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How to Make a GIF from a Video (Free, Online)

4 min readUpdated 5 October 2026

To make a GIF from a video, open GIF Maker, switch to Video and choose your video. Move the Start and End sliders to the moment you want, press Create GIF, then Download GIF.

It is free, needs no sign-up and adds no watermark. It works in the browser on a computer or phone, and the video is turned into a GIF on your own device — nothing is uploaded, so it's quick even with large video files.

Do it now with GIF MakerFree, no sign-up, works on any device.

Step by step

  1. 1Open GIF Maker and choose VideoAt the top of the tool, switch from Images to Video.
  2. 2Choose a short videoDrop in an MP4, MOV or WebM file, or tap to pick one. The first three seconds are selected for you to start with.
  3. 3Pick the momentDrag the Start and End sliders (they move in 0.1-second steps) and press Preview clip to watch exactly what will become the GIF.
  4. 4Set size, smoothness and loopingChoose a Width from 100 to 800 px, Frames per second from 5 to 20, and a Speed from 0.25× to 4×. Under Loop, pick Forever or a number of Times; switch on Boomerang to play it forward then backward.
  5. 5Add a caption (optional)Open More options to type a Caption at the Top or Bottom, or switch on Shared palette for a smaller file with less flicker.
  6. 6Create and downloadPress Create GIF (or Ctrl/⌘ + Enter). Check the result, its size and frame count, then press Download GIF — or use Send to… to open it in another tool.

How to keep a GIF small

GIF is an old format: every frame is stored as a separate picture with at most 256 colours, and there's no sound. File size grows quickly with width × number of frames, so a GIF that looks short can still be several megabytes.

The number of frames is simply the clip length times the frames per second — three seconds at 10 fps is 30 frames. The tool caps a video GIF at 400 frames and warns you when the settings are heavy enough to strain an older phone or laptop.

  • Keep it to the moment that matters — two to four seconds is plenty for most GIFs.
  • 10 fps looks smooth for most clips; drop to 6–8 fps for screen recordings and slides.
  • 320–480 px wide is enough for chats; go up to 800 px only when people need to read small text.
  • Switch on Shared palette — one set of colours for all frames makes the file smaller and stops colours flickering.

Making a GIF from a screen recording

GIFs are great for showing a click-by-click step in a guide or a bug report. Record the steps with Screen Recorder, then open the downloaded file in GIF Maker — WebM files recorded in the browser work too.

Pick only the few seconds that show the action, keep the width high enough for text to stay readable, and use a lower frame rate: screens change less than real-life footage, so you save a lot of size with no visible difference.

Captions, boomerangs and slow motion

The Caption is drawn in bold white capitals with a dark outline, the classic reaction-GIF look, at the top or bottom of every frame. Boomerang plays the clip forward and then backward for a seamless loop, and a Speed of 0.5× turns any moment into slow motion.

Want a still meme instead of an animation? Meme Maker puts top and bottom text on a single image.

GIF or short video?

A GIF plays automatically, loops forever and works almost anywhere — but it has no sound and gets big fast. If the sound matters, or the clip is longer than a few seconds, cut a short MP4 with Video Trimmer instead; it will be sharper and much smaller.

GIF Maker can also build a GIF from photos: switch to Images, add pictures in the order you want and set the Frame delay — or give individual frames their own delay.

Questions people ask

Does the GIF keep the video's sound?
No. The GIF format can't hold sound. If you need audio, trim the video to a short clip instead.
Is there a watermark?
No. The GIF contains only your video frames and the caption you add, if any.
How long can a GIF from a video be?
Up to 400 frames — for example 40 seconds at 10 fps or 20 seconds at 20 fps. In practice, GIFs work best at a few seconds, because longer ones become very large files.
Why is my GIF so big?
GIF stores each frame as its own image. Lower the width, the frames per second or the clip length, and switch on Shared palette under More options.
Can I make a GIF on my phone?
Yes. Open GIF Maker in Safari or Chrome, choose a video from your phone and follow the same steps. The GIF is made on the phone itself and saved to your downloads.
Do it now with GIF MakerFree, no sign-up, works on any device.

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