In this tutorial, we share multiple free ways to convert a video file or screen recording into a GIF on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
I periodically convert iPhone screen recordings to GIFs to embed into our tutorials. I do this because adding a GIF to a web page is simple and works the same way as a still image. However, embedding videos requires additional plugins or uploading to a service like YouTube and putting the video link in the article.
Whatever your reasons may be, we go over some free methods to change a video file into an animated GIF.
Use an Apple shortcut
The Gallery section of the Shortcuts app on iOS and macOS has a couple of Siri Shortcuts curated by Apple that allow you to make a GIF from a video file. The shortcuts work well, but the export quality of the GIF isn’t so great. This could be helpful if you are planning to put the GIF on a website. But if you plan on getting a high-quality GIF, I have created a custom shortcut for you.
Use the pre-built shortcut
1) Open the Shortcuts app, go to Gallery, and search for GIF. Now, tap the plus button to add the Make GIF shortcut to your phone.
2) Tap the Make GIF shortcut from the Shortcuts tab.
3) Tap Albums from the top, scroll down, and tap Videos or Screen Recordings. Now, select the video you want to convert into a GIF.
4) You can now crop the video if needed using the scrubber at the top. After that, tap Save. Once the shortcut finishes creating the GIF, tap Done. Now, go to the Photos app > Recents to see the GIF.
You can also follow the above steps in Mac’s Shortcuts app and select the video from your Photos app. Once the conversion is complete, go to the Library tab of Mac’s Photos app to find your GIF.
Use our custom shortcut
As mentioned earlier, the final GIF you get using the above Apple shortcut may not be of high quality. So, to address this, I have created a basic custom shortcut called iDB Video to GIF. You can build it yourself after looking at the screenshot below or get it from this iCloud link.
Note that I have configured the shortcut to ask for Height each time (width will be auto-adjusted). If you’re converting an iPhone screen recording to a GIF, you can set the height to 720 or 1080 for a high-quality GIF. Remember to set the height accordingly if you are working with a landscape video.
Tip: You can see the video resolution in the iOS Photos app by opening the image and swiping up on the screen or tapping the info button ⓘ. Now, enter that height or one proportionate to it in the shortcut. For instance, if my landscape video resolution is 1920 by 1080, I will enter 1080 in the shortcut to get a high-quality GIF file.
Use iOS apps to make a GIF from a video
The App Store has several apps that let you convert a video or screen recording into an animated GIF. However, many of the popular apps have some kind of limitation related to payment, ease of use, watermark, and such.
Therefore, to ease your burden of finding the right app, I tried almost two dozen video-to-GIF apps on my iPhone and have listed the best free ones below. I’d recommend trying all of them before you settle on one. Some of these are super simple to use with no additional editing tools, while a few let you change the frame rate, resolution, size, and more. I’ve explained the steps for one such app here.
1) Download GIF Album for free on your iPhone or iPad from the App Store.
2) Tap Pickup Video File, select the video or screen recording you want to export as a GIF and hit Choose.
3) Tap the Convert Video to GIF button.
4) Once the app finishes the conversion, tap the arrow button to save it to your Camera Roll.
Best iOS apps to convert video to GIF
In addition to GIF Album, here is a list of free iPhone and iPad apps that allow you to turn a video or screen recording into an animated GIF:
- GIF Maker – Videos to GIFs
- GIF Maker – Photos and Videos to GIFs
- Video to GIF Maker : ConverterGIF Maker
- GIF Maker : Photo Video to GIF
- GIF Maker Studio – Create Fun
- GIF Maker – Video To Gif!
- Video to GIF – GIF Maker
- Gif Maker & Gif Editor
- GIF Toaster – GIF Maker (free version lets you export in one-fourth the resolution of the original file)
Use ezgif.com
I’ve been using this website for multiple years now. While its interface is not as flashy and modern as some other sites, the service works well to convert video to GIF on both computer and phone.
1) Visit ezgif.com/video-to-gif and choose the video file you want to convert to GIF. Let it finish uploading. Tap the Upload video button if it doesn’t start uploading automatically.
2) Once the video is uploaded, tap the Convert to GIF button.
But before you do that, you can tweak a few options. You can assign the start and end times. You can also pick a size and frame rate. Remember that increasing the size and frame rate will raise the GIF file size.
If you’re confused, leave the default settings in place, and if you’re unhappy with the final GIF, you can start over and tweak these settings.
3) After the conversion is complete, tap the save button. Note that you can also hit optimize the GIF to reduce the file size.
Tip: Compress your GIF
The GIF file size is something you must keep in mind. There can be instances where the final GIF size is more than the video file size that was used to make the GIF!
So to address this, you can set a lower size and frame rate while creating the GIF. And if the GIF is already created, you can compress it using the Optimize section of Ezgif.com or the Compress IMAGE section on iLoveImg.com.
Tip: You can see the GIF size and resolution by viewing it in the iOS Photos app and swiping up or tapping the info button ⓘ.
More on GIFs: