Video to GIF Converter

How to Convert Video to GIF Online

1. Upload Your Video: Drag and drop or click "+ Add Files" to select a video from your computer. Accepts MP4, MOV, WebM, AVI, MKV, MTS/M2TS, FLV, WMV, 3GP, MPEG/MPG, OGV, TS, and 30+ other formats. Batch uploads are supported.
2. Pick Framerate and Colors: Set Framerate to 10 FPS (recommended for chat/email), 15 FPS for smoother motion, or up to 50 FPS for high-action clips. Pick Colors — 256 (sharpest) down to 16 (smallest file) — and enable "By Color Reduction + Dither" to smooth gradients in low-color palettes.
3. Resize and Set Quality (Optional): Use Preset Resolutions (144p–4320p), enter a custom Width or Height with aspect ratio locked, or set Resolution Percentage to scale by a fraction. Set Image Quality (%) lower to shrink the file.
4. Convert and Download: Click Convert. Files are uploaded over an encrypted connection, processed on our servers, and deleted automatically after one hour — no sign-up, no watermark, never shared.

Why Convert Video to GIF?

GIF is the only animated image format that plays inline everywhere — every browser since 1995, every chat app, every email client, every CMS, GitHub READMEs, Notion, Confluence, support tickets, and forums. Modern formats like WebP, AVIF, and short MP4/WebM clips compress dramatically better, but GIF wins on universal autoplay with zero player chrome. Converting a video clip to GIF strips the audio, locks the palette to 256 colors per frame, and produces a single file that loops forever without a play button.

• Universal autoplay in chat, email, and docs — Twitter/X, Discord, Slack, Reddit, iMessage, and Gmail all autoplay GIFs without a player. Embedded MP4s require a tap-to-play in many email clients and most CMS comment boxes.
• Product and UI demos in READMEs — GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket render .gif inline in README.md but block embedded video. A 3-second GIF of a feature beats a YouTube link nobody clicks.
• Email marketing — Outlook, Apple Mail, and Gmail render animated GIFs in the inbox. Embedded video is stripped or shown as a static frame.
• Memes and reactions — Twitter/X, Discord, and Slack treat GIF as a first-class media type with built-in pickers. Twitter caps animated GIF at 15 MB on web, 5 MB on mobile; Discord caps free-tier uploads at 10 MB (lowered from 25 MB in September 2024), 50 MB on Nitro Basic, 500 MB on full Nitro.
• Stickers and bot reactions — Discord server emojis, Telegram stickers, and Reddit flair workflows all consume GIF natively. Static PNG works, but a one-frame loop is more attention-grabbing.
• Screen recordings without the player — Convert a .mov from macOS Screenshot.app or a .webm from Chrome's MediaRecorder into a GIF that drops into a Jira ticket or Slack thread and plays automatically.

Supported Input Format Matrix

GIF vs WebP vs APNG vs MP4 for Sharing

File-size figures come from ezgif's same-source comparison; browser-support percentages reflect caniuse global data current as of May 2026.

Frame Rate and Resolution Cheat Sheet

GIF's spec encodes frame delay in 1/100-second increments, so the highest representable rate is 100 FPS, but Chrome and Firefox clamp delays below 2/100 second to 10 FPS — practical ceiling is 50 FPS. Most viewers can't distinguish 15 FPS from 30 FPS for short loops, so 10–15 FPS is the sweet spot for size.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which input video formats are actually supported?

MP4, MOV, WebM, AVI, MKV, MTS, M2TS, FLV, WMV, 3GP, 3G2, AV1, AVCHD, DivX, DV, F4V, HEVC, M4V, MJPEG, MPEG, MPG, MPEG2, MXF, OGV, RM, RMVB, SWF, TS, VOB, WTV, Xvid, and several others — 35+ formats in total. If your file plays in VLC or QuickTime, it almost certainly converts here.

Why is my GIF so much larger than the source video?

GIF compresses each frame independently with a 256-color palette using LZW lossless compression — no inter-frame compression like H.264 or VP9. A 5-second 1080p MP4 might be 2 MB; the equivalent GIF at the same dimensions and frame rate can be 20–40 MB. Drop the width to 480 px, lower frame rate to 12 FPS, and reduce Colors to 128 to bring it under 5 MB for most content. For dramatically smaller files at the same quality, use GIF to WebP on the output.

How do I stay under Discord, Twitter/X, and Slack size limits?

Discord free is 10 MB per file (was 25 MB before September 2024); Nitro Basic is 50 MB and full Nitro is 500 MB. Twitter/X caps animated GIF at 15 MB on web and 5 MB on mobile. Slack allows 1 GB per file across all plans. For maximum cross-platform safety, target under 5 MB: 480 px wide, 10–12 FPS, under 4 seconds, 128 colors.

Can I trim the video before converting, or do I need to cut it first?

You can do either. The converter accepts a full video and a start/end time, but for long sources (a 30-minute screen recording) it's faster to trim first with Video Cutter, then upload the trimmed clip here. Keep the GIF clip under 5 seconds whenever possible — file size scales roughly linearly with duration.

What frame rate should I pick — 10, 15, 24, or 30 FPS?

10 FPS for chat reactions and emoji-style loops (smallest size, looks fine for most content). 15 FPS for product demos and screen recordings (smoother cursor motion without doubling file size). 24 FPS only if the source is cinematic content where motion judder is noticeable. Skip 30+ FPS — Chrome and Firefox clamp very high-rate GIFs, and the file size penalty is severe.

Will the audio track be included?

No. GIF has no audio channel — it's a still-image format with timed frames. If you need audio, convert your video to a short MP4 or WebM loop and embed that instead. For converting GIF back to a playable video, see GIF to MP4.

Does converting MOV to GIF behave differently from MP4 to GIF?

The output is identical — same palette, same frame rate, same file size for the same dimensions. The input differences are container and codec: MOV from iPhone typically carries HEVC (H.265) or H.264, MP4 from Android or downloads typically carries H.264. Both decode to raw frames before GIF encoding, so the source codec doesn't affect the final GIF. For direct conversions see MP4 to GIF, MOV to GIF, WebM to GIF, MKV to GIF, or AVI to GIF.

Why does my GIF look posterized or banded?

GIF locks each frame to a 256-color palette. Source video with smooth gradients (sunsets, fog, gradient backgrounds, dark scenes) loses color resolution and shows visible banding. Enable "By Color Reduction + Dither" to break up bands with stippled noise, or keep Colors at 256 for the cleanest output. Scenes with flat colors and high contrast (UI demos, text, line art) compress and look better than complex video.

How do I shrink a GIF that's still too large after conversion?

Re-run with smaller width (try 320 px), lower frame rate (8–10 FPS), fewer colors (64 or 128), shorter duration, or run the output through Compress GIF to apply additional palette and frame optimizations without re-encoding.