How to turn a video into a GIF on any device

To turn a video into a GIF, trim the clip to a few seconds and export it as a GIF. On Windows, Microsoft Clipchamp exports a GIF for videos of 15 seconds or less. On a Mac or iPhone, the Shortcuts app has a Make GIF action. Photoshop imports the video frames and saves them as a GIF. On any device, a free site such as ezgif or Adobe Express does it in your browser. Keep the GIF short and narrow: our GIF came out 61 times bigger than the same clip as an MP4. Our image converter handles still images such as JPG, PNG and WebP. This guide uses the tools that make moving GIFs.

Which way should you make a GIF from a video?

Pick the route that is already on your device. Every route below is free except Photoshop.

How do you turn a video into a GIF on Windows?

Microsoft Clipchamp turns a video into a GIF on Windows, for videos of 15 seconds or less. Microsoft’s page Exporting and saving a video in Clipchamp lists “GIF for videos 15 seconds or less” beside the video sizes. The Windows Photos app has no GIF export that Microsoft documents.

1. 1

   Open Clipchamp and drag your video onto the timeline

   Open Clipchamp and drag your video onto the timeline.

2. 2

   Trim the clip to 15 seconds or less

   Trim the clip to 15 seconds or less. Clipchamp offers GIF only for clips that short.

3. 3

   Click Export, then choose GIF

   Click the Export button at the top right of the editor, then choose GIF.

4. 4

   Wait for the progress bar

   The GIF saves to your computer, usually in Downloads.

Microsoft’s page says premium features show a diamond symbol on the free plan. Remove them, or the export asks you to upgrade.

How do I make a GIF from a video on a Mac?

The Shortcuts app on a Mac makes a GIF from a video with its Make GIF action. Apple’s Intro to Shortcuts on Mac says Make GIF “uses those photos to build an animated GIF”. Apple gives no step list for the action. The steps below use the action names the app shows.

1. 1

   Open Shortcuts and create a new shortcut

   Open Shortcuts and create a new shortcut.

2. 2

   Add Select Photos and set it to videos

   Add Select Photos and set it to videos.

3. 3

   Add Make GIF, then Quick Look

   Add Make GIF, then Quick Look to see the result.

4. 4

   Run the shortcut, pick your video and save the GIF

   Run the shortcut, pick your video and save the GIF.

Can QuickTime do it? No. Apple’s QuickTime export page lists only QuickTime movies (.mov) and audio. Trim a long clip in QuickTime first, then run the shortcut.

How do you make a GIF from a video in Photoshop?

Photoshop imports a video’s frames as layers, then exports them with Save for Web (Legacy). These steps follow Adobe’s guide, Make an animated GIF.

1. 1

   Import the video frames as layers

   Choose File > Import > Video Frames to Layers, pick your video and click Open.

2. 2

   Open the Timeline and create a frame animation

   Open Window > Timeline and choose Create Frame Animation.

3. 3

   Make frames from layers and loop Forever

   From the Timeline menu, choose Make Frames From Layers. Set the repeat menu to Forever.

4. 4

   Save for Web as a GIF

   Choose File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy). Pick GIF 128 Dithered, set Colors to 256 and click Save.

Lower the Image Size in the Save for Web window if the file comes out too big.

How can I convert an MP4 video to a GIF for free?

A free website turns an MP4 into a GIF on a computer or a phone. Three sites rank for this, each with its own limits:

• ezgif. Its Video to GIF page now works locally in your browser by default, with no size cap. Turn local processing off and the upload limit is 200 MB. With no start or end time set, ezgif uses the first 5 seconds.
• Adobe Express. Its video to GIF page takes a video up to 1 minute long. You pick a Large, Medium or Small size and a square, landscape or portrait shape.
• GIPHY. Its GIF Maker takes a file or a video link. GIPHY publishes no limits page for it that we found.

1. 1

   Open ezgif’s Video to GIF page and pick your MP4

   Click Choose File and pick the video. Leave Local processing ticked so the file stays in your browser.

   

2. 2

   Set the start and end time, the size and the frame rate

   We set 0 to 5 seconds, 480xAUTO and 10 fps.

   

3. 3

   Click Convert to GIF, then save the result

   The GIF appears under Output GIF animation with its file size. Click Save to download it.

   

Making a GIF from a YouTube video? Only use footage you made or have permission to share.

How do you turn a video into a GIF on Samsung and other Android phones?

On a Samsung Galaxy, the Gallery’s video player makes a GIF from a video. Samsung’s own page, create a GIF image from photos on your Galaxy phone, covers photos, bursts and the Camera app only. The video steps below come from a guide we did not run (Guiding Tech).

