MOV – QuickTime Movie
MOV is Apple's QuickTime video container. It is common for iPhone recordings and video editing, and often produces larger files than MP4.
More MOV conversionsDrop your MOV files here
or click to choose MOV files · up to 95MB each
How to convert MOV to GIF
- Choose your files. Click Select File or drag your MOV files into the upload box. You can add many at once.
- Pick the settings. GIF is already selected as the output format. The conversion starts as soon as a file is added.
- Download. Each file appears in the list when it is ready. Download them one by one, or all together with Download all.
Why convert MOV to GIF?
GIFs play automatically in chats, emails, documentation and forums without a play button. Converting a short MOV clip, such as an iPhone recording or screen capture, to GIF makes it easy to share as a moving picture.
When to keep the MOV
Keep the MOV for the full-quality video with sound; the GIF is a small, silent preview of a short part of it.
Tips for the best result
- The GIF is made at up to 480 pixels wide and 12 frames per second to keep the file small.
- Sound is removed: GIF has no audio.
- Short clips of 2 to 6 seconds make the best GIFs; trim the video first.
Common problems and fixes
- The GIF is very large.
- GIF size grows with length. Trim the clip to the few seconds you need.
- Colours look grainy.
- GIF is limited to 256 colours per frame. Simple screen recordings look better than colourful scenes.
GIF – Graphics Interchange Format
GIF dates from 1987 and is best known for short looping animations. Each frame is limited to 256 colours and transparency is on or off only, so photographs often look banded. It is still handy for simple graphics and animations that need to work everywhere.
More GIF conversionsGIF at a glance
| Feature | GIF |
|---|---|
| Full name | Graphics Interchange Format |
| Compression | Lossless, 256 colours |
| Transparency | Yes |
| Animation | Yes |
| Introduced | 1987 |
| Developed by | CompuServe |
| Best for | Short animations and simple graphics |
Converting MOV to GIF
- GIF is limited to 256 colours per frame, so smooth gradients and photographs can look banded.
- Animated output is scaled to at most 480px wide at 12 frames per second to keep files small.
Related guide
- How to convert iPhone videos (MOV) to MP4iPhone videos are MOV files that some Windows apps, TVs and websites will not play. Convert MOV to MP4 for free, keep quality, and fix sound and size issues.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a GIF from an iPhone video?
Yes. iPhone videos are MOV files; upload them here and download the GIF.
Does the GIF loop?
Yes, it loops forever.
How do I convert MOV to GIF?
Click Select File or drop your MOV file onto the upload box. The converted GIF appears in the list below with a download button. You can add many files at once and download them together as a ZIP.
Is it really free?
Yes. There is no sign-up and no watermark. To keep the service available for everyone there is a 95MB limit per file and a cap on how many files one connection can process in a short period.
Are my files stored?
Your upload is used only to make the converted file. Images are processed in memory; other files are written to a private temporary folder that is deleted as soon as the conversion finishes. Nothing is kept after the result has been sent back.
Will quality drop?
For images, a little, by design: the image is re-encoded at the Quality you choose (default 75%). Audio and video are re-encoded with high-quality settings; documents keep their text and layout as far as the target format allows. Converting never restores detail that is already missing from the original.
How this works: your file is uploaded over HTTPS and converted on this server with open-source engines (libvips for images, FFmpeg for audio and video, LibreOffice and Pandoc for documents, Calibre for ebooks, Ghostscript and Inkscape for PDF and vector files). Images are processed in memory; other files use a private temporary folder that is deleted as soon as the conversion finishes.