GIF -> MP4 · Local tool
GIF to MP4
Turn an animated GIF into an MP4, usually far smaller.
Last updated
How do I convert a GIF to MP4 and make it smaller?
Drop the GIF onto filetity's GIF to MP4 converter and it is re-encoded as H.264 inside the browser tab, with nothing uploaded and no watermark. The result is usually five to twenty times smaller, because a GIF stores every frame almost whole while a video codec stores only what changed between them. The original timing is preserved exactly: the tool finds a frame rate that every one of the GIF's individual frame delays divides into, and holds each frame for the number of ticks it was actually on screen, rather than resampling to a round number and drifting. Transparent pixels are composited onto white, since MP4 has no transparency, and the output has no audio track because a GIF has no sound to carry over.
01 / Your device
the file stays here
02 / Browser memory
the work runs locally
03 / Back to you
saved on this device
When you would use this
Situations, not settings.
- A GIF too big to send
- WhatsApp, email and most upload forms will take the MP4 when they refused the GIF, and it is usually a tenth of the size for the same clip.
- A page that loads slowly because of one animation
- An autoplaying muted MP4 looks the same to a reader and costs a fraction of the bandwidth. It is the single easiest thing to fix on a page carrying a large GIF.
- Posting somewhere that converts GIFs anyway
- Most social platforms re-encode an uploaded GIF to video on their own terms. Converting first means you choose the quality rather than their pipeline.
How it works / no cloud
A conversion engine, not an upload form.
filetity reads the GIF's frames and their individual delays, works out a constant frame rate that every one of those delays divides into, and encodes H.264 with the video engine your browser already ships. Timing is preserved exactly rather than approximated, and a frame that was on screen for two ticks is simply encoded twice, which costs almost nothing in a video codec.
- Offline ready
- Installable app
- No file limit queue
Straight answers
No accordion. Nothing hidden.
- Is it free?
- Yes, with no watermark and no page limit.
- Does it need an account?
- No. There is no account system.
- Is my file processed on my device?
- Yes. The file is read by your browser and never uploaded. There is no server to send it to.
- What formats are supported?
- Animated or still GIF in. MP4 out, H.264, with no audio track because a GIF has no sound.
- What are the limits?
- The same memory budget as the other direction: the GIF's frames are held as full colour pixels while they are encoded, and the tool refuses above it before decoding rather than freezing.
- Does it work on mobile?
- Yes, on any modern mobile browser. Large files are limited by the memory the phone gives the browser.
- Does it work offline?
- Yes, once the page has loaded. The tool keeps working with no network connection.
- How much smaller will the MP4 be?
- Usually between five and twenty times, and the page shows the real numbers rather than a promise. The saving comes from H.264 storing only what changed between frames, where a GIF stores each one almost whole. A short GIF of a mostly still scene saves the most, because almost nothing changes for the codec to record.
- What happens to a GIF with different delays on each frame?
- The timing is kept exactly. A video wants one constant rate, so the tool finds a tick that every delay in the GIF divides into cleanly and shows each frame for however many ticks it was on screen. Nothing is averaged or dropped, which is what would happen if it simply picked 15 frames a second and resampled.
- What about transparent pixels?
- MP4 has no transparency, so anything see-through is composited onto white. That is the right answer for the usual case of a sticker or a logo on a light page and the wrong one on a dark background, so if the GIF is transparent and destined for a dark surface, keep the GIF.
- Will the video have sound?
- No, and it cannot: the GIF format has no audio track, so there is nothing to carry across. The MP4 is written with a video track only, which is also what social platforms expect from a converted GIF and is why they autoplay it silently.
- Why do my dimensions come out one pixel different?
- H.264 stores colour at half resolution horizontally and vertically, so both dimensions have to be even numbers. A GIF that is 301 pixels wide is encoded at 302. It is a single pixel column and it is invisible, and the alternative would be refusing to convert perfectly good files.
Keep working locally
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