Video to GIF / WebM to GIF

WebM to GIF converter

WebM clips from screen recorders, browser downloads and OBS become GIFs here in a few seconds, on your device.

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When you need a GIF instead of a WebM

WebM is the open video format Google introduced in 2010. It is excellent for the web, but plenty of places still won't play it inline: email clients, many forums and wikis, Slack custom emoji, GitHub README images and some chat apps. A GIF plays in all of them, at the cost of a bigger file and 256 colours per frame.

Converting WebM to GIF

  1. Drop the .webm file above. Chrome, Edge and Firefox decode VP8, VP9 and AV1 WebM; recent Safari versions decode VP9 and, on newer Apple hardware, AV1.
  2. Trim to the part that matters. Screen recordings are often long; pick the 3 to 6 seconds that show the action.
  3. For screen recordings, set Dithering: None. Interface colours are flat, so they fit in the palette and compress far better without dots.
  4. Check the size meter against where you are posting, then Make GIF.

WebM transparency

VP8 and VP9 WebM can carry an alpha channel. This tool draws frames onto an opaque canvas, so transparent areas come out as black or white depending on your browser. GIF only supports on/off transparency, and edges would look jagged; for transparent stickers, animated WebP output is the better target.

The converter first asks your browser to decode the file with its built-in video decoder, the same one that plays videos on web pages. If the browser can't (an unusual container or codec), it loads ffmpeg.wasm, a WebAssembly build of FFmpeg, and converts the first 60 seconds to an editable copy right on your device. That download is about 32 MB, happens once, and still sends nothing of yours anywhere.

Questions

Is WebM to GIF lossless?

No. GIF is limited to 256 colours per frame, so gradients get dithered, and the frame rate is resampled to what you choose. Sharp, flat graphics survive best.

Why is the GIF ten times bigger than my WebM?

WebM stores only the changes between frames with a modern codec. GIF compresses each frame on its own with LZW. The one-palette mode here helps by skipping unchanged pixels, but GIF will still usually be larger.

Can I convert WebM to animated WebP instead?

Yes. Choose Animated WebP under Format. It keeps full colour and is typically much smaller than a GIF, though fewer apps keep it animated.