1. 1

   Open the video in Gallery and tap Open in Video player

   Open the video in Gallery and tap Open in Video player from the menu.

2. 2

   Tap GIF, trim, then tap Save

   Tap GIF, drag the bars to trim, then tap Save.

From photos, Samsung’s page gives its own route: long press to select several, tap the More icon, then Create, then GIF. On other Android phones, Google documents no GIF tool in Google Photos. Use the GIPHY app or ezgif in Chrome.

How do you make a GIF from a video on iPhone?

On iPhone, the Shortcuts app’s Make GIF action turns a video into a GIF, as on a Mac. Keynote and Live Photos can make one too.

What does each method keep and lose?

Every route drops the sound, because the GIF format holds only pictures and timing. The routes differ on length and control:

Clipchamp, Shortcuts and Adobe Express give you no width or frame rate to set. If size matters, use ezgif or Photoshop.

Why is a GIF so much bigger than the MP4?

A GIF stores every frame as a full picture. An MP4 stores mostly the changes between frames. The GIF89a specification allows at most 256 colours per table. It packs each frame with LZW, a lossless method from the 1980s. MP4 uses H.264, which predicts each frame from the ones around it. Google’s web.dev guide shows a 3.7 MB GIF that became 551 KB as MP4.

Our own test clip shows the same gap:

Several top guides say the opposite. Samsung’s GIF page calls GIFs “highly compressed” compared with video. Universal Music for Creators says a GIF saves you sending “a large video file”. Our 720 px GIF came out at 7.5 MB. That is 4 times the 1.9 MB 1080p MP4 we started from. The GIF only wins where a video cannot play.

How do you make a GIF smaller in file size?

Cut the width first, because a GIF’s size grows with every pixel in every frame. In our test, 320 px came to 1.4 MB against 7.5 MB at 720 px. Then work through the rest:

• Frame rate. 10 fps looks smooth for most clips. Going from 15 to 10 fps saved 28% in our test.
• Length. Every second adds a full set of frames. Aim for 2 to 6 seconds.
• Colours. Fewer colours in Photoshop’s Save for Web pack smaller. Clips with flat colour shrink most.

Will your GIF fit where you want to post it?

Check the app’s upload limit before you convert. A GIF of a 1080p clip passes many of them fast. Each limit below comes from the maker’s own help page, read on 24 October 2026:

The pages: X Help, Discord, Gmail Help and Slack.

Why won’t my GIF work?

Most failures come from a length cap or a size cap, not a broken file. Match the symptom to the fix:

• Clipchamp will not give you a GIF. Microsoft offers GIF only for videos of 15 seconds or less. Trim the clip, then export again.
• ezgif made only 5 seconds. No start or end time was set. Enter both before you convert.
• ezgif refuses a long clip. Its form showed a 60-second cap when we tested. Trim the clip to 60 seconds or less.
• X rejects the GIF on your phone. The mobile app caps a GIF at 5 MB. Post from the web, or cut the width.
• Discord shows a download link instead of the GIF. The file passed 20 MB. Shrink it, then send it again.

Should you use a GIF, an MP4 or an animated WebP?

Use a GIF where the place you post accepts only images, and a video file everywhere else. Each choice gives something and costs something:

• GIF plays in every email client, chat app and forum, with no play button. It costs file size and colour, and it has no sound.
• MP4 is far smaller and keeps full colour and sound. It needs a video player, and some email clients and forums will not autoplay it.
• Animated WebP sits between the two: 261 KB in our test, with more colours than a GIF. Browsers show it, but some apps and email clients still do not.

For a website you control, an MP4 set to autoplay muted is usually the better file. For a reply in a chat thread, a GIF still travels best. To keep a GIF you find online, read how to save a GIF. For the format’s history, read what does GIF stand for.

How we tested

• The file: a 5-second 1,920 × 1,080 clip at 30 fps, a slow zoom across our own dragonfly photo. Saved as an H.264 MP4 of 1.9 MB.
• The tool: ffmpeg 6.0: palettegen and paletteuse for each GIF, libwebp at quality 75, libx264 at CRF 23.
• The date: 24 October 2026.
• Sizes in KB and MB, 1,000-byte units, read from the file system.
• The steps: each from the maker’s page, read on 24 October 2026: Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, ezgif, X, Discord, Google and Slack. The Samsung video steps come from Guiding Tech. How we measure covers the rest.

Your next step: make the GIF at 480 pixels and 10 fps, then check it against the app’s limit. For still images, read how to reduce image file size.