PNG offers true color support (16.7 million colors) vs GIF's 256 color limit, better compression for most graphics, and improved transparency. For non-animated images, PNG provides superior quality with smaller file sizes.
If the original GIF used fewer than 256 colors, the quality will be identical. If the image was originally reduced to 256 colors, PNG can't recover the lost data, but it will prevent further degradation and provide better quality for future edits.
PNG doesn't support animation (though APNG does). Converting an animated GIF to PNG will only save the first frame as a static image. If you need animation, keep the GIF or consider modern formats like WebP.
For most graphics, logos, and screenshots, yes. PNG's compression algorithm is more efficient. However, very simple images with few colors might be similar in size. The quality benefits of PNG usually outweigh any small file size differences.
Yes! Both GIF and PNG support transparency. PNG actually offers better transparency with 256 levels of opacity (alpha channel) vs GIF's binary transparency (fully transparent or fully opaque), providing smoother edges.