What is an MP4 to GIF converter?

An MP4 to GIF converter turns a video (MP4) into an animated image (GIF). GIFs are widely supported and easy to share in chats, docs, and presentations.

However, GIF is not a video format:

• No audio
• Limited colors (typically up to 256 colors per frame)
• Often larger file size than MP4

So the key to a good result is choosing the right duration, resolution, and FPS.

What this tool does

On the MP4 to GIF page (/en/media/mp4-to-gif) you can:

• Import an MP4 video
• Trim or focus on the most important part (recommended)
• Choose GIF settings such as size and frame rate
• Export a shareable GIF

How to convert MP4 to GIF (recommended workflow)

1. Upload / select an MP4 file.
2. Trim the clip to the shortest useful segment.
   • For social posts and chats, 2–6 seconds is usually ideal.
3. Choose output settings:
   • Width / resolution
   • FPS (frames per second)
4. Convert and download the GIF.

If your GIF is too large or looks blurry, jump to the sections below.

Best settings: size vs quality

1) Duration (most important)

A shorter clip reduces size dramatically.

• Start with 2–4 seconds for memes/reactions
• Use 4–8 seconds for short tutorials/demos

If you need a longer animation, consider using MP4/WebM instead of GIF.

2) Resolution / width

As a rule of thumb: smaller width = much smaller GIF.

• Chat / emoji-style: 480–640px width
• Tutorial snippets: 720–960px width
• High detail: 960px+ (expect large file size)

3) FPS (frames per second)

Higher FPS looks smoother but increases size.

• Default: 10–15 FPS (good for most content)
• Fast motion: 15–24 FPS
• Static scenes: 8–12 FPS

4) Quality (Low / Medium / High)

The Quality preset mainly controls how many colors are used in the GIF color palette.

• Low: up to 64 colors
  • Smaller file, faster conversion
  • More likely to show banding/posterization in gradients (sky, shadows)
• Medium: up to 128 colors
  • Good default for most clips
  • Reasonable balance of size and visual quality
• High: up to 256 colors (GIF maximum)
  • Best for gradients and detailed scenes
  • Usually larger file and slower conversion

If your GIF has ugly color steps or looks “dirty”, try High. If you mainly care about upload size, try Low/Medium.

Quick presets (copy these)

• Best for chat (small file)

  • Duration: 2–4s
  • Width: 480–640
  • FPS: 10–12

• Best for tutorials (clear text)

  • Duration: 4–8s
  • Width: 720–960
  • FPS: 12–15

• Best for smooth motion (bigger file)

  • Duration: 2–6s
  • Width: 720–960
  • FPS: 15–24

How to reduce GIF file size

If your GIF is too big to upload to a platform, try these in order:

1. Trim duration (biggest win)
2. Reduce width (second biggest win)
3. Lower FPS (often enough)
4. Remove unnecessary parts of the frame (crop), if your tool supports it

A practical tip: if your GIF is still huge after trimming and reducing width, GIF may not be the right format for that content.

Common problems and fixes

My GIF is bigger than the MP4

This is normal. MP4 is highly compressed; GIF is not.

Fix:

• Shorten duration
• Reduce width
• Lower FPS

The GIF looks blurry

This usually happens when the resolution is too low or the source is already compressed.

Fix:

• Increase width slightly (but keep duration short)
• Use fewer but clearer frames (moderate FPS)

Colors look weird / banding

GIF has a limited color palette.

Fix:

• Prefer shorter clips with fewer gradients
• If available, enable higher quality palette generation

The GIF plays too fast / too slow

That is usually related to FPS.

Fix:

• Lower FPS if it looks too fast

• Increase FPS if motion looks choppy

• Open the MP4 to GIF tool