Should I just post the MP4 instead?

Often, yes. Slack, Discord, WhatsApp, Reddit and every social network take an MP4 and will show it smaller and sharper than the GIF. The good reasons to make a GIF anyway are a place that only accepts images, an email signature, or a README on a code host.

What happens to the sound?

It goes. A GIF has never had an audio track, and nothing about the format allows one. If the sound is the point, convert the MP4 to a smaller MP4 instead.

My phone shot it at 60fps. What should I use?

Ten. Above about 15 a GIF stops looking better and only gets heavier, because the format has no real compression between frames, so every frame you add costs close to a full picture.

Why is the GIF bigger than the MP4 was?

Because the MP4 stores what moved and a GIF stores something close to a whole picture every frame. That is not a setting you can fix, it is the difference between a format from 1989 and one from 2003.

Is it under the size limit for chat?

The estimate tells you before you encode, which is the whole reason it is there. Discord and Slack both cut off at a handful of megabytes on a free account, and 480 wide at 10 frames a second is the setting that usually clears it.

Is my video uploaded?

No. Frames are decoded in your browser and the GIF is assembled there. No request carries the file, which you can confirm in the network panel.

ON YOUR DEVICE · FREE

MP4 to GIF

A phone clip is 1080p at 60fps. A GIF cannot be.

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How this compares with Kapwing How this compares with VEED

1
What you are starting from
An MP4 out of a phone is 1080p at 60 frames a second with sound. A GIF has none of those things. Knowing what you are giving up is most of choosing the settings on the next step.
2
Pick the two numbers that matter
Width and frame rate, and nothing else comes close. 480 wide at 10 frames a second is the setting that made GIFs a thing people share; 1080 at 30 is a file nobody will wait for.
3
Check the size before you commit
The estimate updates as you change the numbers, so the moment to find out it is 40 MB is now rather than after the encode.

FAQ

Should I just post the MP4 instead?: Often, yes. Slack, Discord, WhatsApp, Reddit and every social network take an MP4 and will show it smaller and sharper than the GIF. The good reasons to make a GIF anyway are a place that only accepts images, an email signature, or a README on a code host.
What happens to the sound?: It goes. A GIF has never had an audio track, and nothing about the format allows one. If the sound is the point, convert the MP4 to a smaller MP4 instead.
My phone shot it at 60fps. What should I use?: Ten. Above about 15 a GIF stops looking better and only gets heavier, because the format has no real compression between frames, so every frame you add costs close to a full picture.
Why is the GIF bigger than the MP4 was?: Because the MP4 stores what moved and a GIF stores something close to a whole picture every frame. That is not a setting you can fix, it is the difference between a format from 1989 and one from 2003.
Is it under the size limit for chat?: The estimate tells you before you encode, which is the whole reason it is there. Discord and Slack both cut off at a handful of megabytes on a free account, and 480 wide at 10 frames a second is the setting that usually clears it.
Is my video uploaded?: No. Frames are decoded in your browser and the GIF is assembled there. No request carries the file, which you can confirm in the network panel.

The rest of this converter

Video to GIF

MP4 to GIF

What you are starting from

Pick the two numbers that matter

Check the size before you commit

FAQ

The rest of this converter

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