Free tools

MP4 to GIF converter

Turn the best few seconds into a GIF that looks like your video — real colours, not the grainy web palette.

Drop your video here, or click to choose
Up to 15 seconds · real colours, not the grainy web palette · nothing is uploaded

Everything happens inside your browser, using your own computer’s memory. Your file is never uploaded, never stored, and nothing is sent to us — so there is no limit on how often you use this.

How converting MP4 to GIF works

At a glance

Converts
MP4 to GIF
Length
Any stretch up to 15 seconds
Sizes
320, 480 or 720 pixels wide; the height follows
Smoothness
10 or 15 frames a second
Colour
A 256-colour palette built from your own clip

How it works

A GIF holds only 256 colours. Most converters use the same fixed 256 for everything, which is why their GIFs look blotchy. This builds the palette from the colours actually in your clip, then maps each frame to it.

Keep it to three to six seconds: GIFs grow fast with length.

The same 256 colours, spent differentlyA GIF can hold 256 colours. Most converters use one fixed set for every video, much of it colours your clip never uses. This tool first reads your clip and builds its 256 from the colours actually in it, then blends neighbouring pixels with Bayer dithering so gradients do not band.Fixed web palettethe same colours for every video — a sampleBuilt from your clipa bakery scene, for example — a sampleBoth are 256 colours. One is spent on your video,and Bayer dithering blends neighbouring pixelsso skies and skin do not break into bands.
The same number of colours — one set is chosen for your clip.

Step by step

  1. Drop the videoIt opens in this tab. Nothing uploads. The first time, the browser downloads the 32 MB video engine and keeps it.
  2. Pick the momentSet where it starts and how long it runs — three to six seconds is the sweet spot, fifteen the most.
  3. Pick size and smoothness480 pixels at 10 fps suits most places. Go smaller for chats, smoother for fast movement.
  4. Make GIF and downloadThe GIF appears as a preview. It stays in this browser until you press Delete.

Which setting for which job

If you are…Choose
A reaction or moment for a chat or commentSmall · 320 px · 10 fps · 2–4 seconds
An email, a web page or a product listingMedium · 480 px · 10 fps
Fast movement — a pour, a spin, a flip15 fps
A screen recording or how-toMedium · 480 px · 10 fps
Anything longer than about eight secondsConsider a short MP4 instead — smaller and sharper

Under the hood

The technical detail, for anyone who wants to know exactly what happens to their file. Each line first says it plainly.

palettegen

Choosing 256 colours from your clip.

A first pass looks at every frame and picks the 256 colours that best represent it. With stats_mode=diff it weights what changes between frames, so the moving subject gets the colours rather than a static background.

paletteuse with Bayer dithering

Mapping every frame to those colours.

A second pass redraws each frame using only the palette. Bayer dithering blends neighbouring pixels in an ordered pattern to imitate colours in between, so skies and skin do not break into bands; diff_mode=rectangle reprocesses only the part of each frame that changed, which is faster and matches the way GIF itself stores changes.

Lanczos scaling

Sharp when shrunk.

The video is scaled to the chosen width with the Lanczos filter, which keeps edges crisp when making a picture much smaller.

Frame rate

Fewer frames, smaller file.

Every frame is another picture in the file, so 15 fps carries half as many frames again as 10 — and the file grows roughly in step.

Looping

Plays forever.

The GIF is written with an infinite loop (-loop 0), the way GIFs are expected to behave in chats and pages.

If something goes wrong

What you seeWhyWhat to do
The GIF is bigger than the videoVideo formats store only what changes between frames; GIF stores far more.Make it shorter, smaller or 10 fps — or use a short MP4 where the platform allows it.
Colours look blotchy in a gradientEven a well-chosen 256 colours cannot cover a smooth sky or a soft light perfectly.Pick a moment with fewer gradients, or accept the fine dither pattern that smooths them.
Movement looks choppyAt 10 fps, fast motion jumps between frames.Choose 15 fps, or pick a slower moment.
There is no soundThe GIF format cannot hold audio.Use a short MP4 if the sound matters.

Privacy: your file stays on your computer

Turning a clip into a GIF happens entirely in your browser. The video you start from never leaves your device.

What your browser downloads
The page — and, the first time you use a video tool, the video engine: about 32 MB, then kept in your browser's cache.
What it sends to us
Nothing. There is no upload step, no copy on our servers and no account. The work happens in your computer's memory.
How we know
Our automated tests run every tool while recording every network request the page makes. A single upload fails the test.
Where the result lives
In this browser only, until you press Delete. A finished file is still here if you close the tab and come back; a job still running stops when the tab closes.
Where your file goesRuzz's servers send the page and the video engine to your browser once. Your file is processed in your browser's memory on your own computer and is never sent back to the server.ruzz.app serverssend the page, keep nothingpage + engineonce · 32 MByour filenever sentYour browser tabffmpeg in WebAssembly · your CPU · your memoryYour fileread from diskprocessFinished filesaved by youKept in this browser until you press DeleteNo account · no quota · no watermark
Only the page and the engine come down. Your file never goes up.

Questions

How long can the GIF be?

Up to 15 seconds. Past that, an MP4 is smaller and sharper.

Is my file uploaded?

No. The conversion runs inside your browser, using your own computer's memory. The file never leaves your device.

Why is this GIF sharper than other free converters?

Its 256 colours are built from your clip instead of a fixed web palette, and dithering smooths the steps between them.

Does the GIF have sound?

No — the format cannot carry audio.

How long can it be?

Up to 15 seconds. Past that, an MP4 is smaller and sharper, and most places that show GIFs also take MP4.

Why is my GIF bigger than the video?

Video formats store only what changes between frames; GIF stores far more. Shorter, smaller and 10 fps keep it down.

A tool makes a file fit. It does not make people watch to the end — that is the hook, the order of the shots, the captions and the music. See how Ruzz does it.

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MOV to GIFWebM to GIF

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