GIF to MP4 turns an animated GIF into an MP4 video that is a fraction of the size and plays smoothly on every device. Useful for posting on sites that limit file size, for slides, or for sharing a long GIF in a chat. The conversion runs in your browser, so the file is never uploaded.
GIF or MP4
| GIF | MP4 | |
|---|---|---|
| File size | Large | Usually 5–20× smaller |
| Colours | 256 per frame | Millions |
| Transparency | Yes | No (white instead) |
| Plays in | Images, chats, email | Players, sites, apps |
A GIF stores every frame as a picture. A 10-second 480-pixel GIF can be 20 MB or more, which many chats and sites refuse. The same animation as MP4 is often under 2 MB and plays at a steady frame rate instead of stuttering.
When to convert a GIF
- Social posts. Instagram does not take GIF files as posts, and most other networks turn GIFs into video anyway. Uploading an MP4 gives you control over the result.
- Slides and documents. A large GIF makes a deck heavy to open and email; the same animation as MP4 keeps the file small.
- Web pages. An MP4 with autoplay and no sound is the usual replacement for a looping GIF and uses far less bandwidth.
Drop the GIF on the page and click Convert. The format list is hidden because a GIF always becomes a video: usually MP4, or WebM if the browser cannot make MP4.
What happens to the frames
Each GIF frame is drawn onto the video, including its original delay. Very short delays (under 20 ms) are treated as 100 ms, which is how browsers already display those GIFs, so the timing stays the same. Width and height are rounded up by at most one pixel so they are even, which video needs.
Common problems
Safari does not convert the GIF. Safari cannot read GIF frames one by one. Open the page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox.
The background turned white. GIF transparency has no equivalent in video. If the original sat on a dark page, the white edges will show; crop them later or pick a GIF that already has a solid background.
Need the other direction? Use Video to GIF to turn a few seconds of video into a GIF.