What is Discord’s custom emoji size limit?

Discord requires custom emoji files to be 256KB or smaller, and recommends 128×128 pixels. This is separate from the general message upload limit, which is much larger. Discord adjusts these limits from time to time, so check their own documentation if a file is rejected unexpectedly.

Why was my GIF fine in chat but rejected as an emoji?

They are two different limits. Message attachments on the free tier are allowed to be many megabytes, while custom emoji are capped at 256KB. The same file can pass one check and fail the other.

Will the emoji still animate after compressing?

Yes. Compression reduces colors, dimensions and frame rate, but the output is still a looping animated GIF. Very heavy reduction can make fast motion look choppy, which is why the tool stops as soon as the file fits instead of compressing as hard as it can.

What if it cannot reach 256KB?

The tool will hand back the smallest usable version it managed and tell you it fell short. At that point the clip is almost certainly too long — trim it to one or two seconds and run it again, which frees far more budget than any settings change.

Compress a GIF to 256KB

The size Discord requires for animated custom emoji.

Upload a GIF

Drop a .gif file to compress it under 256KB

Why Discord rejects animated emoji over 256KB

Discord applies a much smaller limit to custom emoji than to ordinary message attachments. A GIF you can post in a channel without any trouble will still be refused as an emoji, which is what makes this rejection so confusing the first time it happens — the file worked a moment ago in a different context.

Because emoji render at a small size in chat, the sensible order of operations is dimensions first, then frame rate, then palette. Scaling to 128×128 alone often gets most of the way there. This tool works down that same order automatically, checking the result after each pass and stopping as soon as the file fits rather than over-compressing by default.

If you are making the emoji from a video clip rather than an existing GIF, start from the Video to GIF tool and keep the clip under about two seconds. It is far easier to build a small GIF than to rescue a large one.

How to compress a GIF to 256KB

Upload your GIFDrop a .gif file onto the upload area, or click to browse for one on your device.
Compress to 256KBPress the compress button. The tool re-encodes the GIF and checks the result against the 256KB budget.
Let it retry if neededIf the result is still too large, the tool automatically tries again with stronger settings until the file fits.
Download the resultPreview the compressed GIF, check the final size, and download it to your device.

Making a Discord emoji?

Discord emoji uploads need 128×128 dimensions as well as the 256KB size cap. The dedicated tool sets the canvas and compresses in a single pass, which avoids the quality loss of re-encoding twice.

Open the Discord Emoji GIF Maker

Other target sizes

Frequently asked questions

What is Discord’s custom emoji size limit?: Discord requires custom emoji files to be 256KB or smaller, and recommends 128×128 pixels. This is separate from the general message upload limit, which is much larger. Discord adjusts these limits from time to time, so check their own documentation if a file is rejected unexpectedly.
Why was my GIF fine in chat but rejected as an emoji?: They are two different limits. Message attachments on the free tier are allowed to be many megabytes, while custom emoji are capped at 256KB. The same file can pass one check and fail the other.
Will the emoji still animate after compressing?: Yes. Compression reduces colors, dimensions and frame rate, but the output is still a looping animated GIF. Very heavy reduction can make fast motion look choppy, which is why the tool stops as soon as the file fits instead of compressing as hard as it can.
What if it cannot reach 256KB?: The tool will hand back the smallest usable version it managed and tell you it fell short. At that point the clip is almost certainly too long — trim it to one or two seconds and run it again, which frees far more budget than any settings change.