GIF to WebM
For a page where you control what plays it
What the conversion sites charge
| Convertio | upload the whole file, with a daily cap | |
| Zamzar | upload the whole file, with a size cap | |
| CloudConvert | upload the whole file, priced per minute | |
| PixPunk | Free | no upload, no account, no daily cap |
WebM is the smaller of the two answers and the pickier one. It is the right call when you own the page it plays on, and the wrong one when you are sending the file to somebody else.
- 1
Why not MP4
Nothing is wrong with MP4. WebM is smaller again for the same picture, and every current browser plays it, so on a page you serve yourself it costs you nothing. Emailed to a colleague, it is the file their preview window shrugs at.
- 2
What it is good for
A background loop, a hero animation, a product demo that autoplays. Anywhere the file is served by a page you wrote, where a GIF would have been the lazy answer and a heavy one.
- 3
What it costs you
Time. Every frame is decoded and encoded again, and the more efficient encoder is the slower one. A short animation is seconds; a long one is worth starting and leaving.
FAQ
- How do I convert a GIF to WebM?
- Drop the file on this page and press the button. It runs in your browser, so there is no upload, no account and no daily limit.
- Should I use WebM or MP4?
- WebM if you control the page it plays on, MP4 if you are handing the file to somebody. WebM is smaller for the same picture; MP4 is the one that opens everywhere without a thought.
- Which browsers play a WebM?
- Every current one. It is the compatibility outside a browser that is thinner: some editors, some phone galleries and some chat previews would rather have the MP4.
- Does transparency survive?
- No. The transparent parts come out white here, the same as the MP4 page. If a transparent animation is the whole point, keep the GIF.
- Why is this slower than the MP4?
- The encoder works harder for the smaller file. That is the entire trade, and it is the reason the result is worth waiting for on a page that will serve it a thousand times.
- Is the file uploaded?
- No. The frames are decoded and the video written in the page. No request carries the file anywhere, which the network panel will show you while it runs.