If you are looking for the best GIF players to view animated GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) files like movies, this article is right for you. People tend to use more and more GIF files such as emojis in social networks, therefore finding an appropriate GIF player is important. This article will share various GIF players with you which will make sure you enjoy the best performance of GIF files on Windows, Mac, and mobile phones. Check them out here.

Part 1: 3 Best GIF Player for Windows

If you are running on Windows, you may find it useful to view animated GIF files through certain GIF players. Below GIF players will let you open and view GIF animation on Windows computer.

1. GIF Viewer

It is one of the best GIF viewers or you may call it GIF player to view animated GIF files with vivid performance. It offers functions such as play/pause, zoom, single step forward or backward (Pro version). Moreover, Pro version allows users to save GIF with changed speed, all image frames of a GIF file, or the current frame (when paused).

This app can be set as the default program for GIF files so it can be launched from Windows File Browser.

GIF-Viewer

2. Leawo Blu-ray Player

Frankly speaking, third party software can be very powerful yet intuitive to view animated GIF files with superb performance. Leawo Free Blu-ray Player is a great example. This multi-functional player provides comprehensive solutions for you to play back ISO files, Blu-ray, DVD, common video, HD video and audio files on Windows PC smoothly. To playback GIF files, you simply drop them to the player and all the effects will be displayed perfectly on Leawo Blu-ray Player. It is handy to use and what’s more, there will be custom features to allow users to make the player their own style, like subtitle display, audio and video parameters, skin, snapshot, zoom rate, and so on. In addition, when users want to playback region-locked Blu-rays or DVDs, it is no need to worry about how to remove region codes because this media player has already come equipped with decryption performance to handle all region codes perfectly.

3. FastStone Image Viewer

FastStone Image Viewer is another great GIF player to view animated files with ease. Actually it is a program suite including functions like image browser, converter and editor that supports all major graphic formats including BMP, JPEG, JPEG 2000, GIF, PNG, PCX, TIFF, WMF, ICO, TGA and camera raw files. Like Leawo Blu-ray Player, it is also freeware and it offers a wide range of features to allow users to do some editing. It is always a pleasure to drop your animated GIF files onto this tool for playback.

FastStone-Image-Viewer

Part 2: 3 Best GIF Player for Mac

Thanks to GIF players, now we can easily and happily view the GIF files on both Windows and Mac. For Mac users, it is good to seek GIF players for Mac exclusively. Some GIF player software let you pause, play and control the speed of GIF files, making the viewing experience very enjoyable. Mac users will be excited to learn below incredible GIF players.

Leawo Blu-ray Player for Mac

Fortunately we find that Leawo Blu-ray Player has provided versions for both Windows and Mac, which make sure users for all operating systems can get the best services from Leawo. To view animated GIF files on Mac, it is recommended to download and install Leawo Free Blu-ray Player for Mac. After installing the compact player on Mac, you can directly load the GIF files onto this player and the best effect will be displayed perfectly.

Likewise, it also functions as a Blu-ray, DVD, ISO, 4K HD player to provide users with a superb movie experience.

Leawo-Blu-ray-Player

2. QuickTime Player

As a default player on Mac, QuickTime player can also be used to play animated files. Originally, QuickTime player is developed to be capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. Users can directly load the GIF files to the player and it will playback vividly.

Though some may complain Apple has set an array of limitations on the formats to be available and accessible on QuickTime player, it is usually no problem to view animated GIF files on QuickTime player. You may give it a shot before you turn to other alternative GIF players for Mac.

quicktime

3. Preview

Undoubtedly, if you are running on Mac, it is suggested to use the default picture viewer - Preview. Preview is the default application in macOS for image files, like JPG and PNG, and PDF files. It is easy to access and it is handy to use. While it's primary purpose offers you a quick and easy way to see various documents, it has several pretty cool editing and markup features you may not even know. We all know that Preview is the default app for viewing images and PDF files on your Mac, and it is good to view GIF files with the ability to let you hide or show frames in animation by simply clicking to show all or show less in the sidebar.

preview

Part 3: 3 Best GIF Player for Mobile Phone

We have to admit the fact that we rely more and more on mobile phones. We use mobile devices all the time during work and life. GIF files like vivid and funny emojis made in GIF animated files significantly enrich our life thanks to a small and compact size and easy-to-transfer features. To view GIF files on mobile phones, check out below GIF players in advance.

1. GIF Player

It is a good choice to view the animated files on your mobile phone with GIF player. Honestly, it is a small app to let you quickly and easily browse and play animated GIF images on your Android phone or tablet. Plus, it allows you to browse and play GIFs saved on your device or find GIFs on some of the Internet's most popular GIF websites. A compact yet intuitive GIF player is very suitable for mobile phones and we do not suggest general users seek any complicated GIF players which may take up too much space and cost a lot of efforts to apply.

gif

2. OmniGIF

It is a GIF player but also a maker and editor for Android devices. With OmniGIF, you can do much more apart from viewing the animated files. That’s why it serves as the best choice for playing APNG (animated PNG) and animated WEBP on Android. To make it work, you just need to enable it in the settings menu. For advanced users, it is good to learn that this GIF player supports the following features.

a.Manage your GIF and short videos easily, hide your private content safely.
b.Play your content with free zoom/speed, forward/backward.
c.Create GIF from video clip, add closed captions.
d.Re-size, trim, optimize GIF file to shrink the file size.
e.Navigate Reddit GIF threads, manage your own favorite SubReddits.

OmniGIF

3. GIF Viewer

Well for iPhone users, GIF viewer is a familiar name. GIF Viewer is a popular GIF player for iOS users. You can free install it from App Store to your iPhone or iPad. It offers a simple way to play, share and organize all your GIF files stored in the Photos app. No matter you want to view or want to make GIF with ease, this app will fulfill the task within clicks. In addition, if you want to view GIF animations from other sources, you can open this GIF player and tap the + button for the GIF playback.

gif-viewer

Conclusion

To draw a conclusion, GIF animated files soon became popular in our life since its emergence and now we use GIF emojis the most in the social network. It delivers more than words and it helps connect people from each corner of the world. To view GIF files, GIF players play an important role. In this article, we have shared with you a number of incredible GIF players and now you can refer to our recommendation list for use.

In terms of Windows users, it is pretty sure they can simply use Microsoft-based GIF viewer to play any GIF files on PC. Besides, many third-party tools cannot be ignored like Leawo Blu-ray Player. This professional yet free of charge media player can do more than just a GIF player. It is also a Blu-ray, DVD, ISO, and 4K HD video player, allowing users to enjoy a cinema-like movie experience at home. For Mac users, it is also recommended to try third party software Leawo Blu-ray Player for Mac. In short, it is suitable for both beginners and advanced users and it is freeware. If you are looking for mobile phone apps to view animated files, GIF Viewer could be an option. It is handy and efficient to use.

All in all, you will be sure to enjoy a new era with incredible GIF files everywhere and powerful apps to make and view GIF files.