How do I convert a video to a GIF?
To turn a video into a GIF, open FixDoks's Video to GIF tool, set the start time and length of the clip, choose a width and frame rate such as 480px at 10fps, then click Make GIF. The tool builds a colour palette from your footage in the browser, so no upload happens and gradients stay smooth instead of banded.
Video to GIF at a glance
| Input | MP4, MOV, WebM |
|---|---|
| Max clip length | 30 seconds |
| Default | 480px width, 10 fps |
| Processing | In your browser; your files are not uploaded |
| Price | Free, no watermark |
| Download | Free Google sign-in |
| Works on | Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox on Windows, Mac, Android and iPhone |
How to use Video to GIF
- Click Select video and choose a clip (MP4, MOV or WebM).
- Play the preview and click Use current to set the start, or type the start time. Set the length (up to 30 seconds).
- Choose a width and frame rate. 480 px at 10 fps suits most chats and websites.
- Click Make GIF, check the preview, then download.
Making a GIF that looks good
GIF is an old format with one big limitation: each frame can use at most 256 colours. A lazy converter uses a fixed, generic palette, which gives you banding in skies and speckled skin tones. FixDoks does it properly in two passes. First it scans your clip and builds a palette from the colours that actually appear. Then it maps every frame onto that palette with light, even dithering, so gradients stay smooth and edges stay sharp.
Choosing size and frame rate
GIFs do not use modern video compression, so they grow quickly. File size is roughly proportional to width x height x frames. Doubling the width makes the file about four times larger. These settings are good starting points:
| Use | Width | Frame rate | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reaction GIF for chat | 320 to 480 px | 10 fps | 2 to 4 s |
| Product demo on a website | 640 px | 12 to 15 fps | 4 to 8 s |
| Tutorial step in docs or email | 640 to 800 px | 8 to 10 fps | 5 to 10 s |
Screen recordings and cartoons stay small because large areas of colour do not change. Camera footage with lots of motion, water or leaves is the hardest case, so keep those clips short and narrow.
Picking the moment
Play the preview and pause where you want the GIF to begin, then click Use current. You can also type a time like 1:23.5 or 83.5. The length box sets how many seconds to include, up to 30. If the start plus length runs past the end of the video, the GIF simply stops at the end.
GIF or MP4?
GIF works everywhere, including email clients and older forums, and loops automatically. But a short MP4 is often ten times smaller at better quality, which is why social networks quietly convert uploaded GIFs to video. If you are posting to a platform that accepts video, consider keeping it as MP4. If you already have a GIF that is too heavy, GIF to MP4 converts it back.
Everything stays on your device
The conversion runs in your browser with a WebAssembly build of FFmpeg, the same open-source engine used by video professionals. Your clip is not uploaded, so private videos stay private.
Troubleshooting
If the GIF looks grainy, raise the width one step rather than the frame rate; extra frames add size without adding sharpness. If colours look washed out, the source may be an HDR video from a recent phone. Converting it to a standard MP4 first with Compress Video usually fixes that.