SFD to AVIF Converter

Create next-gen AVIF images from FontForge font sources online

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Next-Gen Web Format

AVIF delivers the best compression available — font specimens from your SFD load faster than any other image format in modern browsers.

Exceptional Quality

AV1 compression preserves fine typographic detail from your SFD with virtually no visible artifacts, even at very small file sizes.

Server Encoding

AVIF encoding is computationally intensive but Convertio handles it on powerful cloud servers — fast results without taxing your device.

How to convert SFD to AVIF

1

Select files from Computer, Google Drive, Dropbox, URL or by dragging it on the page.

2

Choose avif or any other format you need as a result (more than 200 formats supported)

3

Let the file convert and you can download your avif file right afterwards

About formats

SFD (SplineFont Database) is the native source file format of FontForge, the free and open-source font editor originally created by George Williams in 2000 under the name PfaEdit. The format stores a complete font project — glyph outlines (cubic and quadratic splines), advance widths, side bearings, hinting instructions, kerning and OpenType feature tables, naming records, and metadata — in a single human-readable text file. Each glyph is described by its Unicode code point, outline coordinates, reference composites, and anchors, making the entire font design inspectable and diffable with standard text tools. SFD functions as the editable working format during font development, from which finished fonts are compiled to binary formats like OTF, TTF, or WOFF. A primary advantage is version control friendliness — because SFD is plain text, font designers can track changes to individual glyphs, merge contributions from collaborators, and maintain full revision history using Git or any other VCS. The format's completeness is another strength: it preserves every piece of data that FontForge can represent, including TrueType instructions, contextual substitution lookups, and multiple master axes, avoiding round-trip data loss during editing. The SFD specification is publicly documented and has evolved through several versions. FontForge's widespread adoption in the open-source type design community means SFD serves as the source format for hundreds of freely licensed font families distributed worldwide.
Developer: George Williams
Initial release: November 7, 2000
AVIF (AV1 Image File Format) is a modern image format derived from the AV1 video codec, developed by the Alliance for Open Media and specified in February 2019. The format leverages the intra-frame coding tools of AV1 — a royalty-free video codec backed by Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Netflix, and other major technology companies — to compress still images with substantially higher efficiency than JPEG, PNG, or even WebP. AVIF stores images in the HEIF (High Efficiency Image File Format) container, supporting both lossy and lossless compression, HDR (high dynamic range) with wide color gamuts up to 12-bit depth, alpha transparency, and animated sequences. At equivalent visual quality, AVIF files are typically 30-50% smaller than WebP and 50-70% smaller than JPEG, representing the largest compression improvement in mainstream image formats in over a decade. One advantage is exceptional compression efficiency — AVIF delivers visually indistinguishable images at dramatically lower file sizes, directly reducing bandwidth consumption and improving page load times for web content. The royalty-free licensing model provides another key strength: unlike HEIC/HEIF which relies on patent-encumbered HEVC, AVIF's AV1 foundation is free for anyone to implement without licensing fees. Browser support has reached broad adoption, with Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge all rendering AVIF natively. The format is rapidly gaining adoption for web images where quality-to-size ratio is paramount.
Initial release: February 8, 2019

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert SFD to AVIF?

AVIF uses AV1 compression for images 50% smaller than JPEG at equal quality. Perfect for ultra-lightweight font specimen images on modern websites.

How do I open an AVIF file?

Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge all support AVIF natively. Image editors like GIMP and Photoshop (with plugins) also handle the format.

Does AVIF support transparency?

Yes, AVIF includes full alpha channel support — render your SFD font glyphs on a transparent background for flexible web use.

Is AVIF widely supported?

All major browsers support AVIF as of 2024. It is rapidly becoming the new standard for web images alongside WEBP.

Is the conversion free?

Convertio converts SFD to AVIF for free online — no sign-up, no software, just your browser.