Free webp to jpg
EN
Image MIME Reference
Compressed-XCF

Compressed GIMP XCF Image

image/x-compressed-xcf
VS

HEVC Image Sequence (HEIF Container)

image/heic-sequence
HEIC-Sequence

A complete technical comparison of Compressed GIMP XCF Image and HEVC Image Sequence (HEIF Container) — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.

HEIC-Sequence wins on browser support

Feature Support

Feature Compressed-XCF HEIC-Sequence
Transparency (Alpha) Yes Yes
Animation Support Yes Yes
Progressive Loading ✕ No ✕ No
HDR Support Yes Yes
EXIF Metadata Yes Yes
ICC Color Profile Yes Yes
Compressed GIMP XCF Image
image/x-compressed-xcf
Extension
.xcf.gz.xcf.bz2.xcfgz.xcfbz2
Container Gzip or Bzip2 Archive
Compression Gzip (Deflate) / Bzip2
Algorithm
DeflateBWT (Burrows-Wheeler)
Color Depth 8-bit (Per Channel), 16-bit (Integer/Floating Point), 32-bit (Integer/Floating Point)
Developed by The GIMP Team
Released 1995
Magic Bytes
1F 8B 08 (gzip) or 42 5A 68 (bzip2)
Full Compressed-XCF reference →
HEVC Image Sequence (HEIF Container)
image/heic-sequence
Extension
.heics.heic
Container HEIF / ISOBMFF (ISO/IEC 14496-12)
Compression Lossy / Lossless
Algorithm
HEVC (H.265)
Color Depth 8-bit, 10-bit, 12-bit, 16-bit
Developed by Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) / Apple
Released 2017
Magic Bytes
XX XX XX XX 66 74 79 70 68 65 76 63
Full HEIC-Sequence reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser Compressed-XCF HEIC-Sequence
Chrome Chrome
✕ ✕
Firefox Firefox
✕ ✕
Safari Safari
✕
✓ 11+
Edge Edge
✕ ✕
IE IE (Legacy)
✕ ✕
Compressed-XCF

Compressed-XCF Strengths

  • Drastically reduces the massive file sizes of standard XCF project files, saving significant disk space
  • Preserves 100% of the non-destructive editing data (layers, masks, paths, guides) from the GIMP workspace
  • Uses standard, universally supported compression algorithms (gzip/bzip2) meaning the archive can be rescued or extracted by standard OS tools if GIMP is unavailable
Limitations
  • Increases file load and save times due to the CPU overhead required to compress and decompress the massive pixel arrays
  • Impossible for automated tools to parse metadata or dimensions without first unarchiving the payload into memory
  • File extension combinations (.xcf.gz) can confuse basic MIME sniffers which stop reading at the .gz extension
HEIC-Sequence

HEIC-Sequence Strengths

  • Incredibly efficient storage for bursts and short animations compared to GIF or motion JPEG
  • Supports 16-bit color, HDR, and alpha channel transparency across all frames
  • Shares frame data blocks, meaning the base image and animation data are heavily optimized for space
Limitations
  • Zero support in web browsers outside the Apple ecosystem (Chrome, Firefox, Edge do not support it)
  • Heavily encumbered by HEVC patent pools, hindering open-source adoption
  • Complex container structure makes parsing and decoding difficult without specialized libraries

When to choose which format

Compressed-XCF
Use Compressed-XCF when…
  • GIMP Multi-layer Project Archival
  • Saving disk space for complex raster edits
  • Open-source graphic design workflows
HEIC-Sequence
Use HEIC-Sequence when…
  • Apple Live Photos
  • Burst Photography
  • High-Quality Animations
  • Cinemagraphs

More comparisons

Compressed-XCF vs ACES → HEIC-Sequence vs ACES → Compressed-XCF vs APNG → HEIC-Sequence vs APNG → Compressed-XCF vs AVCI → HEIC-Sequence vs AVCI → Compressed-XCF vs AVCS → HEIC-Sequence vs AVCS → Compressed-XCF vs AVIF → HEIC-Sequence vs AVIF → All comparisons →
Share this comparison