video → gif · gif maker
Video to GIF maker that runs in your browser
Drop an MP4, MOV or any other clip and get an animated GIF with a palette built from your own footage. Nothing is uploaded and there is no watermark.
Files are processed on your device · nothing is uploaded, stored or logged
How it works
Pick your file. The browser reads it straight from disk. There is no upload progress bar, because there is no upload.
The encoder loads once. A WebAssembly build of FFmpeg, around 30 MB, downloads the first time you use the site and stays cached afterwards.
Your processor does the work. Everything happens in this tab, at roughly half of real time on a modern laptop.
Save the result. The finished file is assembled in memory and handed to your downloads folder.
Why GIFs get enormous
GIF was designed in 1987 and has no modern compression. Every frame is stored as a paletted image with at most 256 colours, and there is no motion prediction between frames at all.
The practical effect is that file size scales almost directly with resolution, frame rate and length. A ten-second 480 px GIF at 12 fps lands around 3 to 6 MB. The same clip at 640 px can easily double that.
This tool generates a custom colour palette from your specific clip before encoding, rather than using a fixed one. It costs an extra pass but removes the muddy banding that makes most online GIF converters look bad.
When not to use a GIF
If the destination accepts video, send video. A short MP4 is smaller, sharper and smoother than the equivalent GIF in nearly every case. GIF only wins where autoplay-without-controls is required and the platform refuses video — some email clients, older forums, certain chat widgets.
GIF size grows fast with length, so trim to the essential seconds first with cut video.
Common questions
Why is my GIF so large?
Length and width, in that order. Halve the duration before touching anything else.
Can I convert a long video?
Technically yes, but the result will be unusable in size. Trim to under ten seconds first.
Why does the colour look different?
GIF allows only 256 colours per frame. The tool picks the best 256 for your clip, but gradients will always band somewhat.
Do my files get uploaded?
No. The whole conversion happens in this tab.