How to get small, sharp GIFs
GIF is an old format: every frame can use only 256 colours and compression is simple, so file size grows quickly with width × height × frames. The best way to keep a GIF small is to keep it short (2–6 seconds), narrow (320–480 px) and at 10–15 fps.
This converter picks an optimal palette for your clip and uses ordered dithering, which looks clean and doesn’t “crawl” between frames. Frame optimisation stores only the pixels that changed; the lossy levels treat tiny changes as unchanged for even smaller files.
If the GIF will be shown on a modern website or app, choose animated WebP: full colour and usually several times smaller. For maximum compatibility — email, old forums, messaging apps — stick with GIF.
Typical settings
| Use | Width / fps | Colours & compression |
|---|---|---|
| Reaction GIF for chats | 320–480 px · 10–12 fps | 128–256 · lossless |
| Slack / Discord / GitHub | 480–640 px · 12–15 fps | 256 · lossless |
| Email newsletter | 480–600 px · 10 fps | 64–128 · smaller |
| Product demo on a website | 640–800 px · 15 fps | Animated WebP |
| Screen recording / UI | 640 px · 10 fps | 64 · no dithering |
Tips
- Want the opposite? Turn GIFs into small MP4 videos with GIF to MP4.
- Need individual frames instead? Use Extract Frames from Video.
- Speed up slow clips (1.5×–2×) to make GIFs shorter and punchier.
- For screen recordings, “None” dithering and 32–64 colours give tiny, crisp GIFs.