Turn GIF files into MOV
Turn your GIF into an MOV that plays smoothly and takes a fraction of the space. MOV is the usual choice for iPhone, iPad and Apple camera recordings. Worth knowing: an MOV will not open in a browser tab, so it is a file for software rather than for the web. Your file never leaves your computer.
Need the other direction? Convert MOV to GIF
How to convert GIF to MOV
- 1 Drop your GIF .gif file onto the page, or click to browse for it.
- 2 Pick how smooth and how sharp you want it. The defaults suit a short looping clip.
- 3 Convert. The work happens on your own machine, so how long it takes depends on your computer and the file.
- 4 Download the MOV, or add more files and do the whole set in one go.
Why convert GIF to MOV
- The same animation as an MOV is routinely a tenth of the size, plays smoothly and stops stuttering on a slow connection.
- Carries the high quality footage professional editing tools expect.
- Supports timecode, several tracks and transparency for editing.
- Video with a transparent background for compositing.
- GIF: only 256 colours per frame, which wrecks photos and smooth gradients.
GIF compared with MOV
How the two formats differ on the things that decide whether a conversion is worth making.
| Property | GIF | MOV |
|---|---|---|
| File extension | .gif | .mov |
| Compression | Lossless | Lossy or lossless |
| Animation | Yes | No |
| Typical file size | Larger | Depends on mode |
| Browser support | Every browser | Some browsers |
| Introduced | 1987 | 1991 |
| Developed by | CompuServe | Apple |
| Standard | Open | Proprietary |
Quality and what changes
MOV stores the same content under a different set of rules, so what matters here is compatibility rather than picture quality. Convert once from the best source you have rather than through a chain of intermediate files.
- Only the first frame of an animated GIF is kept.
- Browsers will not display an MOV, so it downloads rather than opening in a tab.
- One MOV limitation to keep in mind: windows and Android often need extra software, or a conversion.
Questions about GIF to MOV
What happens to an animated GIF?
MOV holds a single image, so only one frame survives, normally the first. If you need the motion, convert to a format that keeps it such as MP4, WebM or WebP rather than to MOV.
Is my GIF file uploaded anywhere?
No. The whole thing runs inside the browser tab you already have open. Your GIF is read straight from your own disk, converted on your machine and handed back as an MOV. Nothing is sent anywhere, nothing is stored and there is no account.
Is there a file size limit?
There is no server-side limit because no server sees the file. The real ceiling is your device memory, since the input and the output both have to fit in the tab. A few hundred megabytes is usually fine on a desktop machine and considerably less on a phone.
Can I convert several GIF files at once?
Yes. Add as many as you like and they are processed one after another, then offered as separate MOV downloads or as a single ZIP. Speed depends on your own processor rather than on a queue.
Does the converter work offline?
Yes, after the page has loaded once. The engine is cached by the browser, so you can disconnect, reload and keep converting. That falls out of doing the work locally rather than being a separate mode you switch on.