How to Make a GIF From a Video
To turn a video into a GIF, choose the video above, set where the GIF starts and how long it runs, and press Make GIF. The GIF appears a few seconds later, ready to download or publish.
- Add the video. Drop an MP4, MOV, WEBM or other video file onto the box, or click to choose one (up to 100 MB).
- Pick the moment. Play the video, pause where the GIF should begin and press Start here, or type the start time in seconds.
- Choose length, width and frame rate. Up to 15 seconds, 320 to 640 px wide, at 10 or 15 frames per second.
- Make the GIF. Press the button, check the result, then download it or press Publish & get a link to host it and share a direct link.
Length, Size and Frame Rate
GIF is an old format with no real video compression: every frame is stored as a full picture with at most 256 colours. Three settings decide how big the file gets:
- Length. Twice as long is roughly twice the size. Reactions and loops work best at 2 to 5 seconds.
- Width. The biggest lever: 640 px has four times the pixels of 320 px. 480 px is a good middle for chat apps and forums.
- Frame rate. 10 fps keeps files small and still looks like motion; 15 fps is smoother for fast movement.
Colours are matched to your clip with a palette built from its own frames, so skin tones and gradients look cleaner than with a generic GIF palette. A GIF made here is limited to 20 MB.
iPhone and Phone Videos
Videos from an iPhone are usually MOV files, often recorded in HEVC; Android phones mostly save MP4. Both work here as they are - there is nothing to convert first. Phone clips are often recorded in 4K, but the GIF is scaled down to the width you choose, so the file stays small.
GIF to MP4
Going the other way? Switch to the GIF to MP4 tab and choose a GIF. The MP4 version usually comes out many times smaller than the GIF, plays in every browser and keeps the same frames - which is why most sites quietly turn uploaded GIFs into video.