How do GIF and HEICcompare? Here's everything you need to know to choose the right format — and how to convert between them.
Graphics Interchange Format
GIF is a widely recognized format best known for animated images and short loops. While limited to 256 colors, GIF's animation support and universal compatibility make it a staple of web culture.
High Efficiency Image Container
HEIC is Apple's preferred image format, used by iPhones and iPads since iOS 11. It delivers significantly better compression than JPG while maintaining higher quality, but compatibility remains limited outside the Apple ecosystem.
| Specification | GIF | HEIC |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Graphics Interchange Format | High Efficiency Image Container |
| Extension | .gif | .heic |
| MIME type | image/gif | image/heic |
| Category | Image | Image |
| Developer | CompuServe | MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) |
| Year introduced | 1987 | 2015 |
| Compression | Lossy | Lossy |
Both GIF and HEIC have their strengths. GIF excels at animated images and memes, while HEIC is better for iphone and ipad photography.
Need to switch formats? Convert for free with SquishConvert.