the same way as on our PNG to SVG and JPG to SVG pages.
Traced paths or a picture inside an SVG
| SVG type | Inside the file | Sharp when enlarged | Editable as shapes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traced vector paths (default) | path elements, one per colour area | Yes | Yes |
| Picture inside an SVG | your GIF as a PNG, in an image element | No, it blurs | No |
Some converters only wrap the picture in an SVG file. That gives an .svg that still blurs when you enlarge it, so here it is a separate, clearly named option for when a program only accepts SVG files.
Animated GIF to SVG: one frame or every frame
| You want | Use | You get |
|---|---|---|
| One still vector of the animation | Frame to trace, then Download SVG | one SVG of that frame |
| Every frame as vectors | Every frame as SVG (.zip) | one SVG per frame, numbered, in a ZIP |
| The animation as a picture again | GIF to PNG for single frames | PNG frames, not vector |
Each SVG in the frame ZIP uses the same Colours and Detail settings, so the frames line up when you place them on top of each other.
Tips for a clean trace
- Start from the largest, sharpest file you have.
- Fewer colours give fewer, cleaner shapes and a smaller file.
- If small specks appear, lower Detail; if corners look rounded, raise it.
- For a cutting machine, use Black and white, then check the shapes in your cutting software.
Next steps: tidy and shrink the result with the SVG Optimizer, change its colours with the SVG Color Changer, or edit it in the SVG Editor. Tracing a different format? Use PNG to SVG or JPG to SVG. To keep a GIF frame as pixels, use GIF to PNG.
Sources
Sources: MDN Web Docs: Image file type and format guide; W3C: Graphics Interchange Format Version 89a; W3C Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 2; imagetracerjs on GitHub (The Unlicense).
Not affiliated with Adobe.
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Working with SVG?
Trace, edit, tidy and convert pictures and SVG files with free tools that run privately in your browser: nothing uploaded.
See all free tools →Frequently asked questions
Is this GIF to SVG converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit on how many files you trace. Tracing runs in your browser, so your GIF never leaves your device.
Is the SVG really vector?
Yes, with the default Traced vector paths option. Every colour area becomes an SVG path, and the line under the preview counts the paths and colours. Only the option called Picture inside an SVG keeps the pixels, and the page says so when you choose it.
What happens to an animated GIF?
An SVG made by tracing holds one still picture, so one frame is traced: the first one to start, and the page tells you how many frames the GIF has. Move the Frame to trace slider to pick another, or use Every frame as SVG to get one SVG per frame in a ZIP.
Does a transparent GIF stay transparent?
Yes. A GIF can mark one palette colour as transparent; those pixels are left empty in the SVG, so it sits on any background. Untick Leave transparent areas empty only if you want the invisible shapes kept in the file.
Why does my GIF trace into lots of tiny dots?
Many GIFs are dithered: the 256-colour limit is hidden by mixing dots of different colours. Tracing follows those dots. Fewer colours and a lower Detail setting merge them into smoother shapes.
What kind of GIF traces best?
Logos, icons, lettering, pixel art and flat drawings with clear edges. Photos saved as GIF become thousands of small shapes and a large file; for those, keep the GIF or convert a frame to PNG instead.
What size is the SVG?
By default the SVG says it is the same width and height in pixels as your GIF, and because it is vector you can set it to any size later. The picture is traced at up to 500 px on its long side; choose 1000 or 1500 px for finer edges on big pictures.
Is my GIF uploaded?
No. Reading the GIF, tracing it and writing the SVG and the ZIP all happen in your browser.