Make a GIF from a video
Pick a moment, choose how long and how large, and get a looping GIF that works in chats, docs and anywhere that won’t play video.
How to make a GIF
- Add your video and play it to find the moment you want.
- Press Use playhead to set the start, then choose a length in seconds.
- Choose a width and frame rate. 480 px at 12 fps suits most chats.
- Press Make GIF and download.
Keeping GIFs small
GIF is a 1980s image format. It stores every frame as a picture with at most 256 colours and uses no modern video compression. A five-second GIF can easily be larger than the HD video it came from. Three settings decide the size:
- Length: size grows in direct proportion. Three to five seconds is the sweet spot.
- Width: halving the width roughly quarters the size. 320 px is plenty for reaction GIFs.
- Frame rate: 10–12 fps looks smooth for most motion. 20 fps is only worth it for fast action.
To keep colours accurate, the tool analyses your clip and builds a custom 256-colour palette for it, then applies light dithering so gradients don’t band as badly.
When not to use GIF
Many sites now accept short MP4 or WebM clips that loop like GIFs at a tenth of the size. If the destination supports video, trim and compress the clip instead.
Questions about Video to GIF
Why is my GIF so large?
GIF compresses poorly compared with video. Reduce the length first, then the width, then the frame rate.
Is there sound in the GIF?
No. The GIF format cannot contain audio.
Does the GIF loop?
Yes, the output loops forever, which is how most apps expect GIFs to behave.
Why is the limit 15 seconds?
Longer GIFs quickly reach tens of megabytes and take a long time to process. For longer clips, a looping MP4 is the better format.