Guide
How to make a GIF from a video
To make a good GIF, trim the clip to 2–6 seconds, scale it to 320–480 pixels wide, use 10–15 frames per second, and build a custom colour palette from the clip. GIF only supports 256 colours and compresses poorly, so short and small is the key to a sharp file under a few megabytes.
The video to GIF tool does all of this in your browser, including the palette step that keeps colours from banding. Trim first with the video trimmer if the moment is buried in a long clip.
How to make a GIF with Videozify
- Trim your video to the exact moment, ideally 2 to 6 seconds, using the video trimmer.
- Open Video to GIF and drop in the trimmed clip.
- Choose a width. 480 px suits chat and social, 320 px keeps the file tiny, and 640 px is for slides and docs.
- Choose a frame rate. 12 fps is a good balance, 15 fps is smoother, and 8–10 fps is smallest.
- Press Convert. The tool generates an optimised palette and then the GIF.
- Preview the loop and download. Check the size before posting.
Why GIFs get so big
GIF dates from 1987. It stores every frame as an indexed image with at most 256 colours and uses simple LZW compression, with none of the motion prediction modern video codecs use. A 5-second 1080p clip that's 2 MB as MP4 can easily be 40 MB as a GIF. Width, frame rate and duration are the only real levers, and each one multiplies the size.
- Halving the width cuts size by about 4×
- Halving the frame rate cuts size by about 2×
- Halving the duration cuts size by about 2×
The palette trick
With only 256 colours available, a generic palette makes skin tones blotchy and gradients stripy. Generating a palette from the clip itself, the palettegen and paletteuse step in FFmpeg, picks the 256 colours that actually appear, then dithers between them. The result looks dramatically better at the same size, and Videozify does it automatically.
Size limits on popular platforms
Many platforms convert GIFs to video on upload, but their size limits still apply. Slack and Discord display GIFs inline. Discord's free upload limit of 10 MB applies to GIFs too. Email clients load GIFs inline, but large ones slow down messages; under 1–2 MB is polite. For a website, a muted looping MP4 or WebM video is usually 5–10× smaller than the equivalent GIF and is the better choice for performance.
Native options on phones and computers
iPhone: the Shortcuts app includes a ready-made "Convert Video to GIF" shortcut in its gallery. Live Photos can also be set to Loop or Bounce in Photos and shared as a GIF in some apps.
Android: Google Photos can create animations from a set of photos. Samsung's gallery has a GIF option in the video player. Gboard can make GIFs from the camera for messaging.
Windows and Mac: there's no built-in GIF export. Photoshop, GIMP (free) and ffmpeg on the command line can do it with full control, but they take more effort.
Making loops look seamless
A GIF loops forever, so the jump from the last frame back to the first is visible in every cycle. Pick a moment where the motion returns to its start, like a nod, a wave or a spin, and trim exactly at that point. For non-repeating moments, a quick boomerang works well: reverse the clip with the reverse video tool, merge it with the original, then make the GIF.
Adding text
Reaction GIFs usually have a caption. Create a short SRT with one line covering the whole clip, burn it in with the burn subtitles tool using the Bold style, then convert to GIF. The outline keeps the text readable after the colour reduction.
Recommended settings by use
- Chat reaction: 320–400 px wide, 10–12 fps, 2–4 s, aim for under 2 MB
- Social post: 480 px wide, 12–15 fps, 3–6 s, under 8 MB
- Documentation or tutorial: 640–800 px wide, 8–10 fps, any length that fits, using a screen recording with few colours
- Email newsletter: 400–600 px wide, 8–10 fps, under 1 MB so it loads quickly
Screen recordings make great GIFs
UI demos and software tutorials have flat colours and little motion, which is exactly what GIF handles well. A 10-second screen recording at 640 px wide and 8 fps can come out under 1 MB and look crisp. Hide your mouse pointer when it isn't needed and avoid scrolling large areas, which forces every frame to change.
Accessibility
Animated GIFs that flash quickly can cause problems for people with photosensitive conditions. Avoid strobe effects, and keep flashing under three times per second. When using GIFs on a website, add descriptive alt text so screen-reader users know what the animation shows.
Where GIFs still make sense
GIFs are still the only animated format accepted in many places: email newsletters, some forums, GitHub README files, older chat platforms and many documentation tools. They also auto-loop silently everywhere without a play button. For websites you control, use a muted looping MP4 or WebM instead; it's typically 5–10× smaller, which helps page speed and search rankings.
GIF or MP4?
Use GIF where only images are allowed, such as some forums, email, documentation tools and older chat apps. Use MP4 everywhere else: it's smaller, sharper and has full colour. Most social platforms quietly turn uploaded GIFs into MP4 anyway.
Frequently asked questions
How long can a GIF be?
- There's no hard limit, but keep it to 2–6 seconds for a reasonable size.
What's the best GIF frame rate?
- 10–15 fps. Higher rates add size with little visible benefit.
Why does my GIF look grainy?
- That's dithering from the 256-colour limit. A custom palette, which Videozify uses, minimises it.
Can I make a GIF on my phone?
- Yes. Videozify's video to GIF works in mobile browsers.
Is my video uploaded?
- No. The GIF is created in your browser.
Can GIFs have sound?
- No. Use a short MP4 if you need audio.
How do I make a GIF smaller?
- Reduce the width, lower the frame rate or shorten the clip.
Do GIFs loop forever?
- By default, yes. Most GIF makers, including Videozify, set the loop count to infinite so the animation repeats continuously.
Can I make a GIF from a Live Photo?
- Export the Live Photo as a video first, then convert it.
What's the maximum GIF size for Discord?
- 10 MB on free accounts, the same as other files.
Can I make a GIF from a screen recording?
- Yes, and screen recordings make some of the smallest, sharpest GIFs.
Why is my GIF bigger than the video?
- GIF compression is far less efficient than modern video codecs.
Can I add text to a GIF?
- Burn a one-line caption into the clip first, then convert it.
What width should a GIF be for email?
- 400 to 600 pixels wide keeps it sharp in most email clients while staying small enough to load quickly on mobile.
Can I convert a GIF back to video?
- Yes. Use the GIF to MP4 converter, which usually makes a much smaller file.