Drop a GIF to make an MP4
A GIF as an H.264 MP4, usually much smaller.
or paste with CtrlCommandV GIF
Your files never leave your deviceAbout this tool
Turn a GIF into an MP4
This tool turns a GIF into an MP4 in your browser. Each frame is shown for as long as the GIF showed it, and the picture is encoded as H.264, which is usually far smaller than a GIF. The MP4 has no sound, and your GIF stays on your device.
Why an MP4 is smaller than a GIF
A GIF stores every frame as a picture with 256 colours. An MP4 stores what changes from frame to frame, with the full range of colours, so the same animation takes much less space and looks smoother. Sites that load slowly with a big GIF load quickly with a video.
Many sites and editors that don’t take a GIF do take an MP4.
Timing, size and what changes
Each frame is shown for as long as the GIF shows it, so the MP4 is as long as one play of the GIF. A frame with a delay of 0 or 1 hundredth of a second plays as a tenth of a second, as browsers play it.
An MP4 plays once. A GIF loops, and most video players and sites have a repeat or loop setting. If you need it to loop on its own, the player or the page it goes on has to do it.
H.264 takes pictures with even sizes, so a GIF with an odd width or height loses one pixel on the right or the bottom. A transparent GIF gets a white background, because an MP4 has no transparency.
What your browser needs
The MP4’s picture is made by your browser’s own H.264 encoder, since ToolHero doesn’t ship one. Most current browsers have one. A browser without it says so before it starts, and never gives back a file that would not play.
How it works
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Step 1:Add your GIF
Drop it here or choose it. The page reads its size, frames and length.
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Step 2:Make the MP4
Press Make MP4. Each frame is kept for as long as the GIF showed it.
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Step 3:Save the MP4
Look at it, then save it to your device.
Questions, answered
Will the MP4 loop like my GIF?
An MP4 plays once, and most video players and web pages have a loop or repeat setting. The file itself doesn’t loop on its own.
Why is the MP4 a pixel smaller than my GIF?
H.264 needs a picture whose width and height are even numbers. A GIF with an odd side loses one pixel on the right or the bottom.
What happens to a transparent GIF?
Its transparent areas become white, because an MP4 can’t be transparent.
Why does it say my browser can’t make H.264?
The MP4 is encoded by your browser’s own H.264 encoder, and a browser or a system without one can’t make an MP4. Try another browser, such as Chrome or Safari.
More video conversions
An MP4 keeps the GIF’s own size.
Add a video to make a GIF
MP4
H.264 picture with no sound, as big as the GIF, each frame shown as long as the GIF shows it. An MP4 plays once; most players have a repeat button.