Video to GIF Converter
GIF size is roughly width x height x frames x 0.4 bytes for camera footage: a 5 second clip at 480 x 270 px and 10 fps is about 2.5 MB. Use 8 to 12 fps and 320 to 480 px to keep a GIF small. Conversion runs in your browser with FFmpeg, nothing is uploaded.
A rough estimate for camera footage. Screen recordings come out smaller, grainy video larger.
The first conversion downloads the converter engine (about 32 MB) from this site, once. After that your browser keeps it.
This browser cannot run the converter. Use a recent Chrome, Edge or Firefox, or Safari 16.4 or later.
Keep this tab open until it finishes. Closing it stops the conversion.
How to use
- Drop a video onto the box or press it to choose one (MP4, MOV, WebM and most other formats). The video appears with its length and size.
- Set the start and the length of the clip. You can play the video, pause where the GIF should begin and press Use current time. Then pick the width and the frames per second. The estimated GIF size updates as you change them.
- Press Make GIF. The first time, the converter engine is downloaded once. When it is done, the GIF plays below and you can download it.
How it works
The GIF is made with FFmpeg compiled to WebAssembly, running in this browser tab. The clip is cut from the start time, reduced to the frame rate you chose and scaled to the width you chose, keeping the aspect ratio.
A GIF can hold only 256 colors per frame. With Optimize colors on, the converter first scans the clip and picks the 256 colors that fit it best (palettegen), then maps every frame to that palette and only stores the parts that change (paletteuse). This gives cleaner color and smoother gradients than the default palette, at about the same size.
GIF size grows with width x height x frames. The estimate uses about 0.4 bytes per pixel per frame, typical for camera footage, and shows a range of 0.15 to 1.0. Simple screen recordings come out far smaller and grainy or noisy video larger. Halving the width cuts the size to about a quarter.
FAQ
Is my video uploaded?
No. The video is read and converted inside this browser tab. The only download is the converter engine itself, from this site. There is no upload, no account and no watermark.
Why is my GIF so large?
GIF is an old format with weak compression. Every extra pixel and frame adds up, so a 10 second clip at 640 px and 15 fps can reach tens of megabytes. Lower the width to 320 or 480 px, use 8 to 12 fps and keep the clip short.
What frame rate should I use?
Ten to twelve frames per second looks smooth enough for most reaction clips and screen recordings and keeps the file small. Use 15 to 25 fps only for fast motion where smoothness matters.
How long can the GIF be?
Up to 60 seconds per GIF. Long GIFs get very large and many sites reject files over 10 to 15 MB, so a few seconds is usually best.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes, in a recent browser. On iPhone and iPad it needs Safari 16.4 or later, and short clips work best because the browser has less memory there. Keep the tab open until the GIF is ready.