Why GIFs are so much bigger than videos
The GIF format predates every video codec in use today. It stores each frame as a standalone, losslessly compressed image, while MP4 and WebM store only what changes between frames. A ten-second clip that is 800 KB as H.264 can easily be 20 MB as a GIF at the same size — not because the conversion added anything, but because the format has no cheaper way to say “this frame is mostly the previous frame.”
This is why every GIF maker, this one included, pushes you toward three levers: fewer seconds, fewer frames per second, fewer pixels. At 12 fps a clip still reads as motion for most content; at 480 px wide it fits the embeds people make GIFs for. If you find yourself fighting the file size on every clip, the honest answer is that you want a video format, not a GIF.
When a GIF is the right answer
Platforms that autoplay muted video have taken over most of the GIF’s old territory — a WebM or MP4 with no sound track is smaller and sharper. The GIF still wins where only an image embeds: forum posts and READMEs, some chat platforms, avatars and signatures, and anywhere a link preview would otherwise show a static frame. If your target embeds videos natively, convert to a video format instead of fighting the 256-color palette.
What happens to your clip here
The browser opens the file with its own built-in video decoder — the same one it uses to play videos — and this page seeks through the clip at the frame rate you chose, drawing each frame to a canvas. Those frames become one shared 256-color palette, and the GIF’s LZW compression is then computed in the page as well. The clip never leaves the device; the proof is one network tab away: no request carries it. The wider case against handing files to converter sites is in why upload-based tools are a privacy problem.
Questions
Is my video uploaded anywhere?
No. Your browser decodes the video, the frames are drawn to a canvas on this page, and the GIF file is written right here. No network request carries any part of your clip, and you can verify that in the network tab while it converts.
Why is my GIF much larger than the MP4?
GIF is an image format from 1987. Every frame is stored as a complete bitmap compressed losslessly, with none of the motion compensation that makes H.264 and WebM small. A few seconds of 480 px GIF can outweigh a much longer video. That is inherent to the format, not a setting this page gets wrong.
How do I make the GIF smaller?
Shorten the clip first, that has the largest effect; then lower the frame rate (10–12 fps reads smoothly for most clips) and reduce the width. 480 px is the default because it fits most chat and forum embeds; 320 px is often enough for reactions.
Does the GIF have sound?
No. The GIF format has no audio track at all, so the sound of your clip is dropped. If you need sound, the platform wants a video file, not a GIF.
Why do the colors look posterized?
A GIF holds at most 256 colors per frame. This page builds one shared palette from your clip and maps every pixel to its nearest color. Flat graphics and screen recordings look exact; smooth gradients can band.