Video to GIF
Create animated GIFs from video clips
Your files are processed on your device. The first use downloads a processing engine, which your browser then keeps.
Drop a video to convert to GIFTap to choose a video to convert to GIF
or click to browseor tap to choose
Create animated GIFs from video clips
Large files (over 200 MB) may take longer or run out of browser memory
About Video to GIF
Converts a short video clip into an animated GIF, useful for sharing a quick clip somewhere GIFs are supported but video files aren't, like certain chat apps or forum posts. Runs entirely in your browser — the video never leaves your device.
Upload your video and download the resulting animated GIF. Longer clips take more time and produce larger files — this works best on short clips.
Keep the source clip under about 10 seconds — GIFs don't compress as efficiently as video, so longer clips can produce surprisingly large file sizes and take a while to generate. This is one of the slower video operations here since it has to re-encode every frame into GIF's own format. Some phone-recorded videos (particularly .mov files) use a codec this tool can't read — if processing fails right away, try re-exporting the video from your phone's own share options first.
Watch: Video to GIF in Action
- Is there a recommended video length for making a GIF?
- Keep the source clip under about 10 seconds if possible — GIFs don't compress as efficiently as video, so longer clips can produce surprisingly large file sizes and take a while to generate.
- Why is my GIF so much larger than the video?
- GIF stores frames with a simple colour-palette method and no video compression between frames, so it grows fast with width, frame rate and duration. Lower Width, drop Frames per second, shorten Length, or choose a Largest file value and let the tool step the settings down.
- What does the Largest file setting actually do?
- It encodes a short sample, estimates the full size, and lowers width and frame rate until the estimate fits with a safety margin. It then makes the real GIF and, if it is still too big, steps down up to two more times. If nothing fits, it reports how many seconds would.
- Can the GIF include sound?
- No. The GIF format has no audio track, so the sound from your video is dropped. If you need the audio too, keep the clip as a video and use the Compress Video tool to make it small enough to share.
- How do I make the GIF play once instead of looping?
- Tick Play once (no loop) before pressing Create GIF. Leave it unticked for a GIF that repeats forever. Changing the checkbox clears any earlier result, so you will need to create the file again.
- Why does processing fail straight away on my phone video?
- Some phone-recorded .mov files use a codec the in-browser engine cannot decode. Re-exporting the clip from your phone's share or save options, or converting it to MP4 first, normally gets past it. A blocked network can also stop the engine download.
How to use Video to GIF
Drop a video file; a small player appears so you can find the moment you want. Set Start (seconds), which begins at 0, and Length (seconds), which begins at 5 and cannot go below 0.5. Pick a Width from 240 to 800 px (480 by default), Frames per second from 5 to 20 (12 by default) and a Speed from 0.5x to 2x. Tick Play once (no loop) if the GIF should stop at its last frame. If the result must fit an upload cap, open Largest file and choose 2, 5, 8 or 10 MB.
Press Create GIF. A progress bar runs while the tool builds a colour palette and then encodes. The GIF appears with its size beside it, and Download saves it under the video's name with a .gif ending.
When to use it
Pick it when you need a short looping clip for a chat thread, a README, a support ticket or a forum reply where video uploads are not accepted: a screen recording showing three clicks, or a single moment cut from a longer file. The Largest file menu helps when a service caps attachment size and you would rather not guess at settings.
When not to use it
A GIF holds at most 256 colours per frame and has no sound, so it is a poor choice for long clips, gradients, film footage or anything where audio matters. For those, keep a video and shrink it with the Compress Video tool. A source longer than about 20 seconds triggers a warning here, because the encode is slow and the file grows quickly.
Tips for best results
Width and frame rate both drive file size, so for screen recordings try lowering Frames per second first: interface motion is usually slow enough to stay readable at 8 or 10. Set Start and Length here rather than trimming first, since the tool cuts that range itself. Because Length counts source seconds, Speed 2x turns the same stretch into a GIF half as long. With Largest file set, the tool tests a sample from the middle of your range before the full encode.
Limitations
Output is never wider than the source video, because the picture is scaled down but not enlarged. The first conversion downloads the video engine, so you need a connection once per session. Encoding runs on your own processor and memory, so wide, long or high-frame-rate clips are slow. Some phone .mov files use codecs the engine cannot read. If Largest file cannot be met, the tool says how long a clip would fit.
Privacy
Your video is copied into your browser tab's memory and converted there by an ffmpeg engine compiled to WebAssembly, so the footage never leaves your device. What does cross the network is the engine itself: its script and WebAssembly file are fetched from the jsDelivr content network the first time you convert something. That download contains nothing from your video.
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