[2025 List] 11 Best GIF Players for PC, Mac, iPhone, and Android

GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format and has been one of the most exciting ways to share animated content. The support for the image format and portability leads to its popularity. However, despite the fact that Windows XP supports GIF, the pre-installed image viewers in recent versions of the operating system do not support opening GIF files. So, in this article, we will find out and share the top 11 GIF players for Windows, Mac, iPhone, and Android devices so you can choose the one that suits you best.

Part 1: Top 4 GIF Players for PC
Part 2: Top 3 GIF Players for Mac
Part 3: 2 Best GIF Players for iPhone
Part 4: 2 Best GIF Players for Android
Part 5: FAQs of GIF Player

Part 1: Top 4 GIF players for PC

1AnyMP4 Blu-ray Player

AnyMP4 Blu-ray Player is an all-in-one player for all multimedia files, including GIF. It can smoothly open digital video files, Blu-ray/DVD discs, folders, and ISO image files with lossless quality on your Windows or Mac computer. It can also play 4K/8K/UHD/HD videos, providing a high-resolution image. In addition, with a clear and intuitive user interface, this GIF player software is very easy to use. You can adjust the playback progress with the hotkeys to play and stop the GIF file, or select the scenes to take snapshots.

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Free Download For macOS

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Main Features:

Support 8K/4K/UHD/HD video playback with high quality.
Play animated GIF files, digital formats, Blu-ray, and DVDs smoothly.
An intuitive and user-friendly interface ensures that it is easy to use for beginners.
Play various video files like MP4, MOV, AVI, WMV, M4V, MTS, MKV, DivX, MXF, etc.
Easy and customizable controls for GIF playback, including Play, Stop, Previous, Next, etc.

PROS

Compatible with both Windows and Mac.
Intuitive and easy-to-use navigate interface.
Support various media formats, including GIFs.
Play high-definition content smoothly and losslessly.
Offers easy and highly customizable playback control options.

CONS

Not completely free as a dedicated media player software.

2 simple steps to play a GIF using the best GIF player:

1.Download and install the best GIF viewer.

Click the Free Download button above to download and install the latest version on your Windows or Mac computer. And then, open it to play animated GIF files.

2.Play the GIF file.

Drag the GIF file into AnyMP4 Blu-ray Player. You can also click the Open File button in the main interface to add the GIF file you want to play. After loading, it will start playing automatically. You can use the playback controls to get the perfect viewing experience.

2File Viewer Plus

File Viewer Plus is a GIF player for Windows PC. It supports over 400 file formats and has a built-in file viewer to read images, including GIFs, documents, audio, video, archives, etc., directly from files and folders on your computer. When browsing files with this GIF viewer, thumbnails of the files are displayed, and users can preview the contents of the files with a freely resizable preview pane. Apart from viewing these files, it can also edit, save, and convert files.

Main Features:

Load GIF files quickly and easily.
Let you view metadata and file properties.
Open and display over 400 different file types in this GIF player.
Integrate a straightforward interface and make it easy to navigate.
Import, view, edit, save, or convert GIF to JPG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, or JPEG2000.

PROS

Extensive file format types support.
Provides detailed information about files.
Offers basic editing and conversion tools.

CONS

Not optimized for animation GIFs.
Resource-heavy and less efficient for viewing GIFs.
Lack of advanced playback controls designed for GIFs.

3FastStone Image Viewer

FastStone Image Viewer is a fast, stable, user-friendly, specialized image viewer, converter, and editor for Microsoft Windows. It has powerful features, including image viewing, management, and basic image editing tools for resizing, cropping, and more. Moreover, this GIF video player is free of adware and spyware, which makes it safe to use. So, if you want to open GIFs on your computer, FastStone is also a good solution.

Main Features:

Zoom in, zoom out, and quickly switch between GIF images.
Offer an advanced interface and a comprehensive set of functionalities.
Manage GIF files and other images on your hard drive within the GIF player.
Display image thumbnails for previewing and managing them before opening.
Adjust Radius, Depth, and other parameters to view GIF images based on your needs.

PROS

Play GIFs smoothly with basic controls.
Fast and lightweight for handling GIFs.
Allows frame-by-frame navigation through GIF animations.

CONS

A bit outdated user interface.
Lack advanced GIF control, like adjusting speed and looping.
No dedicated GIF editing tools for creating or modifying GIFs.

4IrfanView

IrfanView is a fast and compact GIF graphics player for Windows PC, so it can usually load and play media files like GIFs quickly. It has a simple but powerful design, and in addition to playing GIF motion graphics smoothly, it offers frame-by-frame browsing and the ability to jump directly to an animated GIF's first (beginning) or last (end) frame. Besides, IrfanView also allows you to adjust the speed of GIF playback, set the number of times to loop the GIF, edit individual frames of the GIF, etc. In short, whether a beginner or a professional, you can use this tool to play and edit GIFs.

