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Toolbench

Turn a Video Into a GIF

Convert a clip to an animated GIF at the frame rate and width you choose. Runs in your browser, so the video is never uploaded.

Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded

Why a GIF is so much bigger than the video

GIF was designed in 1987 and has no motion compression. A video stores most frames as the small difference from the frame before, which is why a few minutes fits in a few megabytes. A GIF stores something close to a whole picture every single frame.

The result is that a ten-second clip weighing 2 MB as an MP4 can easily be 20 MB as a GIF. Length, width and frame rate are the only real controls, and each of them multiplies directly into the size.

Settings that keep it reasonable

  • Under five seconds. Size scales linearly with it.
  • 480 pixels wide or less. Doubling the width roughly quadruples the file, since it is pixels in both directions.
  • 10 to 15 frames per second. Enough for the motion to read. Above about 20 it rarely looks better and always costs a lot.

About the colour

A GIF can hold 256 colours. Not 256 shades per channel — 256 in total, for the whole image. Gradients, skies and skin tones suffer most, because they need more shades than the format has to give.

This tool builds the palette from your clip's own colours rather than using a fixed table, which is the single biggest thing that can be done about it, and applies a small amount of dithering to break up the banding that remains. It cannot get past the limit of the format.

Should it be a GIF at all?

Often not, and it is worth asking before you make one. Most messaging apps, every social platform and every modern browser play short video perfectly well, and a silent looping MP4 will look better at a small fraction of the size.

GIF earns its place where nothing else is accepted: inside email, in older software, in documentation that has to render anywhere, and anywhere a file has to animate with no player and no scripting.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my GIF so much bigger than the video?

Because GIF is a very old format with no motion compression: every frame is stored almost independently, and the palette is limited to 256 colours. A ten-second clip that is 2 MB as MP4 can easily be 20 MB as a GIF. Keeping it short, narrow and at a low frame rate is the only real control you have.

What settings keep the file reasonable?

Under five seconds, no wider than 480 pixels, and 10 to 15 frames per second. That is enough for the motion to read while keeping most clips in single-digit megabytes. Going above 20 fps rarely looks better and always costs a lot.

Why does the colour look banded?

The 256-colour palette again. Gradients, skies and skin tones suffer most because they need more shades than the format can hold. This tool builds a palette from the clip's own colours rather than using a fixed one, which helps, but it cannot get past the limit of the format.

Should I use a GIF at all?

Often not. If the destination accepts video — most messaging apps, most social platforms and every modern browser do — a short MP4 or WebM will look better at a fraction of the size. GIF is worth it when you need something that plays automatically absolutely everywhere, including in email and in old software.

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