What it is
AVIF applies AV1, the royalty-free video codec of the Alliance for Open Media, to still images and short animations. The file structure is HEIF, the same container as Apple's HEIC, with AV1 in place of HEVC.
| Property | AVIF |
|---|---|
| Image type | Raster |
| Compression | Lossy or lossless |
| Colour depth | 8, 10 or 12 bits per channel; HDR and wide colour gamut, with HDR metadata boxes |
| Transparency | Yes, as an auxiliary alpha image |
| Animation | Yes, as an AV1 image sequence (avis brand) |
| Dimensions | Up to 8,192 × 4,352 pixels in the baseline profile and 16,384 × 8,704 in the advanced profile per coded image; larger images are built from a grid of tiles |
| Metadata | Exif, XMP and ICC profiles, carried as HEIF metadata items |
AVIF is used mainly for images on websites, where Google reported significant compression gains over JPEG and WebP when Chrome added support.
Sources: AOMedia, AV1 Image File Format (AVIF) v1.2.0, v1.0.0 and AVIF overview; Chrome, New in Chrome 85; libavif, avifenc. Read 27 October 2026.
Which apps open it
| Platform or app | Opens AVIF | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome (desktop) | Yes, from Chrome 85 (August 2020) | |
| Edge | Yes, from Edge 121 | |
| Firefox | Yes, from Firefox 93 (October 2021) | Animated AVIF from Firefox 113 (May 2023) |
| Safari | Yes, from Safari 16 (September 2022) | iOS 16 first; macOS Ventura and iPadOS 16, and animated AVIF, from Safari 16.1 |
| Android | Decoding from Android 12 | 10-bit decoding is optional per device; encoding through MediaCodec from Android 14 |
| Windows | Through the AV1 Video Extension from the Microsoft Store | Microsoft documents AVIF in its HEIF imaging codec; the Photos app support page does not list AVIF |
| Photoshop | Yes, open and save | |
| Illustrator | Opens and places AVIF images | |
| GIMP | Yes, import and export, from 2.10.22 (October 2020) | 10 and 12 bits; animated images are not supported |
| Affinity Photo 2, Figma, Canva | Not listed in their supported formats | Convert to PNG first |
Sources: Chrome Platform Status, AVIF image decode; Microsoft Edge, Site-impacting changes; Firefox 93 and 113 release notes; Apple, Safari 16 and 16.1 release notes; Android, Supported media formats and Android 12 features; Microsoft, HEIF codec and Codecs in Media Player; GIMP, 2.10.22 release notes and image standards; Affinity Photo 2 file formats; Figma, Add images and videos to designs; Adobe, Supported file formats in Photoshop (updated 9 June 2026); Adobe, Supported file formats in Illustrator (updated 27 October 2025); Canva, Check file upload formats and requirements. Read 27 October 2026.
How to convert it
| Route | How | What the conversion loses |
|---|---|---|
| libavif, decode | avifdec image.avif image.png; --index all writes every frame of a sequence |
PNG keeps transparency and up to 16 bits; JPEG output is always 8-bit. --ignore-icc drops the colour profile |
| libavif, encode | avifenc image.png image.avif; -q 100 or -l for lossless, -d 10 for 10 bits |
Exif, XMP and ICC are copied unless --ignore-exif, --ignore-xmp or --ignore-icc is given |
| ImageMagick | magick image.avif image.jpg |
To JPEG: transparency, animation and high bit depth |
| libvips | vips copy image.png image.avif |
Uses AV1 when the file name ends in .avif; metadata copying follows the keep option |
| Freedam | Image URLs deliver AVIF to browsers that accept it; downloads offer the original or a WebP rendition | Renditions are resized and carry no metadata; the original stays in the library |
Sources: libavif, avifdec and avifenc; ImageMagick formats; libvips, heifsave. Read 27 October 2026.
How to convert it with AI
An AI assistant that can run commands on your computer, such as a coding agent in a terminal, can install libavif, the open-source AVIF tools from the Alliance for Open Media and run the conversion for you. Paste a prompt like this one, change the folder names, and read each command the assistant proposes before you approve it: it runs with your permissions on your files.
Install libavif on this computer, which includes avifdec (Homebrew package libavif on macOS, apt package libavif-bin on Debian or Ubuntu, MSYS2 on Windows).
Then convert every .avif file in the folder ~/Downloads/avif to PNG, keeping transparency and high bit depth, for example:
avifdec --depth 16 image.avif image.png
Write the PNG files to a new folder ~/Downloads/avif/png and keep the originals unchanged. When you have finished, list any file that failed, with the error.
AVIF in Freedam
Freedam accepts .avif files in the asset library, stores the original unchanged, and also produces AVIF from other images.
- Preview: Freedam decodes the file with libheif and the AOM decoder and makes a WebP preview of up to 1,536 pixels on the long side. An animated AVIF gets no preview: Freedam stores it and serves the original file only.
- Renditions: WebP copies 128, 256, 512 and 1,024 pixels wide are made at upload, and larger sizes up to 5,120 pixels are made from the same preview on first request. Freedam image URLs deliver any image in the library, whatever its original format, as AVIF to browsers that accept it, then WebP, then JPEG.
- Downloads: people with download rights choose between the original AVIF file and a WebP rendition. The download dialog suggests the 2,048-pixel WebP, or the largest size that is not wider than the original.
- Metadata: on upload Freedam reads the width, height and colour space, the Exif fields (camera, capture date, exposure, GPS position) and any Content Credentials. The description, keywords, creator and copyright notice in the file's IPTC or XMP fields fill the asset's own fields; where both hold a value, Freedam uses the IPTC one.
Frequently asked questions
Is AVIF better than WebP?
For file size, usually: Google reported significant compression gains over both JPEG and WebP when Chrome 85 added AVIF. AVIF also stores 10 and 12 bits per channel and HDR, which WebP does not. WebP opens in more design tools: Affinity Photo 2, Figma and Canva accept WebP and do not list AVIF.
Which browsers support AVIF?
Chrome from version 85, Firefox from 93 (animated AVIF from 113), Safari from 16 on iOS 16 and 16.1 on macOS Ventura, and Edge from 121.
Does AVIF support transparency and animation?
Yes. The specification stores transparency as an auxiliary alpha image and animation as an AV1 image sequence.
Related formats
Related terms
Serve an image as AVIF from your library
Open an image in Nordi's demo library and see the sizes Freedam produces from it, then embed it through an image URL that delivers AVIF to browsers that accept it.
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