Main Features:

Display and play GIF images on Windows without interruptions.
Handle almost all image formats, including GIF, JPG, PNG, TIFF, etc.
Completely control GIF viewing with zoom/in/out and custom settings.
Does not hang or take up many resources even while viewing heavy GIF files.
View a specific frame in a GIF image or extract it and save it as a steady image within this GIF player.

PROS

Fast speed and low resource usage.
Allows for batch processing of images.
Excellent GIF support, including loop and adjustable speed.

CONS

Outdated and less intuitive interface for modern users.
Some advanced features require installing extra plugins.
Complex batch processing may mess up files if misused.

Part 2: Top 3 GIF Players for Mac

1Preview

Preview is an image and PDF viewer developed by Apple and built into the macOS operating system. So it can be used to watch animated GIF frames for Mac users. In addition to viewing document format files, it can edit these media types. Furthermore, you can use Apple Preview to convert GIF images. However, starting with Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger), Preview lost the playback function, and animated GIF files are displayed as individual frames in numbered sequence.

Main Features:

Support a large number of picture formats in addition to GIF.
View and manage GIF files on your hard drives with thumbnails.
Stable and does not require much space when playing GIF images.
Pre-installed on almost all MacBook Pro/Air/iMac or other models.
Control the GIF playback, such as showing all frames or hiding unwanted frames.

PROS

Integrated and pre-installed on macOS.
A clean interface is easy to use for basic GIF viewing.
Allows for previewing GIFs without fully opening the app.

CONS

Available for macOS only.
Limited advanced features for GIFs.
Lack of options for adjusting playback control.

2Sequential 2

Sequential 2 is an image viewer for Mac OS X. It was initially designed to open a folder of images and display them in order. It was initially designed to open images in a folder and display them in order. It supports displaying image files, including GIF, PNG, JPEG, and PDF files, and folders as well as compressed packages such as ZIP, RAR, CBZ, CBR, etc., from Mac computers. In addition, it can load GIF images on the Internet from web pages or image URLs.

Main Features:

Work as an image manager and a GIF player for Mac OS.
Support all commonly used image formats, such as GIF, PNG, etc.
Import an entire picture folder and view pictures in the correct order.
Extract pictures in Zip, RAR, PDF, and other archives without opening them.
Lightweight and completely free of charge without spyware, malware, or extra software.

PROS

Clean and straightforward interface.
Lightweight design for fast viewing of sequential images.
Optimized image sequences for more efficient display of GIFs.

CONS

Limited to macOS only.
Less specific GIF-related controls.
Full-screen mode and tabs switching issues.

3DropGallery

DropGallery is a Mac program that allows users to open and view animated GIFs. It natively supports all the popular image formats supported by Mac OS X, such as animated GIF, JPEG, PNG, and others. It is located in the Mac OS X menu bar, which is fast, lightweight, and always ready for use. Its design is quick, simple, powerful, and has excellent performance to provide a great browsing experience. Additionally, DropGallery can play animated GIF files on hover, making it a great way to browse animated GIFs and photos on your Mac.

Main Features:

Rotate, zoom in/out, browse, copy, or modify images.
Support quick controls, keyboard shortcuts, and hotkeys.
Open hundreds of GIF files without any lag or interruption.
Access and preview all GIF images on your hard drives at one time.
Quickly search for GIF or other images by type, file name, or other keywords.

PROS

Offers an appealing way to view GIFs.
Provides tools for organizing GIF collections.
Allows quick and easy sharing of files with others.

CONS

A bit expensive subscription cost.
Lacks some of the advanced features.
Have limitations in customization control options.

Part 3: 2 Best GIF Players for iPhone

1Giflay

Giflay is a GIF viewer application designed for iPhone and iPad users. It allows you to easily view all the GIF images or your favorite scenes saved in your albums and organize them into created albums. One of its highlights is the ability to play and zoom in on GIFs, allowing you to appreciate each image's details fully. In addition, Giflay offers a frame view option that allows you to manually control the playback speed of your GIFs, ranging from 0.2x to 4.0x. You can also use it to receive GIFs from your PC over Wi-Fi to transfer and view your favorite animated GIFs easily.

Main Features:

Manage GIF images in the iOS Photos app, such as deleting them.
Share animated pictures on Twitter or other social media directly.
Adjust the GIF playback speed from 0.2x to 4.0x within the GIF player.
Create an album to store GIF images on your iOS device and access them quickly.
Add a password to lock your albums to prevent others from spying on your privacy.

