Convert MP4 to GIF

How to convert MP4 to GIF

Drop an MP4 above. MOV, WebM, MKV and M4V work too. Choose a frame rate from 5 to 30 frames per second and a width of 320, 480, 640 or 800 pixels. Press Convert and download the GIF. It loops forever, like any GIF, and the height follows the video's aspect ratio. The whole clip is converted, so trim it first if you only want a moment.

A palette made for your clip

GIF allows only 256 colors per frame. FFmpeg first scans your clip and builds a palette of the 256 colors that suit it best, then maps every frame to that palette. Gradients, skies and skin tones come out much cleaner than with a generic web palette, which is the most common cause of grainy GIFs.

Frame rate and width

More frames per second look smoother but make the file grow fast. 10 to 15 fps is a good balance and 12 is the default. A narrower width keeps GIFs small enough to share in chats and docs. 480 px suits most uses, 320 px suits reaction GIFs and 800 px suits product demos on a web page.

Keep clips short

GIF is an inefficient format. A five-second clip at 480 px and 12 fps is usually a few megabytes, while a minute of video can reach tens of megabytes. Trim the video to the moment you need first. If the destination accepts video, an MP4 or animated WebP is far smaller at the same quality.

Before you start

Input: MP4, MOV, WEBM, MKV, and M4V. Output: GIF. The settings appear before anything runs, so you can check them first. Your original file is never changed.

Video work uses a lot of memory and CPU. Try a short clip first and check that the sound and playback work. On a phone, split large batches into smaller ones.

Keep the original until you have opened and checked the result. The work happens in this browser tab, so the size you can handle depends on your device's memory, your browser and the file itself.

Steps to convert MP4 to GIF

1. Drop your video into the box above.
2. Choose a frame rate and output width.
3. Press Convert and download the looping GIF.