How to convert a video to GIF
- Choose or drop a video from your phone or computer — MP4, WebM, MOV or any other file your browser can play. Screen recordings and phone clips work well.
- Set the start and end in seconds. The result shows the video's length, so you can narrow the clip down. Leave "End at" empty to run to the end of the video.
- Pick the frame rate. 10 fps keeps the file small and is fine for reactions and screen captures; 15–20 fps looks smooth for sports or pets.
- Pick the size of the longest side: 480 px suits chats and websites, 320 px or 240 px makes much lighter files.
- Download the GIF. The preview plays the finished animation with its size, frame count and length. Change any setting and the GIF is made again.
The video never leaves your device
Online converters usually upload the whole video first — slow on a phone connection, and not what you want for private clips. Here the browser that plays the video also cuts it: it jumps to each moment of the clip, copies that frame onto a canvas and adds it to the GIF. Nothing is sent to a server, and the original file is not changed.
Frames, timing and size
The number of frames is the clip length times the frame rate: a 3-second clip at 15 fps is 45 frames; 5 seconds at 10 fps is 50. GIF counts time in hundredths of a second, so 15 fps can't be stored exactly (it would be 6.67 hundredths per frame). The converter alternates 7, 6, 7… hundredths, so 15 frames add up to exactly one second and the GIF runs at the same speed as the video.
The size keeps the video's shape: a 1,920 × 1,080 (Full HD) video at 480 px becomes 480 × 270 px, and a vertical phone video becomes 270 × 480 px. Smaller videos are never enlarged.
| Clip | Frame rate | Frames | Pixels per frame at 480 px (16:9) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 s | 10 fps | 30 | 129,600 |
| 3 s | 15 fps | 45 | 129,600 |
| 10 s | 10 fps | 100 | 129,600 |
| 10 s | 30 fps | 300 (the limit) | 129,600 |
File size grows with frames × pixels, so the last row is ten times the work — and roughly ten times the file — of the first.
Limits, honestly
- GIFs are big. A GIF stores every frame as a full picture with simple compression from 1987, so a few seconds of video can weigh several megabytes — often more than the original MP4. Keep clips short, use 10 fps and 320–480 px. If the result is over 10 MB the tool says so.
- 256 colors per frame. Each frame is reduced to its best 256 colors. Faces and scenes still look natural, but gradients such as sunsets can show faint bands.
- No sound. GIF has no audio track; the sound of the video is simply dropped.
- Caps that protect your phone: up to 300 frames per GIF (30 s at 10 fps, 10 s at 30 fps) and 640 px on the longest side. Frames are encoded one at a time, so memory use stays low even for long clips.
- Formats: the converter can only read videos your browser can play. MP4 (H.264) and WebM work everywhere; iPhone HEVC videos work in Safari and in most other browsers on recent devices. If a file won't open, try another browser.
Making a GIF from photos rather than a clip? Use the GIF maker. To capture what's on your screen first, use the screen recorder, then convert its WebM file here.
Frequently asked questions
Is my video uploaded?
No. Your browser plays the video, copies the frames and builds the GIF on your device. Nothing is sent to a server.
How long can the GIF be?
Up to 300 frames: 30 seconds at 10 fps, 15 seconds at 20 fps or 10 seconds at 30 fps. Longer GIFs become very large files, so a short clip works best.
Why is the GIF bigger than my video?
Video formats like MP4 store only what changes between frames and compress very efficiently; GIF stores every frame as a picture. Lower the frame rate, the size or the clip length to make the GIF smaller.
Which video formats work?
Any video your browser can play: MP4 and WebM everywhere, MOV and HEVC on most recent devices. If a file doesn’t open, try Chrome, Edge or Safari, or convert it to MP4 first.
Does the GIF keep the sound?
No — the GIF format has no audio. For a clip with sound, share the video itself.
Last updated: October 15, 2026