How to Compress a GIF Ad Creative to 150 KB: Four Methods for Affiliates

You've made a great creative or trimmed the perfect piece of video, and the file is still too big for the ad network. Here's how to bring a GIF down to 150 KB without wrecking it, so it passes moderation and still stops the scroll.

The problem with big GIF files

Internet speeds have changed a lot; ad network rules for creatives, much less. Google Ads is the classic example: image ads, including animated GIFs, have a maximum file size of 150 KB.

For animation there are more rules: the animation must last 30 seconds or less (a loop has to stop after 30 seconds), and the frame rate must be 5 frames per second or slower. Other networks set their own limits; check them before you design.

You have two ways out: switch to HTML5 where the network accepts it, or compress the GIF without losing the message. This guide covers the second.

What makes a GIF heavy

A GIF is a sequence of frames plus timing for each frame. Its size depends mainly on:

• the number of frames: every frame adds weight;
• the number of colors: a GIF palette holds up to 256 colors, and each extra color costs;
• the pixel dimensions of the image;
• how much changes between frames: fades, gradients and camera movement are expensive; flat areas are cheap.

So compression comes down to four levers: frames, colors, duration and dimensions.

Before you start

Open the GIF in an editor that shows frames, such as Photoshop or any tool that splits a GIF into frames. You'll work frame by frame, then export with new settings.

Method 1: delete unnecessary and duplicate frames

The easiest win. Go through the animation frame by frame and remove duplicates and frames that add nothing. The creative gets tighter and lighter.

After removing frames, fix the delays so the pacing stays the same: give the remaining frame the time the deleted ones used to take. Otherwise the animation speeds up or stutters.

Method 2: use as few colors as possible

Fewer colors, smaller file. You don't have to go to black and white, but most ad creatives look fine with far fewer than 256 colors.

• Use adaptive color reduction: it keeps the colors that appear most often and balances file size against color accuracy.
• In Photoshop's export dialog, lower the number of colors step by step (128, 64, 32) and watch the preview.
• A monochrome or limited palette in the design itself makes this step painless, and toning down harsh brightness helps too.

Method 3: shorten the animation

A shorter GIF is a lighter GIF. Trim parts that don't carry the message; even a few seconds less helps. If you're converting from video, cut it before converting.

• Replace fades with cuts. A fade generates many frames full of intermediate colors. A hard cut between scenes costs almost nothing.
• Use slides instead of dissolves if you want a transition: one frame sliding over the previous one keeps the color count low.

Method 4: optimize in Photoshop or online

Photoshop. When you import video with File > Import > Video Frames to Layers, you can keep only every second or every fourth frame. That cuts the frame count at the source; then export with the reduced palette.

Online optimizers. If you'd rather not use Photoshop, run the file through an optimizer. Most let you set a quality level and reduce colors or frames in seconds. Options include:

• Ezgif
• iLoveIMG
• Online-Convert
• Compressor.io
• GIF Compressor
• GifGifs
• GifMaker.me

Check each tool's upload limit, and always compare the result with the original before uploading. Use an optimizer as the final step, or as a fallback when the methods above aren't enough.

The order that works

1. Cut duplicate and unnecessary frames, then fix the delays.
2. Reduce the colors.
3. Shorten the animation and replace fades with cuts.
4. Finish with an optimizer and check the quality.

Then make sure the file meets every rule of the network, not just the size, before you submit it for moderation.