Convert Video to GIF

Turn a clip from any common video format into a looping GIF. MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV and AVI all go in; a palette-tuned GIF that autoplays anywhere comes out.

The converter is ffmpeg compiled to WebAssembly. It downloads once (30 MB) when you pick your first file, then stays in your browser cache.

Frame rate and width are the two levers on GIF size. 15 fps still reads as smooth motion, and 480 px suits chats and comments. GIFs grow fast, so a few seconds of video is the sweet spot.

Your file is processed by your own browser and never uploaded. The engine itself is a one-time 30 MB download the first time you use it, and after that it comes out of your browser cache.

How to use Video to GIF

  1. 1Drop a video onto the box above; any common format works.
  2. 2Pick a frame rate and width below, or keep the defaults of 15 fps and 480 pixels.
  3. 3Download the looping GIF, or tweak and apply again until the size suits its destination.

One page for every source format

The practical difference between this page and our MP4 to GIF page is the front door: this one is for clips that arrive as MOV from an iPhone, WebM from a screen recorder, MKV from an archive or AVI from an old camera. The decoder reads all of them, so there is no convert-to-MP4-first step. The output side is identical, and identical advice applies: GIF rewards short, small and deliberate.

Frame rate and width are the two dials. The defaults, 15 frames per second at 480 pixels wide, produce a GIF that reads as smooth in a chat window while staying postable. Drop to 10 fps when the motion is simple, and only go wider than 640 when the destination genuinely displays it that large.

Why the palette pass is worth having

Every GIF converter faces the same wall: 256 colours per palette. What separates results is how the palette is chosen and how frames are mapped onto it. This tool spends a pass watching your actual footage and weights the palette toward colours in the regions that change, then applies ordered dithering rather than the error-diffusion that makes flat areas crawl. Faces, skies and product shots come out visibly cleaner than a generic-palette conversion of the same clip.

GIF is a choice, not a default

A muted autoplay video beats a GIF wherever video is allowed: far smaller, full colour, smooth. The reason to convert video to GIF is the places that treat images and videos differently, like READMEs, documentation, forums, and issue trackers, where a GIF autoplays and a video is a link somebody may not click. Aim this tool at those, keep the clip tight, and everything happens on your own machine with nothing leaving the browser.

Frequently asked questions

Which video formats can I convert?
Practically anything a camera, phone, screen recorder or editor produces. MP4, MOV, M4V, WebM, MKV and AVI are the common cases; the decoder underneath reads far more. Whatever the container, the output is the same looping GIF, so this page is the one to bookmark if your clips arrive in mixed formats.
How long a video should I feed it?
A few seconds. That is a property of GIF, not a limit of this tool. Size grows with every frame, and GIFs beyond about ten seconds become files that chat apps and forums refuse. Trim to the moment that matters first. If you actually need the full clip playing silently on a page, a muted autoplay video does that at a tenth of the size.
Why does the output have no sound?
GIF has no audio track; the format simply cannot carry one. Converting to GIF always discards the soundtrack. If you want the sound kept, you want a video format, and if you want the soundtrack itself, our video to MP3 tool extracts it.
What quality should I expect?
GIF holds 256 colours per palette, so gradients band and photographic footage loses smoothness; that is the format's ceiling and no converter clears it. Within that ceiling, this tool does the two things that matter, building the palette from your actual frames and dithering in a pattern that does not shimmer, which is visibly better than a generic-palette conversion.
Is my footage sent anywhere?
No. Decoding, palette analysis and GIF encoding all run in your browser with ffmpeg compiled to WebAssembly. The clip never leaves your device.

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