Video to GIF Converter
Turn a clip into a looping GIF without uploading it. Set the frame rate, the output width and how many seconds you want — the frames are decoded and quantised locally in this tab.
How to make a GIF from a video
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Drop the video The file is read locally. Nothing is uploaded, and a long video is fine because only the range you ask for is decoded.
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Set the range and the size GIFs are heavy, so keep it short — a few seconds. Pick a width between 320 and 800 px and a frame rate between 8 and 20 fps.
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Generate and download Each frame is colour-quantised to a 256-colour palette and written into a single looping GIF.
Picking settings that keep the file small
GIF predates modern video compression by decades. It has no inter-frame prediction and only supports 256 colours per frame, so a GIF is usually two to ten times larger than the equivalent MP4. Three settings do most of the work:
| Setting | Effect | Rule of thumb |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | Linear — twice the seconds, twice the frames | 3–6 seconds |
| Frame rate | Linear — 20 fps is roughly double the size of 10 fps | 10–12 fps reads as smooth enough |
| Width | Quadratic — halving the width quarters the pixels | 480 px for chat and forums |
Because the work happens in your browser, we cap a single run at 300 frames. That keeps the tab responsive; for longer clips, generate several GIFs from different ranges.
What happens to the audio?
GIF has no audio track at all. If you need the sound, extract it separately as MP3 with the MP4 to MP3 converter and play the two alongside each other — that is how most sites present animated images with sound anyway.
If you want a moving image that keeps audio, an MP4 or WebM is the better format: it is smaller, it can carry sound, and every current browser plays it. Use GIF when you specifically need something that behaves like an image — pasting into a chat, an email, a README, or a platform that strips video elements.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a watermark?
No. The output is a plain GIF with no overlay, no trailing frames and no metadata added by us.
Why is my GIF so large?
GIF is an uncompressed-ish format by modern standards. Reduce the duration first, then the width. Dropping from 800 px to 480 px cuts the pixel count by about 64%.
Why is the colour slightly off?
GIF supports 256 colours per frame, so a photographic video has to be quantised. Flat graphics, screen recordings and animation convert almost perfectly; gradients and skin tones show the most banding.
Can I convert a whole long video?
Not in one pass — a single run is capped at 300 frames to keep the browser responsive. A 10-second clip at 12 fps is 120 frames, which is comfortable. For longer material, pick separate ranges.
Does it work with 4K or vertical phone video?
Yes, the aspect ratio is preserved and the output is scaled to the width you choose. A vertical clip stays vertical. Very high-resolution sources take longer to decode, since every frame is read at full size first.
Is my video uploaded anywhere?
No. Frames are decoded with WebCodecs directly from the local file and encoded to GIF in the same tab. There is no upload request at any point.