MP4 – MPEG-4 Part 14
MP4 is the most widely supported video container. It usually holds H.264 or H.265 video with AAC audio and plays on nearly every phone, computer, TV and browser.
More MP4 conversionsDrop your MP4 files here
or click to choose MP4 files · up to 95MB each
How to convert MP4 to GIF
- Choose your files. Click Select File or drag your MP4 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 MP4 to GIF?
A GIF plays automatically and loops everywhere: in chats, forums, emails, documentation and READMEs where a video would not start by itself. Short clips, reactions and screen demos are the classic use.
When to keep the MP4
Keep the MP4 for anything longer than a few seconds or with sound. GIFs have no audio and get big quickly.
Tips for the best result
- The GIF is limited to 480 pixels wide and 12 frames per second to keep it small enough to share.
- Use clips of 2 to 6 seconds: every second adds to the file size.
- Colours are optimised per clip, so screen recordings and cartoons look especially clean.
Common problems and fixes
- The GIF is several megabytes.
- Trim the video to the important part before converting. Busy scenes with lots of movement make larger GIFs.
- The colours are grainy.
- GIF can show only 256 colours. For smooth colour, share the short MP4 or use MP4 to WebP.
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 MP4 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.
Frequently asked questions
Does the GIF have sound?
No. The GIF format cannot hold audio.
Does the GIF loop?
Yes. The GIF loops forever, like most GIFs online.
How big will the GIF be?
The GIF is made at 12 frames per second and at most 480 pixels wide, which keeps it small enough for chats and websites. Short clips of a few seconds work best.
How do I convert MP4 to GIF?
Click Select File or drop your MP4 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.