How do I compress a GIF?
To compress a GIF, drop it into the box above, keep Balanced selected and press Compress GIF; the smaller file is ready to download a few seconds later. If you need it under a specific size, pick a target such as Under 256 KB (Discord emoji) first. GifWrench then raises the compression step by step and, only if that is not enough, reduces the width until the file fits.
- Choose or drop a GIF (or paste it with Ctrl+V / ⌘V).
- Pick a compression level, an optional target size and an optional new width.
- Press Compress GIF, compare the original and the result side by side, and download.
How much smaller will my GIF get?
It depends on the GIF. Animations with flat colors and a static background shrink a lot; noisy, photographic GIFs shrink less because every frame changes. The compression levels map to these gifsicle settings, so you know exactly what happens:
| Level | What it does | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Light | Lossless re-optimization plus very light lossy LZW (--lossy=20) | When quality must stay identical to the eye |
| Balanced | Lossy LZW at 60 | Most GIFs: noticeably smaller, hard to tell apart |
| Strong | Lossy 100 and a 128-color palette | Memes, reactions, chat |
| Maximum | Lossy 160 and a 64-color palette | Hitting a hard size limit |
If even Maximum is too big, resize: halving the width cuts the number of pixels to a quarter, which usually cuts the file size by more than half.
How do I make a GIF small enough for Discord, Slack or email?
Use the Target size menu. These are the limits people hit most often (they can change, so check the app if an upload still fails):
| Where | Size to aim for |
|---|---|
| Discord custom emoji | under 256 KB |
| Discord server sticker | under 512 KB |
| Discord upload on a free account | under 10 MB |
| Slack custom emoji | under 128 KB, square works best |
| under 1–2 MB so it loads quickly |
Emoji also need small dimensions (Discord and Slack display them at 128 pixels or less), so for emoji, try the GIF resizer with the Emoji 128×128 preset first, then compress.
Should I compress, resize or crop?
- Compress when the dimensions are right but the file is heavy.
- Resize when the GIF is larger on screen than it needs to be. This is the biggest single saving.
- Crop when only part of the frame matters, for example a face in a reaction GIF.
- Speed does not change the file size much; it only changes timing.
Is it safe to compress private GIFs here?
Yes. GifWrench never uploads your file. The page downloads the GIF engine when you open your first file; from then on all processing happens on your own device, in a Web Worker so the page stays responsive. Nothing about your file is sent anywhere.
How GifWrench works
GifWrench runs gifsicle, the long-standing open-source GIF optimizer, compiled to WebAssembly (via the gifsicle-wasm-browser package). Speed changes are done by rewriting the frame delays directly in the file, so they are lossless. Frame extraction and sprite sheets are drawn with your browser's canvas.