PROS

Lightweight and efficient design.
Good animation and picture quality.
Auto-detect and load saved GIFs from the users' photos.

CONS

Paid app requires a purchase.
Not available for platforms other than iOS.
Dependent on its photo stream for storage only.

2Gif Viewer & Player

Gif Viewer & Player is an iOS GIF player app that lets you manage, play, and share GIFs on your iPhone.You can download GIFs directly to the GIF viewer using the built-in web browser or import GIFs from photo albums. It offers various GIF playback functions, such as pause, shake, change the playback speed, zoom in/out, and tap to play it on the full screen.

Main Features:

Allow you to control the GIF playing speed in 7 levels.
View GIF images on iPhone in full screen or standard screen.
Adjust background color based on the style of your GIF image.
Switch GIF animation frame by frame while pausing in the GIF player.
Control GIF animation playback with gestures, like swiping left and right to control the frames.

PROS

Built-in browser for direct GIF downloads.
Allow GIF management from albums, iTunes file sharing, etc.
Enable exporting, converting, and sharing GIFs via iMessage or Email.

CONS

GIFs may sometimes appear blurry.
Have problems saving GIFs to the camera roll.
May track user data across other apps and websites.

Part 4: 2 Best GIF Players for Android

1GIF player/editor - OmniGIF

GIF player/editor - OmniGIF is an app that lets you manage your GIFs and short videos. It not only plays GIF images on Android, but also allows you to easily manage your GIFs and short videos, and securely hide your private content. It can freely zoom, speed up, or resize, crop, and optimize GIF files to reduce file size. Furthermore, you can use it to create GIFs from video clips or browse Reddit GIF threads and manage your favorite SubReddits.

Main Features:

Rotate the image or reverse play your GIF frames.
View GIF images on websites like Reddit, Thumbler, etc.
Let you watch a GIF image frame by frame to get more details.
Control GIF playing speed from 1/8x to 8x based on your needs.
Privately store GIF images and protect your secrets within the GIF player for Android.

PROS

Support viewing GIFs frame by frame.
Offers zoom functionality to see more details.
Reddit integration allows navigating Reddit GIF threads.

CONS

Confusing interface for some users.
Does not integrate well with other apps.
Permission requests exceed what users can accept.

2GIF Maker, GIF Editor

GIF Maker, GIF Editor is the last GIF player in this list. It is a powerful all-in-one application that lets you easily create, open, and edit high-quality GIFs without any watermark. With its intuitive and easy-to-use interface, you can easily convert images, videos, screen recordings, and even existing GIF animations into stunning animations. It supports various popular video and image formats, including GIF, PNG, JPEG, MP4, MPEG, FLV, 3GP, and more.

Main Features:

Display a GIF image frame by frame.
Support animated GIF, PNG, JPG, and BMP image formats.
Free of charge and look at ads to exchange free functionalities.
View images on your Android phone within the GIF player easily.

PROS

Allow extracting individual frames from GIFs.
Extensive editing tools, including many options.
Versatile GIF creation from video, images, screen recording, etc.

CONS

Overcomplicated interface for simple tasks.
Issues with advertisements and some crashes.
May collect user data, including location and app activity.

Part 5: FAQs of GIF Player

How do I play a GIF in Chrome?

To play a GIF in Chrome, you need to drag and drop the GIF into your Chrome browser. Then, it will play the GIF automatically.

Where can I get a GIF image?

You can download the GIF images online. Moreover, you can also create GIF images from videos via third-party GIF maker software.

How long is a GIF video?

In fact, GIFs are not limited in time length. However, the length of GIF images uploaded to online platforms is limited by those platforms. 2-6 seconds is the best option. If the GIF is longer, you may need to watch a video instead of a GIF. Once the GIF is shorter, you may regard it as a still image.

Download the Best GIF Players for Free

Among the 11 GIF players for all platforms introduced above, AnyMP4 Blu-ray Player is absolutely the best one out there. This GIF viewer for Windows and Mac OS is an all-in-one multimedia player capable of playing Blu-ray, DVD, digital video and audio, and many other media files besides GIFs. It also has excellent picture quality, allowing you to enjoy the highest-quality GIF playback experience. It is time to download and try it for free!

Free Download For Windows

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Free Download For macOS

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Conclusion

A GIF player can play GIF images frame by frame. With the 11 GIF players for all platforms introduced above, you should have found which one suits you best and understand how to use it to watch GIF images and enjoy animated content on various devices. Hope our sharing and recommendations are helpful to you, and if you have any other better choices, feel free to share them in the comment section. Or if you have any questions, you can also comment, and we will answer them for you!