How to Turn a Video into a GIF

To turn a video into a GIF, open the Video to GIF tool, choose the video, set the start and end of the part you want, pick the frame rate and width, and tap Make the GIF. You see a preview and download a looping GIF.

The video stays on your device while the GIF is made. This guide explains the settings, why GIFs get big, and when a short video is the better choice.

What you need

• A video on your phone or computer (MP4, MOV, M4V, 3GP or WebM).
• A short part of it in mind. About 15 seconds or less works best.
• A recent browser. The page tells you if yours cannot read the video.

Steps to turn a video into a GIF

1. Open the Video to GIF tool, tap the box and choose your video. A player appears.
2. Set the part you want. Type a Start and an End, or play the video, pause at the right moment and tap Use now next to Start or End. By default the tool takes the first 15 seconds.
3. Choose the Frames per second. 10 is a good start, 15 is smoother and 5 is smaller.
4. Choose the Width: 240, 320, 480 or 640 pixels. The GIF is never made wider than the video.
5. Leave Play again and again ticked for a loop, or untick it for a GIF that plays once.
6. Read the line under the options. It shows the number of frames, the size in pixels and a rough file size. A warning appears if the GIF is long or likely to be big.
7. Tap Make the GIF. A bar shows the progress and a Cancel button stops it. Then check the preview, and download or share the GIF.

Why GIFs get big

A GIF is an old picture format. It stores a sequence of pictures and can show only 256 colours in each. It does not have the clever compression of a video file, which stores only what changes from frame to frame. So the size grows with three things:

• The number of frames. More seconds and more frames per second mean more pictures.
• The size of each picture. A GIF twice as wide has four times the pixels.
• How much changes. A steady camera with a small moving subject compresses well. A shaky camera or a busy scene does not.

The tool helps with the last one: pixels that did not change from the previous frame are written as see-through, which makes steady scenes much smaller.

Choosing the settings

• For a reaction GIF or a short loop, use 320 wide, 10 frames per second, and 2 to 5 seconds.
• For fast action, use 15 frames per second and keep the clip very short.
• To save space, use 5 frames per second and 240 wide. Slow, simple scenes still look fine.
• For a sharper picture, use 480 or 640 wide, and keep the clip short.

When a video file is better

Many chat and social apps play short video files as if they were GIFs, and a video file is usually far smaller. If your GIF comes out at several megabytes, try keeping it as a video: cut the part with Trim Video, and make it smaller with Compress Video. Our guide on compressing a video for WhatsApp shows how.

Colours

The tool picks the 256 colours that suit your clip best, using samples from all the chosen frames, and uses the same colours for every frame so the GIF does not flicker. Photos and smooth gradients can still look a little rough, because 256 colours is not many. Our guide on JPG, PNG and WebP explains the same limit for pictures.

Portrait videos

A video filmed upright makes an upright GIF. The tool turns the picture the right way.

Common problems

It says my browser can’t process video. Update Chrome, Edge, Samsung Internet or Safari, or try another browser.

It says this browser cannot read the video (HEVC). Some iPhone videos use HEVC, which some Android browsers cannot decode. Try Safari on an iPhone or Mac, or a recent Chrome or Edge on a computer.

The GIF is too big. Lower the frames per second or the width, or choose a shorter part.

The GIF is slow to make. The video is decoded twice, once to choose the colours and once to draw the frames, so long parts take longer. Keep the tab open.

The time boxes show an error. Type times like 1:23 or 83.5, with the end after the start and inside the video.

Frequently asked questions

Is my video uploaded?

No. The GIF is made inside your browser, on your device. The video never goes to our servers or anyone else.

How long can a GIF be?

Up to 60 seconds, but 15 seconds or less works best, and the page warns you above that.

Does the GIF have sound?

No. GIF files cannot hold sound, so a GIF is always silent. Use a video file if you need to keep the sound.

Can I make a GIF that plays only once?

Yes. Untick Play again and again before you tap Make the GIF, and it plays once and stops.

Why does the real size differ from the rough size?

The rough size is a guess based on the number of pixels and frames. The real size depends on how much changes in your clip, and it is shown when the GIF is done.