How to convert a video to GIF
- 1
Click Choose file or drop a video — MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV, AVI and other common formats are accepted.
- 2
Set Start (seconds) to where the GIF should begin and Duration (seconds) to its length (1 to 60 seconds).
- 3
Choose the Width (320–800 px) and Frame rate (8–24 fps). The defaults, 480 px and 12 fps, suit most uses.
- 4
Click Convert. The GIF downloads automatically when it's ready.
Choosing the right settings
A GIF is a flip-book: every frame is stored as its own picture. Four settings decide how it looks and how much it weighs.
| Setting | What it does | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Start (seconds) | Where the GIF begins in the video | Play the video and note the second where the action starts, e.g. 12 |
| Duration (seconds) | How long the GIF lasts | 2–6 s for reactions and loops; up to 60 s allowed |
| Width | Size in pixels (height follows the video’s proportions) | 480 px for chats, 640–800 px for tutorials with text |
| Frame rate | Frames shown per second | 12 fps looks smooth; 8 fps for tiny files; 24 fps for fluid motion |
The file size grows with all of them at once. A 5-second GIF at 480 px and 12 fps has 60 frames; the same clip at 800 px and 24 fps has 120 much bigger frames — easily five times heavier or more.
Making a smaller GIF
If the GIF is too heavy for Slack, Discord, an email or a web page, change one setting at a time:
- Shorten it. Duration is the most direct lever. Trim to the moment that matters.
- Reduce the width. Going from 640 to 480 px removes almost half the pixels in each frame.
- Lower the frame rate. 12 fps instead of 24 fps halves the number of frames, and most eyes still see smooth motion.
- Choose calm footage. Scenes with little movement, flat backgrounds and fewer colors compress better than shaky, detailed or noisy footage.
GIF or video?
GIFs autoplay and loop everywhere — in chat apps, emails, documentation, GitHub issues and slides — which is why they remain popular. But a GIF is typically many times larger than the same clip as an MP4 and has no sound. If the platform accepts video, a short MP4 is lighter and sharper: cut the moment you need with Trim video and, if needed, shrink it with Compress video. If you need a silent looping video, Mute video removes the soundtrack.
Works with screen recordings and phone videos
You can use MP4 files from Android phones, cameras and editing apps, MOV clips from an iPhone or a Mac screen recording, WebM files from browser-based recorders, as well as MKV, AVI, M4V and more. Screen recordings make particularly good GIFs for bug reports and tutorials: keep the width at 640–800 px so the text stays legible, and 8–12 fps is enough for mouse movements.
No upload, no watermark
Many GIF makers upload your video to a server and stamp their logo on the result unless you pay. TurboConvert runs FFmpeg — the open-source engine behind many professional video tools — compiled to WebAssembly, directly in your browser tab. Your clip stays on your device and the GIF is clean. The engine (about 31 MB) is downloaded on first use and then cached, so the next GIF starts right away.
Want the audio from the clip instead? MP4 to MP3 extracts it as an MP3.
Common problems
- The GIF starts at the wrong moment. Start is measured in seconds from the beginning of the video: 1 minute 20 seconds is 80. Note the time in your video player and convert it to seconds.
- It’s too heavy for the platform. Reduce Duration first, then Width, then Frame rate — in that order, they give the biggest savings for the smallest visual cost.
- Colors look grainy. That’s GIF’s 256-color limit. Footage with flat colors and good lighting converts better than dim or grainy scenes.