Video to GIF converter — free online tool
Turn an MP4, MOV, M4V or WebM clip into a looping GIF: 6 to 24 fps, 480 to 1080 px high, trimmed on a timeline first.
What to know
Accepted sources are MP4, M4V, MOV and WebM files. The clip lands on a timeline where you can cut it down to the few seconds you want, because a GIF gets heavy quickly: a 5-second clip at 12 fps is 60 frames, and at 24 fps it is 120.
This page is preset to GIF at 12 fps. Each frame is limited to 256 colors, so the encoder first builds an optimized palette from the whole clip with diff statistics, then maps the frames onto it with sierra2_4a dithering. That is why GIFs made from video often show faint grain in gradients.
Sound is not kept, since GIF has no audio, so export MP4 instead if you need it. Add a title clip with a caption size from 40 to 120 px if you want text burned in, and pick 9:16 for a vertical post or 1:1 for a square thumbnail.
Frame rate and height are the two dials that decide file size. Moving from 720 to 480 px leaves 44 percent of the pixels per frame, and moving from 24 to 12 fps halves the frame count, so together they shrink a GIF to roughly a fifth.
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How to use Video to GIF converter — free online tool
- Drop an MP4, MOV, M4V or WebM file onto the editor.
- Split and trim until about 3 to 5 seconds remain.
- Confirm Format is GIF, Output height is 480 and Frame rate is 12 fps.
- Press Export and download chatcument-edit.gif.
Quick answers
Which video files can I convert?
MP4, M4V, MOV and WebM. Other containers are not accepted by the file picker, and a file with an unreadable duration is skipped with a message.
How many frames will my GIF have?
Duration in seconds times the frame rate. A 4-second clip at 15 fps gives 60 frames, and the same clip at 6 fps gives 24.
Why does my GIF look grainy compared with the video?
GIF allows only 256 colors per frame, so smooth gradients are approximated with dithered dots. Lower the output height or pick a clip with flatter colors to hide it.