Frequently Asked Questions

Video to GIF is a free web tool that turns video files into animated GIFs. It runs 100% locally in your browser, so your files are never uploaded to a server, and you can start using it right away with no sign-up and no software to install. It uses WebAssembly to create high-quality GIFs quickly.

Yes, completely free. Every feature is available with no limits, and there are no hidden costs or paid subscriptions. Everything is processed locally in your browser, so there are no server costs, which means it's free now and I plan to keep it that way.

No, there's no sign-up or login at all. Just open the site, pick a file and start converting. I don't ask for any personal information like your email or phone number, and no usage history or conversion records are saved.

You can use most formats the HTML5 Video API supports, including MP4, MOV, AVI, WebM and MKV. MP4 (H.264 codec), the most common format, works in every browser, and WebM and OGV play in most modern browsers too. If a particular format doesn't work, convert it to MP4 with a free tool like HandBrake and try again.

Files are processed in your browser's memory instead of being uploaded to a server, so there's no official file size limit. What you can handle depends on your device's memory and your browser's performance. In general, videos under 100MB work fine on most computers. On mobile devices I recommend staying under 30-50MB, and very large files (200MB or more) can make the browser slow down or freeze.

There's no time limit, but because of how GIFs work, 3-10 seconds is ideal. Long clips can turn into GIFs that are tens of MB, which load slowly and may run into upload limits on websites and social media. For videos longer than 30 seconds, I recommend cutting out just the key parts and splitting them into several short GIFs. Trimming the section you want in a video editor before converting makes the whole process more efficient.

At High-spec, the longer side goes up to 900px. Lower levels are smaller: 320px at Low-spec and 540px at Balanced. Nothing is upscaled past the original, since that only adds file size without adding detail. Why the cap is 900px is explained in this post.

Never. That's the main thing that sets this tool apart. All conversion happens only in your browser, and neither your video nor the GIF it creates is sent to a server. Files are processed only in your computer's memory and are cleared as soon as you close or refresh the page. If you check with a network monitoring tool, you'll see there's no file upload traffic at all.

I don't collect any personal information myself. There's no sign-up, so I never get your name, email or phone number, and I don't save conversion history or file details either. That said, the site shows Google AdSense ads to help keep it running, and visit statistics (page views, referral sources, etc.) are measured with Google Analytics. Both services may use cookies. Ads never access the file you're converting. For details, see the Privacy Policy.

Yes, it's safe. Your files never leave your device, so you can convert sensitive internal material, personal videos and confidential content with peace of mind. If you're on a public computer or a device you share with others, though, please delete the downloaded GIF yourself after converting. The site also uses a secure HTTPS connection to keep the website itself secure.

Speed depends on the video's length, the size and frame count of the GIF, and your device. To make it faster:

• Move the quality slider toward Low-spec: width and frames per second both go down, so there's much less to process.
• Shorten the video: uploading only the part you need is the fastest option.

Short clips usually finish in a few seconds on a computer. A video over 30 seconds at High-spec can take more than a minute.

Yes, it works in mobile browsers such as Chrome on Android, Samsung Internet and Safari on iOS. Phones have less memory and processing power than computers, so on a phone the quality slider starts one level lower, at "Lighter".

• ✅ Keep videos short (under 10 seconds)
• ✅ If it struggles, move the slider to Low-spec

For long videos or High-spec GIFs, a computer works better.

It works in any modern browser that supports WebAssembly. Recommended browsers:

• Chrome / Edge: Fastest and most stable (recommended)
• Firefox: Great performance
• Safari: Works on macOS/iOS

Internet Explorer doesn't support WebAssembly, so it won't work. If your browser is very out of date, please update it to the latest version.

GIF doesn't compress well, so files grow quickly. To make one smaller:

• Move the quality slider toward Low-spec: width and frames per second go down, and so does the file size.
• Make it shorter: frame count follows length, so this is the most reliable fix. Open the GIF in Trim GIF and keep only the part you need.

File size is mostly decided by frame count and dimensions. There's a comparison made from one video in the settings guide.

GIF can only show 256 colors, so it will always look a bit worse than the original video. To get the best quality:

• ✅ Move the quality slider toward High-spec (width, frame rate and quality all go up, and so does file size)
• ✅ Trim the video short (shorter clips can stay at higher levels)
• ✅ Use videos with simple backgrounds (busy scenes show color banding)

Photos with lots of gradients and live-action footage are better as MP4. GIF works best for UI demos, simple animations and logos.

When you upload a video, settings are picked automatically for its length and resolution, and the slider lets you choose a level.

• Toward Low-spec: smaller width and fewer frames per second, so the file is lighter and faster to make.
• Toward High-spec: bigger and smoother, but heavier and slower to make.

At every level, the capture interval matches the playback rate, so the GIF plays at the original speed. For long videos, frame rate and size are lowered automatically so the browser doesn't run out of memory, and the page tells you when that happens. The numbers for each level are in the table near the bottom of the home page.

Once your GIF is generated, you can use it in the "Text Settings" section:

1. Type your text in the text field
2. Adjust the text size, text color, background color and opacity
3. Drag the text on the generated GIF to where you want it
4. Click the "Regenerate GIF with Text" button

You can add a watermark, captions or a short description to give your GIF a finished look. High-contrast colors (white text on a black background) are the easiest to read.

Please check the following:

• ✅ The video file isn't corrupted (does it play in another player?)
• ✅ The file isn't too large (under 100MB recommended)
• ✅ Your browser is up to date (Chrome or Firefox recommended)
• ✅ Try a different video file
• ✅ Refresh the page and try again

If the problem keeps happening, let me know through the Contact page along with your setup (browser, OS, file format, etc.) and I'll help you sort it out.

This is most likely a memory issue. Try:

• Closing other browser tabs and trying again
• Moving the quality slider to Low-spec
• Shortening the video to under 10 seconds
• Restarting your computer and trying again

While a GIF is being encoded, the page can look frozen for a moment because of the heavy computation. If it keeps happening on mobile, try a computer.

This can happen with some browsers or security settings. Here's what to try:

• Right-click the generated GIF → "Save image as..."
• Check your browser's pop-up blocker settings
• Try a different browser (Chrome recommended)
• Refresh the page and convert again

Yes, the service is free and you can use it for commercial purposes too. However, the copyright of a GIF you create follows the copyright of the original video. Converting someone else's video without permission and using it commercially may infringe their copyright, so please make sure you have the legal right to use the original content.

Technically, you could download a YouTube video and convert it, but you must check the copyright first. Only use videos you uploaded yourself, videos the creator has given you permission to use, or clips that fall within fair use. Converting and redistributing other people's content without permission violates copyright law.

Yes. The source code is public in the GitHub repository, so anyone can see exactly how it works, and the code I wrote is MIT-licensed, so feel free to use it. The GIF encoder, gifski-wasm, is licensed under AGPL-3.0. The blog posts, images, and the "Video to GIF" name and logo are not covered by the license and can't be reused without permission. For details, see the Terms of Service.

Yes. The converter turns the whole video into a GIF, and then you can open that GIF in Trim GIF and drag the timeline handles to keep only the part you need. The original playback speed is kept. If the video is very long, roughly cutting it first in a video editor (e.g. Windows Photos or iMovie) makes conversion faster and uses less memory.

Not yet. You can convert one file at a time, and converting several at once is on my list of features to add. For now, upload the next file once the current one is done.

Right now only video → GIF conversion is supported. I'll consider adding GIF → video conversion in the future, depending on demand. If you need to convert a GIF to MP4, you can use a free online tool (like CloudConvert) or software like FFmpeg.