Upload a .gif and Smartcat reads the text on it, translates it into any of 280+ languages, and puts the translated text back in place. Animation is preserved — every frame that carries text is translated and the file is rebuilt with its original timing and loop, so what you download plays exactly like what you uploaded.
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A GIF translator translates the text sitting on a GIF image — a caption, a banner headline, a UI label in a screenshot saved as .gif. Smartcat runs it through its AI image pipeline:
AI-powered OCR extracts the text and removes it from the background.
The text is translated, then reinserted into the original image.
Each text block stays editable before download — position, size, font, color and alignment — and text you do not want translated, such as a logo, can be hidden.
Animated GIFs are translated in full. Each frame carrying text is processed in sequence and the animation is reassembled with its original frame timing and loop count, so a multi-frame banner or product demo comes back as a working GIF rather than a single still.
Images are metered at a flat 1,000 Smartwords each, with no cap on how many go into one project. See the image translator for the same pipeline on other formats.
Translate the text on a GIF in six steps
1
Upload your .gif — one file, or several image files at once for bulk processing. No cap on how many files go into one project.
2
Pick your target languages from the 280+ available, and attach your glossary if the image uses product terms.
3
AI-powered OCR extracts the text from the image, removes it from the background, and translates it. On an animated GIF this runs across every frame that contains text.
4
Review in the Smartcat editor: edit the translation, then reposition, resize or restyle each text block — font, size, color, alignment — or hide text that should stay in the original language.
5
Invite your team members to review the translation before it ships, or assign reviewers from the Smartcat Marketplace.
6
Download the translated file — same image, new language.
Free for 15 days with 15,000 Smartwords — full access to translation capabilities, no credit card.
30%
More output, same resources
Wunderman Thompson localizes eCommerce content across 9+ markets and increased project output by 30% with the same team (case study).
99%
Less time on content localization
Huel cut website localization time by roughly 99% with Smartcat's Contentful integration — 13–18 hours a month became a couple of minutes (case study).
280+
Languages available
Every image can be translated into any of 280+ languages, with your glossary and translation memory applied so the same caption comes back the same way in every asset.
Captioned banners and single-message graphics
A large share of the “GIFs” in a marketing library are static exports or one-message cards. One frame is all there is, so the whole asset gets translated and one creative runs in every market. Glossary and translation memory keep the same product term across every image.
Support and help center screenshots still land as .gif in plenty of older content libraries. Their UI labels are text on an image — exactly what the pipeline reads — which is useful for multilingual help and learning content.
Select multiple image files for bulk processing and they go into one project with one review pass, instead of one upload per file. Mixed formats are fine — GIF next to PNG next to JPG.
translated in one pass, with the original frame timing and loop preserved — the animation you download behaves like the one you uploaded.
free with 15,000 Smartwords and no credit card. After the trial, usage is metered; there is no permanent free plan.
minimum for scanned material. Quality in, quality out — and larger files take longer to process.
on how many files go into one project — batches of hundreds are supported, on any plan. Images are metered at a flat 1,000 Smartwords each.
First-frame text extracted, translated into 280+ languages, and editable before download. Free for 15 days with 15,000 Smartwords, no credit card.
Yes, in full. Every frame that carries text is translated and the GIF is rebuilt with its original frame timing and loop, so the animation you download behaves like the one you uploaded. Your glossary and translation memory apply across all frames, which is what keeps a term identical from the first frame to the last.
Two things are still worth knowing. Text baked into a busy photographic background is detected but not always re-rendered cleanly, so check those frames before shipping. And a GIF exported from a design or video tool is often better translated at source — translate the text layer there and re-export, and you keep full control of timing.
Yes. The OCR pipeline returns the translated text as editable text blocks — change the translation, adjust position, size, font, color and alignment, or hide text such as a logo so it stays in the source language. Your reviewers can check it in-editor before it ships.
PNG, JPEG and JPG are supported for bulk processing. BMP, PCX, JPC, JFIF and GIF are also supported — and GIF, including animated GIFs, which are translated across all frames.
No. Neither APNG nor animated WebP appears in Smartcat's supported-format documentation. GIF is the only animated container accepted.
280+ languages, the same set as the rest of the platform, with your glossary and translation memory applied so terminology stays consistent across every asset.
There is no cap on the number of files — batches of hundreds are supported, on any plan. Larger files take longer to process, and for scanned material 300 DPI is the minimum that reads cleanly: quality in, quality out.
A flat 1,000 Smartwords per image, whatever the amount of text on it. The free 15-day trial includes 15,000 Smartwords and needs no credit card. Localizing a whole library of assets? Book a demo — 30 minutes with a localization specialist, no commitment.