Convert MP4 to GIF
An MP4's picture is almost always H.264, which stores most frames as the changes from the one before. A GIF stores every frame whole, in at most 256 colours. This takes the seconds you pick from your MP4 and writes them as a GIF that loops.
Your file never leaves this device. Everything runs in your browser.
How it works
- Drop your video.
- Set where the GIF starts and ends, then pick a width and a frame rate.
- Press Make GIF and download it.
Questions
Why is the GIF bigger than the MP4?
Because GIF has no motion compression. H.264 sends a full picture now and then and only what changed in between; a GIF writes out every frame in full. That is why the tool asks for a stretch of seconds rather than the whole video, and shows the size it's heading for while it works.
What happens to the MP4's sound?
It's left out, because a GIF can't hold sound. To keep the sound on its own, Extract audio saves it as an MP3 or an M4A.
How big will the GIF be?
That depends on the picture, so nobody can say exactly before it's made. A GIF stores every frame whole, with no motion compression, so its size goes roughly with width × height × number of frames. The tool says how many frames it will write before you press, and while it works it shows the size the finished file is heading for. Halving the frame rate roughly halves the file; narrowing it helps more: in one test, a noisy 30-second clip at 20 fps made a 64.5 MB GIF at 640 pixels wide and a 19.3 MB one at 320.
Why do some colours look banded?
A GIF frame holds at most 256 colours. Each frame here gets its own palette of up to 256, picked from that frame, which keeps screen recordings and flat graphics crisp. Smooth gradients, like skies and skin in low light, can show steps.
Does the GIF have sound?
No. The GIF format has no sound track. To keep the sound, send the clip as an MP4: Compress a video makes one small enough to share.
How long can it be?
Up to 30 seconds, taken from anywhere in a video of up to 2 GB. It starts on the first five seconds; change the start and end to pick another stretch.
Does my video get uploaded?
No. The frames are decoded and the GIF is written in your browser, on your device.
Which browsers does it work in?
Current Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox, as long as the browser can play the video in your file. Making a GIF needs no video encoder, so it also works in a browser that can't make MP4 video.