Compress a GIF to any size you need, from Discord's limits to your own number, right in your browser and free.
Drop a GIF to compress it
or paste it with Ctrl+V · up to 100 MB
Processed locally in your browser. Files never leave your device.
Built around a number
This GIF compressor works backwards from the size you need. Pick Discord, email or a custom limit, and it keeps trying stronger settings until the file fits, then shows exactly where it landed.
Use it as a GIF compressor online whenever an upload keeps getting rejected: it helps you reduce GIF file size one measured step at a time instead of guessing. If a target can't be reached, you're told so, along with the smallest size this particular GIF can reach.
How it works
Drop a GIF onto the GIF compressor above, tap Choose GIF, or paste one with Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on a Mac). Files up to 100 MB work.
Pick Discord, email or website, or type your own limit. Behind the scenes it trims colors first, then dimensions, then frame rate, only as far as needed.
You'll see the new size, how much was saved and a clear ✓ when it fits the limit. Compare quality with the slider, then download.
Real limits, checked
Limits change, and old numbers linger in guides. These are the figures the GIF compressor presets use, checked in October 2026.
Discord raised the free upload limit from 10 MB to 20 MB in August 2026, and phones now check the original file size, so a big GIF can't slip through on mobile anymore. For emoji, crop to a square first: the 128 × 128 version has to fit in 256 KB.
Gmail accepts 25 MB, but many company mail servers stop at 10 MB, which makes 10 MB the safe choice for attachments. A GIF shown inside a newsletter should be far lighter, so pick a custom target around 1 MB.
Forums and site builders cap uploads anywhere from 2 to 10 MB, so 5 MB clears most of them. On your own pages, lighter is always faster: the bytes you cut are bytes every visitor doesn't have to download.
Why is 8 MB still listed? It was Discord's free limit before 2023, and many forums and older guides still use it.
Honest results
Some targets simply can't be met. A five-megabyte clip will never squeeze into 10 KB with the picture intact, and a GIF compressor that pretends otherwise helps no one.
Instead of a green tick you see a clear ✗, the target you asked for and the smallest size this GIF actually reached. The tool stops after a fixed number of attempts, so it never spins forever.
The lightest result is ready to download with the settings it used, in case it's close enough for where you're posting.
Switch to Smallest file, trim the clip shorter, crop out empty space with the GIF Cropper, or pick a larger target. Long clips are often better shared as video.
Why it's different
Every attempt the GIF compressor makes runs inside your browser. The file stays on your device the whole time.
Transparent pixels stay transparent, and shrunk edges are blended with premultiplied alpha, so stickers keep clean outlines with no dark or white halo.
The loop setting is copied as-is, and the running time stays the same even when frames are dropped.
The compressed file holds only your animation: no logo, no caption, no end card.
Use the GIF compressor as often as you like, with no account, no daily cap and no paid tier.
The GIF compressor runs its attempts in a background thread with a live progress bar, in Safari on iPhone and Chrome on Android.
Ideas
Once a file fits the limit, it goes where it was meant to.
Get a reaction under 256 KB for an emoji or 512 KB for a sticker, and upload it to your server on the first try.
Message boards often allow only a few hundred kilobytes for signatures and avatars. Set a custom target and stay within the rules.
A clip under 10 MB gets through almost any inbox, and one under 1 MB keeps a newsletter quick to open on mobile data.
Lighter animations appear sooner, use less of a visitor's data plan and keep page-speed scores healthy.
X, Reddit and Tumblr all cap GIF uploads, and big files are often squeezed again on arrival. Sending a file that already fits means the platform has less reason to touch it.
FAQ
Quick answers about getting GIFs under a size limit. Didn't find yours? Email support@gifcropper.com.
Drop it into the GIF compressor at the top of this page, pick a target such as Discord upload or Email, and click Compress GIF. It tries stronger settings until the file fits, then shows the size before and after.
Choose Discord upload (20 MB) for a clip you want to post in chat, or Discord emoji (256 KB) for a custom emoji. For emoji, crop the clip to a square first so the 128 × 128 version keeps the part that matters.
Free accounts can upload files up to 20 MB, raised from 10 MB in August 2026. Nitro Basic allows 50 MB and Nitro 500 MB. Custom emoji must be under 256 KB and stickers under 512 KB.
Pick Discord emoji (256 KB), or type 256 KB as a custom target. Because that is small, expect fewer colors, a smaller picture and a lower frame rate. Cropping to the part you need first gives the best result.
Sometimes. When the target is close to the current size, fewer colors alone may be enough and the change is hard to spot. Big cuts always cost some detail. Keep quality limits how far it goes, and the slider shows what changed.
Yes. Transparent pixels stay transparent, and when the picture is scaled down the edges are blended with premultiplied alpha, so there are no dark or white halos.
Yes. The loop setting is copied exactly, and the total running time stays the same even when frames are dropped to save space.
Yes. The GIF compressor adds no watermark, needs no account and has no limit on how many files you run through it.
No. The GIF compressor works inside your browser, so files never leave your device and nobody else can see them.
Yes, in Safari on iPhone and Chrome on Android. Several attempts can take a little longer on a phone; the progress bar and status line show each step.
More tools
Keep only the part of the frame you need, or crop straight to Discord, Slack, X and Instagram sizes.
Open GIF Cropper →Set exact new dimensions by pixels, percent or preset, with an aspect-ratio lock.
Open GIF Resizer →Play an animation backwards, or forward and back as a seamless ping-pong loop.
Open GIF Reverser →Choose colors, frame rate and size yourself, and compare the result side by side.
Open GIF Optimizer →