AVIF and GIF offer vital features that make them critical in the digital world. However, users can only decide on the ideal format for a given use case if they understand their file sizes, image quality, browser support, compression, animation, storage needs, transparency, structure, and performance. This article discusses the technical features of GIF vs. AVIF and provides a comprehensive guideline based on the users' understanding of when each image format is ideal.
When is AVIF better than GIF?
AVIF images support the efficient AV1 lossy and lossless compression, which generates smaller and high-quality images, while GIF images use the lossless Lempel-Ziv-Welch algorithms, which preserve all image data and result in larger and limited color support images.
The AVIF file format supports high dynamic range (HDR) and wide color range (WCR), resulting in high-quality, web-responsive files suitable for high-quality web media images and advanced photography.
When is GIF better than AVIF?
GIF images enjoy universal web browser support, while AVIF images are partially supported in older browsers, resulting in an inconsistent experience on various devices. As such, GIF is ideal for computer graphics such as logos, simple cartoons, and line art, which necessitate limited color palettes.
The GIF file extension uses lossless compression to ensure that all image details remain intact and supports less sophisticated animations.
GIF versus AVIF Table Comparison
| Element | GIF | AVIF |
| Transparency | Supports transparency | Supports transparency |
| File Size | Larger files than AVIF files. | Smaller files than GIF files. |
| Image Quality | Limited color support and low-quality images than AVIF images. | Comprehensive color support and high-quality images than GIF. |
| Performance | Low web responsiveness than AVIFs. | High web responsiveness than GIFs. |
| Structure | The structure comprises a header, screen descriptor, and color table blocks and ends with a trailer block. | The structure comprises nested boxes: a File Type Box (ftyp) container, metadata, and actual image data. |
| Animation | Supports animations. | Supports animations |
| Storage | Larger and needs more storage space than AVIF. | Smaller and needs less storage space than GIF. |
| Compression | Supports lossless compression. | Support lossless and lossy compression. |
| Browser Support | Supported by almost all web browsers than AVIF. | Limited browser and platform support than GIF. |
Differences and similarities between AVIF and GIF images
AVIF and GIF are raster graphic file formats that are identical in transparency and animation support. Nonetheless, AVIF versus GIF show differences in image quality, file size, structure, compression, performance, web browser support, and storage.
Transparency
GIF file types support transparency. The GIF89a format allows one of the palette colors to be designated as transparent, enabling parts of the image to blend into the background. However, GIF does not support alpha channels; it uses a single-color transparency method.
Conversely, the AVIF image format supports transparency through its alpha channels. These channels allow transparency data to be stored alongside lossy and lossless image data, enabling complex transparency effects and well-defined opacities in images.
File Size
AVIF files are smaller than GIF files, with a size limit below 3MB. However, the GIF format can store multiple images per file, resulting in significantly larger files than AVIF. For example, GFI87a can support multiple images per stream, each with a 256-color palette.
Besides, GIF uses lossless compression with Lempel Ziv Welch (LZW) algorithms, ensuring all image data per stream is preserved. In contrast, AVIF supports lossy and lossless compression; its advanced AV1 video codec efficiently compresses its images, resulting in smaller files than GIFs.
Image Quality
GIF is a limited-quality format. It supports only 8 bits per pixel and has a maximum color palette of 256 colors. While the pixel resolution can vary, the format's limited color depth often results in lower-quality images than AVIF.
In contrast, AVIF is a high-quality image format. It supports 8-bit, 10-bit, and 12-bit color depths per channel and accommodates multiple color sub-sampling formats like YUV 420 and YUV 444. Additionally, AVIF supports High Dynamic Range (HDR), Wide Color Range, ICC profiles, Rec 2020, sRGB, Pro Photo RGB, and both standard and non-standard color spaces, making it ideal for high-quality images.
Performance
GIF stores multiple images in a single file, making it larger than an AVIF image file. As a result, GIF files load slower on websites, consume more bytes, and incur additional bandwidth costs than AVIF files. Hence, AVIFs are ideal for web usage because they increase users' online experience and optimize search engines.
Structure
AVIF and GIF are raster graphics file formats, making them easier to compare. A GIF file starts with a fixed-length header, either GIF89a or GIF87a. Then, it has the logical screen descriptor and file version with a fixed length, specifying the additional GIF features and the logical screen scales in pixels. The logical screen checks if the Global Color Table and size description exist.
Conversely, AVIF is structured in a classified form of nested boxes that store metadata and data. It has a File Type Box (ftyp) that is responsible for identifying the file and specifying the format version used at the top-lying container or box. The image metadata is stored as compressed frames using AV1 codec encoding.
Animation
AVIF and GIF support animation. For instance, the GIF89a specifications add several enhancers to the GIF image file header, allowing browsers to show many GIF pictures in a looped series or scheduled sequence. The frames and images of a GIF file can be joined together to create basic animations.
In contrast, AVIF files support animation and live photos using their multilayer image storage sequence. The file format is compatible with HIEF, which enables image sequences and elements. Animated AVIF offers a more high-quality and visually stunning user experience than animated GIFs.
Storage
AVIF data is encoded and stored using lossy and lossless compression techniques. Thus, the image data and metadata under both methods are stored as compressed frames using AV1 codec encoding, resulting in smaller files that require less storage space than the larger, losslessly compressed GIF files.
Under AVIF and GIF formats, image data can be stored indefinitely, subject to storage mediums used, handling process, and conditions. AVIF and GIF files can be stored in File Systems, Content Delivery Networks, Hard Drives, Cloud, Floppy Drives, and Base64 Encoding.
Compression
AVIF uses lossless and lossy compression, while GIF supports lossless compression. GIF compresses files using lossless compression with the Lempel Ziv Welch (LZW) algorithms, preserving all image data and resulting in larger files than AVIF.
GIF's LZW algorithms compress images by altering color space, merging local palettes, replacing alpha channels, spatially predicting pixels, and merging different pixels in one pixel. LZW exploits repetition in information streams to efficiently store simple graphical images using flat colors.
On the other hand, AVIF's lossy technique compresses image information in sequences using the AV1 compression algorithm in a HEIF container format. Part of the image data is deleted, leading to a slight loss in image quality, but significantly smaller images than GIFs.
Browser Support
AVIF and GIF image formats enjoy universal support across web browsers, platforms, and programs. GIF is supported by nearly all new and older web browsers, such as Internet Explorer, Opera, Vivaldi, Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, and Discord.
In contrast, all web browsers, except Internet Explorer, Opera, Vivaldi, Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, and Discord, support AVIF. Thus, for extensive browser support, choose GIF instead of AVIF.
Converting AVIF to GIF or GIF to AVIF
Convertjack helps users convert AVIF to GIF easily while preserving all image features. GIF files can be easily edited, image data can be reserved using lossless compression, and animation and transparency can be supported. They can create computer graphics with limited color palettes, like simple logos or cartoons.
Conversely, use the most reliable GIF to AVIF converter, such as convertjack, which offers smaller, high-quality, widely compatible, and browser-friendly AVIF files to ensure improved user experience and minimum storage demands.