How to turn a video into a GIF
GIFs play automatically, loop forever and work almost everywhere: chats, emails, forums, documentation and slide decks. This tool turns a few seconds of any video into a looping GIF. Pick the moment, the length, the size and the smoothness, and it makes the GIF right in your browser, without uploading your video.
- 1
Add your video
Drop in an MP4, MOV or WebM video, or try the sample. The preview plays so you can find the moment you want.
- 2
Choose the moment
Drag the Start slider, or pause the video and press “Use the video’s current time”. Then choose a length of 2, 3, 5 or 8 seconds.
- 3
Pick the size and smoothness
Small (320 px wide), Medium (480 px) or Large (640 px), at 10 or 15 frames per second. The tool shows how many frames that is.
- 4
Make the GIF and download
Short GIFs are ready in about a second. The result card shows the GIF playing and its file size.
Keep GIFs short and small
GIF is a 1980s image format. It stores every frame as a full picture with at most 256 colors, and it has no sound. That makes GIFs much bigger than the same moment as a video: a few seconds at 480 pixels wide is often 1 to 3 MB, and long or large GIFs quickly reach tens of megabytes.
- Length matters most: 2 to 3 seconds is the sweet spot for reactions and loops.
- Size: 320 px is plenty for chats; 480 px for docs and articles; 640 px only when detail matters.
- Frame rate: 10 fps is fine for most clips; 15 fps is smoother for fast motion, at a bigger file size.
Smooth gradients (skies, skin, studio lighting) can show bands, because of the 256-color limit. Busy, colorful scenes hide it better.
GIF or video?
Many apps, including Discord, Slack and most social networks, play short MP4 videos inline and loop them, with better quality at a fraction of the size. Choose a GIF when you need it to work everywhere, especially in email, README files, documentation tools and older forums. Choose a short video otherwise: trim the moment and, if needed, compress it.
For a clip with sound to share on Discord, see Compress for Discord and our guide to Discord’s 10 MB limit.
Good uses for GIFs
- Reactions from your own videos or streams.
- Product demos in emails and landing pages, where video often won’t autoplay.
- Software documentation and bug reports: show the click, not just describe it.
- Teasers for your next video on platforms that support GIFs.
Use clips you own or have permission to use.
GIFs from phone videos
The size setting is the GIF’s width. A vertical phone video at Medium is 480 pixels wide and about 854 tall, so it is bigger than a landscape GIF of the same width. To keep vertical GIFs light, choose Small, or make a square version first with Resize for Social and turn that into a GIF.
Phone videos are often recorded at 30 or 60 frames per second. A GIF at 10 or 15 fps looks a little less fluid, but it is a fraction of the size, which is the right trade for most GIFs.
Private by design
Frames are taken from your video and turned into a GIF by your own browser, so the original never leaves your device. How it works explains the details.
Frequently asked questions
How long can my GIF be?
Up to 8 seconds. GIFs get very large beyond that, so for longer clips a short video is usually a better choice.
Why is my GIF bigger than the video?
GIF stores each frame as a full picture and can’t use modern video compression, so the same moment takes more space. Shorter, smaller, 10 fps GIFs stay light.
Does the GIF have sound?
No. The GIF format can’t hold sound. Keep a short video if you need audio.
Why do the colors look banded?
GIFs can use at most 256 colors per frame, so smooth gradients show steps. That is a limit of the format itself.
Is there a watermark?
No. Your GIF has no watermark and no branding.
Is my video uploaded?
No. The GIF is made in your browser and saved straight to your device.