---
title: "Video to GIF – Make a Looping GIF, Free | loop.video"
description: "Make a GIF from any video in your browser: pick the moment, crop it square or tall, smooth the restart and save a GIF or WebP that loops. Free, no upload."
url: https://loop.video/video-to-gif
---

Free · runs in your browser

# Turn a video into a GIF

Choose the few seconds worth repeating, crop them to the shape you need and save a GIF or animated WebP that loops on its own. Phone clips, screen recordings and camera files all work.

To make a GIF from a video, open the video, drag the **Loop start** and **Loop end** handles around the moment you want, and press **Export GIF**. The part between the handles becomes a GIF that repeats by itself in any browser, chat or document that shows images.

The difference between a GIF people enjoy and one they scroll past is usually in the choices before the export: a moment that reads without sound, a crop that fills a phone screen, and a restart you don’t notice. This page walks through each of them. For the file settings (width, frame rate, colours, a size limit), see the [MP4 to GIF converter](https://loop.video/mp4-to-gif), which uses the same tool.

Everything happens on your device. The video is never uploaded, and the GIF has no watermark.

## How to make a GIF from a video

1. ### Open the video
Press **Select video** (**Choose video** on a phone) or drop the file on the page. iPhone MOV files, Android MP4s and screen recordings open in modern browsers.
2. ### Find the moment
Play the preview and press **Set start** (I) where the action begins and **Set end** (O) where it should stop, or drag the handles. Use , and . to step one frame at a time.
3. ### Crop it if you need to
Open **More options** and choose a **Shape**: 1:1 for a square GIF, 9:16 for a phone screen, 4:5 for a feed. Drag the preview to choose what stays in frame.  
[ ![A street scene cropped to a square in the preview, with Shape set to 1:1 under More options and the Position slider at 50%](https://loop.video/guides/video-to-gif/square-gif-crop.webp)  (enlarge image) ](https://loop.video/guides/video-to-gif/square-gif-crop.webp)  
**Shape** → **1:1** crops the clip to a square GIF; drag the preview or use **Position** to frame it.
4. ### Smooth the restart
Press **Watch the join** (J). If the jump back to the start is obvious, press **Find the best loop** (F), or set **Join** to **Crossfade**.
5. ### Export the GIF
Check **Plays** (**Forever** by default), then press **Export GIF** and **Download video**. Choose **WebP** under **Export settings** for a smaller, full-colour file.

## Choosing a moment that works as a GIF

A GIF plays silently, small and on repeat, often in a feed where people give it a second or two. Moments that work under those conditions share a few traits:

* **One clear action.** A shrug, a jump, a door slamming, a dog catching a ball. If it needs the sound or the scene before it to make sense, it won’t land.
* **Short.** Two to five seconds covers most reactions. Longer GIFs grow quickly in size and lose people before the payoff.
* **Readable small.** Close-ups beat wide shots. If the action is a speck in the corner, crop in with **Shape** or choose another moment.
* **Steady.** A tripod shot or a still background makes a cleaner and much smaller GIF than a shaky handheld one, because unchanged pixels are only stored once.

Use footage you filmed yourself or have the right to share. For a clip in a video you already own, open the file and trim to the scene; loop.video doesn’t fetch videos from websites.

## Square, tall or wide: cropping the GIF

Most video is 16:9, which shows up as a thin strip on a phone held upright. Cropping before the export makes the GIF fill more of the screen and removes pixels you would otherwise pay for in file size.

* **1:1** is the safest choice for chats, avatars-in-motion and forum posts.
* **9:16** fills a phone screen, for Stories and anything viewed full screen.
* **4:5** is the tallest shape most feeds show without cropping.
* **Original** keeps the full frame, for screen recordings where every edge matters.

After choosing a shape, drag the preview sideways (or up and down) to frame the subject, or use the **Position** slider for fine control.

