How to Make a GIF From an iPhone Video (MOV to GIF)

Turn a few seconds of iPhone video into an animated GIF: which frame rate and width to choose, why GIFs get so big, and how to keep it small, in your browser.

2026-10-16 · Convertube team

Quick answer: iPhones record video as .mov. Trim the clip to the few seconds you want, open MOV to GIF, drop it in and download the GIF. The defaults — 12 frames per second, 480 pixels wide — suit most clips. It runs in your browser; the video is never uploaded.

Step 1: Trim the clip first

A GIF should be a few seconds long. Trim the video before converting: in the iPhone Photos app, tap Edit and drag the ends of the timeline, then save. A long clip makes a GIF too big to post and slow to load.

Step 2: Convert

Open MOV to GIF — or MP4 to GIF if your video is an MP4
Drop the video in
Choose the frame rate and width (see below), or keep the defaults
Download the GIF

Choosing the settings

Setting	Options	When to change it
Frame rate	24, 15, 12 (default), 8 fps	15 or 24 for fast movement; 8 for slow scenes, to save size
Width	720, 480 (default), 320 px	720 for detail on a big screen; 320 for chat and email

Every step down in either setting makes the GIF smaller in roughly the same proportion. If a GIF is too big for where you are posting it, drop the width first — it is the change people notice least.

Why the GIF is bigger than the video

It surprises everyone: a 3 MB clip can become a 10 MB GIF. Modern video stores only what changes from one frame to the next; GIF stores every frame almost from scratch, with no way to share the work. Shorter, slower and narrower are the only ways to make a GIF small, which is why trimming comes first.

What the GIF will look like

Colours are limited to 256 per frame. The converter builds the best palette for each clip in two passes, so skies and skin tones do not break into bands, and mixes nearby colours where it has to. Up close that shows as a fine speckle; at normal size it looks smooth
There is no sound. GIF has no audio track; keep the video if the sound matters
It loops. That is what GIFs do, and why short clips work best

Your video stays on your phone or computer

The conversion runs in your browser, so a clip of your family, your home or your work is not sent to anyone's server to make a GIF of it.

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Frequently asked questions

How do I turn an iPhone video into a GIF?

Trim the clip in the Photos app, then open a MOV to GIF converter, drop the video in and download the GIF. Convertube does it in your browser without uploading the video.

Why is my GIF so large?

GIF stores each frame almost separately, unlike video. Shorten the clip, lower the frame rate or reduce the width to make it smaller.

What frame rate should a GIF be?

12 fps looks smooth for most clips. Use 15 or 24 for fast action and 8 for slow scenes when size matters.

How long can a GIF be?

A few seconds is best. A minute of video makes a GIF far too large for most browsers and chat apps.

Does a GIF keep the sound?

No, GIF has no audio. Keep the original video or share it as MP4 if you need the sound.