How to convert a video to a GIF (and back)

2026-07-01

GIFs are still the easiest way to drop a short, silent, auto-playing clip into a chat, a doc or a README. Converting a video to a GIF in your browser takes a few seconds — and never uploads your footage.

Turn a video into a GIF

Open Video to GIF, drop your MP4 (or WebM/MOV), and set the frame rate and width. Lower values make a smaller file; higher values look smoother. It's powered by ffmpeg running in your browser, so the video stays on your device.

Trim first for a smaller GIF

GIFs balloon in size with length, so cut to just the moment you need with Trim Video before converting. A 3-second, 480px GIF is a fraction of the size of a 15-second one.

The other direction

Have a GIF you want as a proper video (much smaller, and it plays with a scrubber)? Use GIF to MP4.

Tips

• 10–12 fps and a width of 480px is a good default for chat-friendly GIFs.
• For anything longer than a few seconds, an MP4 is usually the better choice than a GIF.
• The ~30 MB video engine downloads once on first use, then runs offline.