MP4 to GIF Converter
Make an animated GIF from an MP4 video for chats, documentation, emails and slides. Choose the moment, the frame rate and the size, and get a GIF with colors close to the original.
Defaults: 480 px wide, 15 frames per second, a palette built from your clip. Choose Original for the full width.
GIF has no audio. Keep the source video if you may need sound or further video editing.
How to convert MP4 to GIF
The converter turns the video frames into an animated GIF. The sound is dropped, because GIF has no audio.
Step-by-step
- Choose an MP4 video or drag it onto the upload area.
- Choose Selected time range and enter the start and end of the moment you want; a few seconds is usually enough.
- Keep 15 frames per second and 480 px, or change them, then click Convert to GIF.
- Check the preview and download the GIF.
What you get
An animated GIF that plays almost anywhere:
- A palette of 256 colors chosen from your clip rather than a generic one, so skin, sky and light walls do not turn into blotches.
- Fine dithering that keeps gradients smooth without blowing up the file size.
- The frame rate and width you choose, with the aspect ratio of the video kept.
- The whole video or only the selected moment, cut to the second.
- A looping GIF that plays in messengers, email, documents, slides and on most websites, with no watermark.
Choosing frame rate and size
GIF stores every frame as a separate image, so its size grows with the width, the frame rate and the length. For a typical video clip, 4 seconds at 480 px and 15 frames per second take about 2–4 MB, depending on how much moves. The original width of an HD video can make the same clip ten times larger.
For a reaction or a quick demo in a chat, 320–480 px and 10–15 frames per second are enough. For a screen recording with small text, keep the width close to the original and lower the frame rate instead. Fast motion looks smoother at 20–25 frames per second, but the file grows accordingly.
GIF or MP4: which should you use?
GIF is the most compatible animated format: it plays automatically and in a loop almost everywhere, including email clients and documentation tools that do not play video. The trade-off is quality and size: only 256 colors per frame, no sound, and files many times larger than the same clip in MP4.
Use GIF where video does not play or does not loop on its own: emails, README files, wikis, chats and slides. For a website or social network, a short muted MP4 or WebM loop looks better and loads faster; many platforms convert uploaded GIFs to video anyway. To turn a GIF back into a video: Convert GIF to MP4.
When to convert MP4 to GIF
Convert when a short moment has to play by itself, without a player:
- A reaction, joke or highlight to send in a messenger or post in a comment.
- A product demo or bug reproduction for documentation, a README or a support ticket.
- An animated illustration for an email newsletter, where video usually does not play.
- A short loop for a presentation or a page that has to work without video support.
Quality and limits
GIF can show only 256 colors per frame, so a GIF never looks exactly like the video. Building the palette from your clip keeps the difference small for most footage; scenes with many colors and fine gradients, such as sunsets, still show slight graininess.
Videos can be up to 200 MB, but a GIF of the whole video is rarely useful: keep it to a few seconds. GIF has no sound. An ordinary MP4 has no transparent background, so its GIF is opaque; a MOV with an alpha channel, such as a ProRes 4444 export, keeps its transparency: MOV to GIF Converter. Keep the original MP4 if you may need the audio or further editing.
More ways to work with GIF and short clips
MOV to GIF Converter
Turn an iPhone video or a Mac screen recording into an animated GIF.
Convert Video to GIF
Make a GIF from any video with the original size and frame rate as the starting point.
Trim Video
Cut the exact moment out of a long video before you make the GIF.
Loop Video
Make a short MP4 loop instead, with sound and better quality than a GIF.
Need to Edit Your Video?
Continue with trimming, resizing, cropping, text, subtitles, audio, and other edits in the full editor.
Learn more about GIFs
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about converting MP4 videos to GIF.
Is the MP4 to GIF converter free?
Yes. It is free, you do not need an account, and the GIF has no watermark.
Why is my GIF so large?
GIF stores each frame as a separate image and compresses far less efficiently than MP4. Make the clip shorter, lower the width to 320–480 px or the frame rate to 10–15, and the file shrinks quickly.
Will the GIF look as good as the video?
Close, but not identical: GIF is limited to 256 colors per frame. The converter builds the palette from your clip, so most footage looks natural; very colorful scenes and smooth gradients may look slightly grainy.
Can I make a GIF from only part of the video?
Yes. Choose Selected time range and enter the start and end time in hh:mm:ss. Only that part becomes a GIF.
Does the GIF keep the sound?
No. GIF is an image format and has no audio. If you need sound, keep the MP4 or make a short video loop instead.
Can I convert other video formats to GIF?
Yes. MOV, WebM, MKV, AVI and other common video files work the same way.