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GIF vs PNG: Understanding the Key Differences

Differences in File Formats

While GIF and PNG are both widely used image file formats, they differ significantly in terms of their technical characteristics.

Compression and Color

GIF uses lossless compression, which means that the original image quality is preserved even after compression. However, GIF supports a limited color palette of 256 colors. PNG, on the other hand, uses lossless compression that does not degrade image quality and supports a broader range of colors.

Animation and Transparency

GIF supports animation, allowing you to create simple animated images. PNG does not support animation. Additionally, GIF supports transparency, enabling you to create images with transparent backgrounds. PNG also supports transparency but handles it differently, allowing for more complex transparency effects.

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