## Making the restart invisible

A GIF jumps straight from its last frame back to its first. When those two frames look different, the jump repeats every few seconds and draws the eye. Three tools help:

1. **Find the best loop** compares frames across the clip and moves the handles to the start and end that match most closely, with a score from **Excellent match** to **Poor match**.
2. **Crossfade** under **Join** dissolves the last part of the loop into the first, so even footage that never repeats loops softly. Keep it short (a quarter to half a second) for a GIF.
3. **Blend** mixes a few frames either side of the join to soften a small nudge without changing the length.

A GIF that runs forward and then backwards to hide the join is a different effect that this tool doesn’t make. For background on why some loops look endless and others don’t, read the [seamless loop guide](https://loop.video/seamless-loop-video).

## Moving photos: a GIF where only one thing moves

A cinemagraph is a GIF where most of the picture stands still and one detail keeps moving: steam from a cup, hair in the wind, a flickering sign. In **More options**, turn on **Freeze everything except a painted area** and paint over the part that should move. The rest freezes on the frame you choose with **Use the current frame**.

Cinemagraphs also make unusually small GIFs, because the frozen area costs almost nothing after the first frame. The [cinemagraph maker](https://loop.video/cinemagraph-maker) has the full technique.

## GIF or animated WebP?

Both loop by themselves and neither has sound. A GIF opens absolutely everywhere but is limited to 256 colours per frame. An animated WebP has full colour and is typically much smaller; every current browser shows it, though some apps and email programs still don’t. loop.video can export WebP in Chrome, Edge and Firefox (not Safari).

### When to skip the GIF altogether

If the destination takes video and you want sound or full HD, export an MP4: it is smaller and sharper than either image format. For a GIF that needs to become a video, go the other way with [GIF to MP4](https://loop.video/gif-to-mp4).

## Making GIFs from videos: common questions

### How do I make a GIF from a video for free?

Open the video on this page, set the start and end with the handles, and press **Export GIF**. It is free, has no watermark and needs no account.

### How do I turn part of a video into a GIF?

Move the playhead to where the part begins and press **Set start** (I), then to where it ends and press **Set end** (O). Only the frames between the handles go into the GIF.

### Can I make a GIF from a video on my phone?

Yes, in Safari on iPhone and Chrome on Android. Choose the clip from your photos, trim it and press **Export GIF**, then **Share or save to Photos**.

### How do I make a square GIF from a video?

Open **More options**, set **Shape** to 1:1 and drag the preview to frame the subject before exporting.

### How long should a GIF be?

Two to five seconds suits most reactions; up to 30 seconds is possible. The longer it is, the bigger the file, so trim to the moment that matters.

### Why does my GIF jump when it restarts?

The last and first frames don’t match. Press **Find the best loop** to pick frames that do, or set **Join** to **Crossfade** so the end dissolves into the start.

### Can I make a GIF from a YouTube video?

Not from a link. This tool works with video files on your device and never downloads from websites. If the video is your own, open your original file instead.

### Is my video uploaded to make the GIF?

No. The GIF is made in your browser tab and the video stays on your device.

## More ways to loop a video

* [ Loop a video online Repeat a clip, stretch it to any length or make it seamless, in your browser. ](https://loop.video/)
* [ Convert MP4 to GIF An MP4-to-GIF converter with width, frame rate, dithering and a file-size limit. ](https://loop.video/mp4-to-gif)
* [ Make a GIF loop forever Fix a GIF that plays once and stops, or set exactly how many times it repeats. ](https://loop.video/loop-gif)
* [ Make a cinemagraph from a video Paint the part that moves, freeze the rest and loop it as a video, GIF or WebP. ](https://loop.video/cinemagraph-maker)
* [ Make a seamless loop video Find the loop point automatically, rate the join and hide it with a crossfade or blend. ](https://loop.video/seamless-loop-video)
* [ Convert a GIF to MP4 Turn a GIF into an MP4 video, as one pass or repeated to any length, with music if you want it. ](https://loop.video/gif-to-mp4)