OneTaskBy Tim King · Updated
Video to GIF
Convert MP4 Clips to Animated GIF With Width and Frame Rate Set
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How the Video to GIF works
This video to GIF converter takes a few seconds of a clip and turns them into an animated GIF that plays anywhere, from Slack and GitHub to email newsletters. Choose a start time, length, width and frame rate, press Render and download. Everything is encoded in your browser.
GIF is a 1987 image format with a 256-colour limit and no sound, and it is still the most reliable way to put motion somewhere that will not play video. Email clients, README files, issue trackers, forum signatures and many chat apps show a GIF inline where an MP4 would turn into a link or an attachment.
How video to GIF conversion works
The tool seeks through your clip at the frame rate you pick and draws each frame, scaled to your width, onto a canvas. It then builds one shared 256-colour palette for the whole animation with a median-cut algorithm, maps every pixel to its nearest palette colour and compresses each frame with LZW, the method the GIF format specifies. The result is a standard GIF89a file with a looping flag.
Why GIFs get big, and how to keep them small
GIF compression is far weaker than modern video codecs. Each frame is stored nearly whole, so file size grows with width × height × frames. Doubling the width roughly quadruples the size, and doubling the frame rate doubles it.
| Width | 10 fps, 3 s | 15 fps, 3 s | 10 fps, 6 s |
|---|---|---|---|
| 240 px | 0.3–0.8 MB | 0.5–1.2 MB | 0.6–1.6 MB |
| 320 px | 0.5–1.4 MB | 0.8–2 MB | 1–2.8 MB |
| 480 px | 1.2–3 MB | 1.8–4.5 MB | 2.4–6 MB |
| 640 px | 2–5.5 MB | 3–8 MB | 4–11 MB |
Ranges are typical: flat screen recordings sit at the low end, while busy camera footage with grain and gradients sits at the high end. For reference, Slack displays GIFs up to a few MB inline, GitHub accepts images up to 10 MB, and many email marketing platforms recommend keeping a GIF under 1 MB.
Choosing settings
- Frame rate: 10 fps is smooth enough for reactions and UI demos. Use 15 to 20 only for fast motion, and 5 for slideshow-style loops.
- Width: 480 px suits chat and docs. Use 320 or 240 for email.
- Length: 2 to 4 seconds is the sweet spot. A GIF longer than 6 seconds is usually better served as a muted, looping MP4.
Tips and pitfalls
Banding in skies and gradients is the 256-colour limit at work. Crop tighter, or choose a section with fewer colours.
Screen recordings convert best. Flat colours compress to a fraction of the size of camera footage.
Need transparency or better colour? Animated WebP keeps millions of colours at a fraction of the size, and every current browser shows it, though some email clients do not.
How to read the result
The stats give the number of frames, the GIF's pixel size and its file size. If the file is too big, lower the width first, then the frame rate, then the length.
FAQ
Why is my GIF so large compared with the video?
GIF stores each frame with simple LZW compression, while video codecs store only the changes between frames. A 3-second clip that is 400 kB as MP4 can easily be 3 MB as a GIF. Reduce the width and frame rate to shrink it.
Does the GIF keep the sound?
No. The GIF format has no audio support at all. If the sound matters, share a short MP4 or WebM instead; the video trimmer can cut the same section with its audio intact.
What is the best frame rate for a GIF?
Ten frames per second is the usual choice. It looks smooth for most motion and keeps the file manageable. Raise it to 15 for fast action, or drop to 5 for slow, slideshow-style loops.
Is the video uploaded to make the GIF?
No. Frames are read by your browser's own video decoder and the GIF is encoded in JavaScript on your device. Nothing is sent anywhere, so you can convert private or unreleased clips safely.
Can I make a GIF that plays only once?
Yes. Set Loop to "Play once". Note that some apps, including several chat clients, ignore the loop setting and repeat every GIF regardless of what the file says.
See also: all Audio & Video tools, Units, Images, Documents, Data & Code.
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