11 Best GIF Players for PC, Mac, iPhone and Android 2022
"I use Windows 10 and I need a good GIF player software that starts up quickly and runs very well, the default Photos viewer does not open GIF files as animated images." GIF, standing for Graphics Interchange Format, has been one of the most exciting ways of sharing animated contents. The support and portability for the picture format lead to the popularity.
However, the recent versions of the operating system do not support GIF files on the pre-installed picture viewer despite supporting the GIF from the Windows XP. Therefore, we will identify and share top 11 GIF players for Windows, Mac OS X/11/12, iPhone and Android device.
GIF Players
Part 1: Top 4 GIF players for PC
Top 1: AnyMP4 Blu-ray Player
AnyMP4 Blu-ray Player is a player for all multimedia files including GIF. More than that, you can open Blu-ray/DVD disc, folders and ISO image file, as well as 4K/1080p HD video files smoothly on your computer.
Key features:
- • Play animated GIF files, Blu-ray and DVD disc without any region limit.
- • Play various video files like MP4, MOV, AVI, WMV, M4V, MTS, MKV, DivX, MXF, etc.
- • Support 720p HD, and 4K video playback with high quality.
- • Work on Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP and Mac (macOS Ventura included).
- • Customizable controls of playback.
Simple steps to use the best GIF player
Step 1. Install the best MKV player
The GIF player is compatible with Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP and Mac OS X 10.6 or later. Install the latest version to your computer and open it when you want to play animated GIF files.
Step 2. Play GIF file
Simply 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. Alternatively, click “File” menu on top ribbon choose “Open File”, and open the GIF file.
Top 2: FileViewer Plus
Key features:
- • Open and display over 300 different file types in this GIF player.
- • Import, view, edit, save or convert GIF to JPG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, or JPEG2000.
- • Integrate a straight interface and easy to navigate.
- • Load GIF files quickly and easily.
- • Let you view metadata and file properties.
- • Free to download and get the fully-functional trial for 14 days.
Top 3: FastStone Image Viewer
Key features:
- • Offer an advanced interface and a comprehensive set of functionalities.
- • Display image thumbnails for previewing and managing them before opening.
- • Zoom in, zoom out and switch between different GIF images quickly.
- • Manage GIF files and other images on your hard drive within the GIF player.
- • Adjust Radius, Depth and other parameters to view GIF images based on your need.
Top 4: Irfan Viewer
Key features:
- • Handle almost all image formats, including GIF, JPG, PNG, TIFF, etc.
- • Display and play GIF images on Windows 10/8/7 without interruptions.
- • Completely control GIF viewing with zoom/in/out and custom settings.
- • View certain frame in a GIF image or extract it and save as a steady image within this GIF player.
- • Not hang or take up much resources even while viewing heavy GIF files.
Part 2: Top 3 GIF players for Mac
Top 1: Preview
Key features:
- • Pre-installed on almost all MacBook Pro/Air/iMac or other models.
- • Work as a photo manager as well as a GIF player on Mac OS X/11/12.
- • View and manage GIF files on your hard drives with the thumbnails.
- • Support a large number of picture formats in addition to GIF.
- • Control the GIF playback, such as show all frames or hide unwanted frames.
- • Stable and not require much space when playing GIF images.
Top 2: Sequential
Key features:
- • Pack both an image manager and a GIF player for Mac OS X/11/12.
- • Support all commonly used image formats, such as GIF, PNG and more.
- • Extract pictures in Zip, RAR, PDF and other archives without opening them.
- • Import an entire picture folder and view pictures in the correct order.
- • Lightweight and completely free of charge without spyware, malware or extra software.
Top 3: DropGallery
Key features:
- • Famous as a super-fast photo manager and a GIF player on Mac.
- • Access and preview all GIF images on your hard drives at one time.
- • Open hundreds of GIF files without any lagging or interruption.
- • Quickly search for GIF or other images by type, file name or other keywords.
- • Rotate, zoom in/out, browse, copy or modify images with high performance.
- • Support quick controls, keyboard shortcuts and hotkeys.
Part 3: 2 Best GIF players for iPhone
Top 1: Giflay
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/giflay-gif-viewer/id880452368
Key features:
- • Play GIF on iPhone XR/XS/X/8/7/6/6s and iPad smoothly.
- • Create an album to store GIF images on your iOS device and access quickly.
- • Adjust the GIF playback speed from 0.2x to 4.0x within the GIF player.
- • Manage GIF images in iOS Photos app, such as delete them.
- • Add password to lock your albums to prevent others from spying your privacy.
- • Share animated pictures to Twitter or other social media directly.
Top 2: Gif Viewer & Player
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gifplayer-free-animated-gif/id421705291
Key features:
- • Play and pause GIF playback at any frame.
- • Switch GIF animation frame by frame while pausing in the GIF player.
- • Adjust background color based on the style of your GIF image.
- • Control GIF animation playback with gestures, like swipe left and right to control the frames.
- • Allow you to control the GIF playing speed in 7 levels.
- • View GIF images on iPhone in full screen or standard screen.
Part 4: 2 Best GIF players for Android
Top 1: Gif Player
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.robin.huangwei.gifviewer&hl=en_US
Key features:
- • Privately store GIF images and protect your secrets within the GIF player for Android.
- • Control GIF playing speed from 1/8x to 8x based on your need.
- • Let you watch a GIF image frame by frame to get more details.
- • Rotate the image or reverse play your GIF frames.
- • Work on a variety of Android devices without extra codec.
- • View GIF images on websites, such as Reddit, Thumbler, etc.
Top 2: Animated GIF Viewer
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.codein.gifviewer2&hl=en
Key features:
- • View images on your Android phone within the GIF player easily.
- • Support animated GIF, PNG, JPG, and BMP image formats.
- • Free of charge and look at ads to exchange free functionalities.
- • Display a GIF image frame by frame.
Part 5: FAQs of GIF Player
How do I play a GIF in Chrome?
For playing GIF in Chrome, you need to drag and drop the GIF into your Chrome browser, and 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 the GIF images from videos via the third-party GIF maker software.
How long is a GIF video?
Actually, GIF is not limit in time length. For uploading the GIF images to online platforms, the length is limited by those platforms. However, 2-6 seconds are the best option. If the GIF is longer, then you may need to watch a video, instead of GIF. Once the GIF is shorter, you may regard it as a still image.
Conclusion
Now, you should understand how to watch GIF images and enjoy the animated contents on various devices with the best GIF players. Unlike standard photo viewer, a GIF player is able to play GIF images frame by frame. We wish that our sharing and recommendations are helpful to you.