Make a GIF from a video

Choose a few seconds of a video and get an animated GIF back. The defaults deliberately shorten the clip, drop the frame rate and scale it down, because a GIF of a full-length video at its original size is a file nothing will display.

    • Where it runs

      A video is read in the browser. Nothing is uploaded.

    • No queue, no account

      It starts the moment you drop the file, and it never asks who you are.

    • No watermark

      What comes out is the file you made, with nothing added to it.

    How it works

    1. Drop a video onto the box above, or press it to choose one.
    2. Choose where the clip starts and how long it runs. Short is better.
    3. Set a width and a frame rate, or leave the defaults alone.
    4. Press Make the GIF and download it.

    Most of the work is refusing what you asked for

    GIF stores complete frames one after another, with no motion compensation and a palette of at most 256 colours. There is no compression between frames at all — the format predates the idea. A two-minute 1080p video at thirty frames a second becomes a file measured in hundreds of megabytes, which no chat window will show and no issue tracker will accept.

    So the defaults here cut the clip short, take about twelve frames a second and scale the width down. That is not us being cautious; it is the difference between a file that works and one that is technically a correct answer to your request and practically useless.

    The 256 colours are the format, not a setting

    Every frame of a GIF picks a palette of up to 256 colours. A photograph or a video of the real world has far more than that, so the colours are grouped and the picture is approximated — which is what makes a sky look banded and a gradient look speckled.

    Line art, screen recordings and animation survive this well because they were already made of few colours. Filmed footage never does, however good the encoder, and no tool can change that without changing the format.

    When to use a video instead

    Almost everywhere that takes a GIF now also takes a short MP4 or WebM, and both are smaller by an order of magnitude at better quality. Chat clients, issue trackers and social platforms all quietly convert your GIF to video after you upload it.

    GIF is still the right answer when the destination genuinely will not take a video — some email clients, some older documentation systems, and anywhere an image tag is all you get. That is a real set of places, which is why this page exists.

    Make a GIF from a video: common questions

    Is my video uploaded?

    No. The frames are decoded and the GIF is assembled inside your browser, and neither the video nor the result leaves your device. Nothing is stored anywhere and there is no watermark on the output.

    Why does my GIF look grainy or banded?

    Because GIF allows at most 256 colours per frame and filmed footage has far more. The colours are grouped to fit, which shows up as banding in skies and gradients. It is the format rather than the encoder, and no setting on any tool removes it.

    Why is the GIF so much bigger than the video?

    Because GIF stores every frame in full with no compression between frames, where a video stores mostly what changed. That is why a few seconds of video becomes a file many times its size, and why the defaults here shorten and shrink the clip.

    How long a clip can I turn into a GIF?

    You can ask for any length, but the file grows roughly in proportion and quickly becomes unusable. A few seconds is the range where GIF makes sense; beyond about ten, almost everything that accepts a GIF would be better served by a short video.

    Should I use a GIF at all?

    Only where the destination will not take a video. Chat clients, issue trackers and social platforms mostly convert your GIF to MP4 after upload anyway, so you get worse quality and a larger upload for nothing. Where an image tag is all you have, GIF is still the answer.

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