--- title: "Video to GIF Converter: Free, Online, in Your Browser" description: "Turn part of an MP4 or MOV video into an animated GIF in your browser. Pick the start, length, frame rate and width, then download the finished GIF." url: "https://picway.app/tools/video-to-gif/" lang: "en" type: "tools" updated: "2026-11-06" published: "2026-11-06" keywords: "video to gif" --- # Video to GIF Converter: Free, Online, in Your Browser URL: https://picway.app/tools/video-to-gif/ Markdown: https://picway.app/tools/video-to-gif/index.md Last updated: 2026-11-06 This free online tool turns part of a video into an animated GIF in your browser, with no sign-up. Choose an MP4 or MOV, set where the clip starts and how long it runs (up to 20 seconds), pick a frame rate and a width, then press Make GIF. Before offering the download, the page checks that the GIF has every frame and the right size. ## How to do it {#steps} 1. **Choose the video**: Tap the box above and pick an MP4 or MOV from your iPhone, camera or a screen recording. The page shows its size, resolution, frame rate, length and video format. 2. **Pick the clip and settings**: Type the second where the GIF should start and choose a length: 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 15 or 20 seconds. Then pick a frame rate, a width and whether the GIF loops. 3. **Make and download**: Press Make GIF and keep the tab open. The page shows a preview of the GIF, then offers it to download. ## What the settings do {#settings} **Start at** is the second in the video where the GIF begins, and **Length** is how long it runs: 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 15 or 20 seconds. **Frame rate** is how many pictures the GIF shows each second: 10 is the default, 15 looks smoother and 5 makes a smaller file. **Width** is the GIF’s width in pixels. **Loop** chooses between looping forever and playing once. Changing any of them clears the GIF you made before. ## Where the work happens {#privacy} The video is read and turned into a GIF by your browser, inside this page. This page has no server that receives your video. ## Limits to know about {#limits} One video at a time. A GIF can run up to 20 seconds and 300 frames, and its longer side is at most 800 pixels. iPhone and iPad read videos up to 300 MB, and computers up to 2 GB. The page needs a browser with WebCodecs, and the browser has to be able to decode the video’s format, such as HEVC. A GIF has no sound and at most 256 colors per frame. A long clip at a high frame rate takes a while, so keep the tab open. ## On iPhone without a converter {#built-in} Apple’s Shortcuts app has a Make GIF action. [Apple’s guide to Shortcuts](https://support.apple.com/guide/shortcuts/apdf22b0444c/ios) shows it building an animated GIF from your latest photos and sending it in Messages. Use this page when you want a GIF from a stretch of a video and want to choose the start, length, frame rate and width yourself. ## Make a GIF on your iPhone with PicWay {#picway} In PicWay, touch and hold a video and tap **Make GIF**; it’s also in the editor when you edit a video. Scroll the filmstrip to pick 0.5 to 3.9 seconds. PicWay makes the GIF at 12 frames per second with its longer side at most 480 pixels, and saves it to the PicWay Conversions album. PicWay isn’t on the App Store yet. [Get one email when it launches](https://picway.app/go/ot-1104-11). ## Frequently asked questions {#faq} ### How does it make a GIF in the browser? {#how-it-works} The page reads the video piece by piece and decodes only the part you chose, starting from the nearest keyframe before your start point. At each point in time it takes the frame showing then, turns a vertical video upright, scales it to the width you chose and adds it to the GIF. This runs inside the page, in your browser. ### Why can a GIF be at most 20 seconds? {#max-length} A GIF has no video compression, so every frame adds to the file size, and a long GIF is slow to make and uses a lot of memory, especially on iPhone. So the page caps a GIF at 20 seconds and 300 frames, and its longer side at 800 pixels. ### How do I make the GIF smaller? {#smaller} Use a shorter clip, a lower frame rate or a smaller width. Each of them cuts the number of pixels the GIF has to store. If the GIF comes out larger than 8 MB, the page reminds you of this. The page already stores only the pixels that changed from the frame before, which keeps the file much smaller when most of the picture stays still. ### Will the GIF look like the video? {#colors} Close, but not the same. A GIF frame can hold at most 256 colors, so the page picks the best 256 colors for each frame on its own. Smooth gradients, such as a sky, can show visible bands, and the GIF has no sound. ### Does it keep a vertical iPhone video upright? {#vertical} Yes. iPhone videos store the picture sideways and note how to turn it. The page reads that note and turns each frame upright, so a vertical video makes a vertical GIF. ### What do the width options do? {#width} They set the GIF’s width: 320, 480 or 640 pixels, or the video’s own width. The height follows the video’s shape. The GIF is never made wider than the video, and its longer side is kept to 800 pixels, so a vertical video can come out narrower than the width you picked. ### Which videos can it use? {#which-formats} MP4, MOV and M4V files whose video format your browser can decode. Whether a video works depends on whether your browser can decode its format, such as H.264 or HEVC (iPhones record HEVC by default). The page checks before it starts making the GIF. If your browser can’t decode it, the page names the format and suggests Safari, or Chrome on a Mac with an up-to-date system. ### Is there a size limit for the video? {#size-limit} Yes. On iPhone and iPad the page reads videos up to 300 MB, and on a computer up to 2 GB. One video at a time. If the clip runs past the end of the video, the GIF stops where the video ends. ### Does it work in every browser? {#unsupported} No. Reading frames from a video needs WebCodecs. Safari on iPhone with iOS 16.4 or later, and an up-to-date Chrome or Edge on a computer, have it. If your browser doesn’t, the page says so. ### How do I know the GIF is complete? {#check} Before offering the download, the page reads the new GIF back and checks that its frame count, its width and height, and its loop setting are what it planned. If they don’t match, it says so and doesn’t offer the file. ### Can the GIF play only once? {#loop} Yes. Under Loop, choose Play once. The default is Loop forever. ### Can I stop it halfway or change a setting? {#cancel} Yes. Press Cancel while it works. If you change any setting or choose another video, the previous GIF is cleared and no longer offered. ### Do I need to sign up? {#no-signup} No. There is no sign-up. Open this page, choose your video and download the GIF.