GIF Maker

Make an animated GIF using Kapwing’s free GIF maker. Upload your own videos or photos and turn them into GIFs. Or, source content from our stock library of images, videos, and existing GIFs that offer you the perfect starting point for making your own creation. You can also try our AI image and video generation tools. Once you’ve got your base layer, use Kapwing to add animated text, stickers, and other fun effects.

Kapwing’s online video editor integrates with GIPHY, the most popular website for finding GIFs. This makes it easy to add GIFs to your videos or take an existing GIF and edit it to make it your own. You can also create your own GIFs for free with Kapwing. Try our AI image and video generation tools, stock library, and animated text to create a GIF in minutes.

Yes, you can speed up or slow down a GIF with Kapwing. Inside our video editing platform, simply change the speed of the video you’re editing (with options ranging from 0.5X to 4X speed). Then, export the video as a GIF that you can easily share with a unique URL or embed with embed code. A GIF sourced from our GIPHY integration can’t be sped up or slowed down, but you can alter the duration to change how many times it replays in your video.

You can make a GIF from videos, photos, graphics, or an existing GIF. Kapwing supports common image formats including GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, HEIC, HEIF, SVG, and WebP, as well as video formats such as MP4, MOV, WebM, AVI, MKV, and more. You can also combine multiple images and video clips in the same GIF project.

GIFs work best when they focus on a short action, reaction, transformation, or message that makes sense when repeated. Try trimming videos to the key moment and using images with a consistent size or composition. Reaction clips, product demonstrations, before-and-after sequences, tutorial steps, memes, and short animations are all good candidates for an animated GIF.

For a general-purpose GIF, 480 × 480 pixels in a 1:1 aspect ratio is a reliable starting point, especially for messages and small-screen viewing. YouTube also recommends 1:1 for GIFs in Community posts. On X, media with an aspect ratio between 2:1 and 3:4 displays fully in the feed. If you plan to publish on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube as a video, use 1080 × 1920 for vertical content, 1080 × 1080 for square content, or 1920 × 1080 for landscape content, then convert the GIF to MP4.

Avoid exporting a GIF at a higher resolution than viewers need. GIPHY recommends a maximum source resolution of 720p, and 480p for most GIFs, because they’re generally viewed on small screens and in messaging windows.

Keep your GIF only as long as it needs to communicate the action or message. Short loops generally work well for reactions, memes, product demonstrations, and visual instructions because viewers can understand the content quickly and see it repeat. In Kapwing's GIF editor, you can trim clips and adjust timing to remove unnecessary frames and create a tighter loop.

Yes, upload multiple photos or images to Kapwing's online GIF maker, arrange them in the order you want, and control how long each appears. You can then add other media or edits before exporting the project as an animated GIF. For direct conversions, use Kapwing's Image to GIF Converter.

Yes, you can upload an existing GIF to Kapwing's GIF editor to crop, resize, trim, or add new elements. You can also add animated text, images, logos, drawings, stickers, and other graphics, then export the edited project as a new GIF.

You can upload GIF files directly to X, Discord, and YouTube Community posts. X accepts one GIF per post, with a maximum size of 5 MB on mobile or 15 MB on the web. Discord displays uploaded GIFs in messages and currently allows free users to attach files up to 20 MB. YouTube accepts GIFs up to 16 MB in Community posts, but not as standard video uploads. GIFs can also be embedded in websites, blogs, emails, and presentations.

Instagram and TikTok don’t accept GIF files as regular feed or video posts. To share the animation there, or upload it as a standard YouTube video, first turn it into an MP4 using Kapwing’s GIF to Video Converter. This also preserves animation more reliably across platforms.

Keep the GIF short, crop away unnecessary parts of the frame, and remove frames that don’t contribute to the action. GIPHY recommends GIFs of six seconds or less, 480p resolution, and fewer than 100 frames for the best results. Using fewer colors, a lower frame rate, or slightly smaller dimensions can reduce file size further while preserving the most noticeable details.

Check your destination’s upload limit before exporting: X allows animated GIFs up to 5 MB on mobile and 15 MB on the web, while YouTube Community posts accept GIFs up to 16 MB. If your file is too large, use Kapwing’s GIF Compressor to adjust its compression and resolution.

GIFs are useful for short, repeatable moments that should play automatically and make sense without sound. Create a GIF for reactions, memes, animated logos, quick product demonstrations, tutorial steps, or other visuals designed to loop. They’re also easy to embed in websites, articles, presentations, and messages.

A short video is usually a better choice when you need audio, pause-and-play storytelling, or a format designed for video-first social platforms. If you need both, you can create your animation as a GIF and use Kapwing’s GIF to Video Converter to repurpose it as a video.