Convert WebM to GIF
Drop a WebM, pick the seconds you want, and a GIF is made from them straight away. A WebM with a see-through background, such as a sticker, gives a GIF with one too. Change the frame rate or the width and it is made again, with its real size shown.
Play or drag the video to a moment, then press Set from video to use that time as the start or the end. Times can be typed too.
The GIF appears here once a video is open.
How to use it#
- Drop a WebM onto the box above, or click it to choose one.
- The page picks the first 10 seconds. Change the start and end in seconds, or play the video to the moment you want and press Set from video.
- Pick a frame rate and a width. The GIF is made again each time, and its size is shown under it.
- Download the GIF when it looks right.
Where WebM files come from#
WebM is the web's own video format. Screen recordings made in a browser, by a recording extension or a meeting app, are saved as WebM, and so are many clips downloaded from websites and the video stickers in Telegram. A GIF is often the only way to show one of them where videos are not allowed, such as a README, an email, or a forum post. The video inside is VP8, VP9, or AV1, and the page reads whichever of those this browser can decode.
Recordings made in a browser are often awkward to open elsewhere: they have no index, so many players cannot jump through them, and some show no length for them. This page reads the frames in order rather than jumping to them, so a recording like that turns into a GIF the same as any other WebM.
Transparent WebMs and stickers#
A WebM can have a see-through background, which is how animated stickers and overlays are made. When the page finds one, the GIF keeps it: every pixel that is at least half solid is drawn, and every other pixel is left clear, so the GIF sits on any background the way the sticker does.
Two things change on the way. A GIF pixel is either shown or clear, with nothing in between, so the soft edge of a sticker becomes a hard one, and a faint glow or shadow disappears. And each frame of a transparent GIF is stored whole, because a clear pixel cannot also mean "unchanged", so a transparent GIF is larger than an opaque one of the same size. At 320 or 480 pixels a three-second sticker stays small.
Keeping the GIF small#
A GIF has none of the tricks a video codec uses and holds at most 256 colours per frame, so it is often several times the size of the WebM. For an opaque WebM, this page writes each frame as only what changed since the one before, so a screen recording, where most of the screen stays still, makes a small GIF, and a clip filmed by hand makes a large one.
Start at 10 frames a second and 480 pixels and watch the GIF figure beside it as you change them. Halving the width quarters the size, and each step up in frame rate adds to it. A GIF has no sound, so any sound in the WebM is not used. Where the place you are posting accepts video, WebM to MP4 gives a file that plays almost everywhere and is far smaller.
Frequently asked questions#
What frame rate and width should I use?
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10 frames a second at 480 pixels suits most clips and screen recordings. Use 15 or 20 for fast movement, and 25 or 30 when it has to be as smooth as the video, which makes a much larger file. A sticker looks right at 320 or 480 pixels. Each change makes the GIF again and shows its new size.
Does the GIF keep a transparent background?
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Yes, when the WebM has one. The page checks each file, and says when the see-through background is kept. Pixels at least half solid are drawn and the rest are left clear, because a GIF cannot show a pixel partly see-through.
Why do the edges of my transparent GIF look rough?
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The WebM blends its edge pixels into whatever is behind them, and a GIF cannot: each of its pixels is either fully shown or fully clear. The soft edge becomes a stepped one, which is most visible on a background very different from the sticker. Shadows and glows that are mostly see-through disappear for the same reason.
Can I convert a Telegram video sticker to a GIF?
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Yes. A Telegram video sticker is a short WebM, and many have a see-through background. Once you have the sticker as a .webm file, drop it here. The GIF keeps any transparency the sticker has, so it can go anywhere that takes GIFs but not WebM.
Does the GIF keep the sound?
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No. GIF is an image format and has no place for sound. To keep the sound, turn the WebM into a video that plays everywhere with WebM to MP4.
Why is it slow?
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Making a GIF means turning every frame of the clip into a picture of its own. Your file never leaves your device, so the work is done by your own computer or phone, inside this browser tab, not on a server built for it. A GIF holds at most 256 colours a frame, so every frame is decoded and its colours are chosen and matched pixel by pixel. No video chip does that: it runs on the processor, in code the page brings with it, and a longer clip, more frames a second, or a wider GIF each add to it. A phone also slows itself down as it warms up, and some browsers slow a tab you switch away from, so keeping this tab in front, closing other tabs, and plugging a phone in all help.
Is my video uploaded?
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No. The frames are read from the WebM and made into a GIF inside this browser tab. Nothing is sent anywhere.