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Edited by Ben Jacklin

November 25, 2024

11,319

Short and funny GIF clips are a popular way of communication among Internet users. Made from bits of different movies and cartoons, they can express almost any reaction or emotion.

However, sometimes the exact piece of a video that expresses your thought precisely is nowhere to be found in the form of a GIF. The easiest solution is to create a GIF from a MOV or any other video file with a QuickTime-to-GIF converter. And in this article, we will show how to convert MOV to GIF in Movavi Video Converter.

How to convert MOV to GIF on Windows and Mac with Movavi

Step 1. Install the Movavi converter

Use the buttons below to download the software. Then run the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions.

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Step 2. Open files for conversion

To add files for processing, click Add Media and then Add Video. Locate the videos you want to convert and open them.

Unlike our free MOV-to-GIF converter online, Movavi Video Converter can process files in batches and turn a bigger MOV into a GIF of high quality.

Step 3. Cut out your clip (optional)

GIFs are usually very short. So, you may need to edit the video before you convert MOV to GIF. To cut out your clip, click the Edit button.

In the new window, place the marker on the timeline at the beginning of the section you want to extract. Click the Scissors icon to cut the video, then place the marker at the end of the needed fragment and click the Scissors again. Select the parts you don't need and hit the Trash can icon to delete them. Click Save and Close when you are done.

Step 4. Specify the output file type

Conversion of MOV to animated GIF is actually a conversion of a video to an image. Go to the Images tab, select GIF format, and choose a preset you need.

Step 5. Convert your files

If necessary, change the destination folder by clicking the Save to button. Then, click the Convert button.

That's all! Now you know how to convert .mov to .gif using our desktop software.

MOV vs. GIF comparison

Now that you know how to convert MOV to GIF on a Mac or Windows device, let’s take a look at the formats themselves.

What is MOV

MOV files are multimedia containers, particularly suitable for storing movies. MOV files are also easy to edit since they don’t require data rewriting. However, there is a downside – .mov format is specifically designed for Apple devices. There are two ways of playing MOV videos on Windows and Android: download a specialized player or convert a QuickTime movie to GIF, MP4, AVI, or any other appropriate format.

What is GIF

A GIF file is a sequence of small-sized bitmap images. It appears quite like a video but, technically, it is not. Due to its small size, GIF animation, beyond memes and jokes, is ubiquitous in web design. One can convert QuickTime to GIF to improve the looks of a website with those clips.

More details are in the MOV vs. GIF comparison table below.

Comparison parameter

MOV

GIF

Extension

.mov, .qt

.gif

Type of data

Video and audio

Image

Compression

Lossy

Lossless

Description

A format mostly associated with Apple and QuickTime video clips. MOV files can store multiple tracks, including video, audio, text, and more.

A type of bitmap image popular on the internet. It also supports animations.

Pros

Convenient for editing

Stores multiple tracks of data

Good for publishing on the Web

Supported by all modern browsers

Easy to create and work with

Lossless, so there’s no quality loss due to compression

Cons

Works specifically on QuickTime Media Player

Compresses files to more compact sizes, potentially lowering the quality

Supports only 256 colors

Has no sound

Is inferior to modern formats in terms of the size/quality ratio

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All the products covered in this article have been tested by our team.
When testing, we compare key characteristics, including supported input and output formats, quality loss when converting, and other significant features.
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Frequently asked questions

How do I convert MOV to GIF on Mac?

To convert MOV to GIF on Mac with Movavi Video Converter, follow this simple guide:

Get the MOV-to-GIF Mac converter:
Download Movavi Video Converter for Mac
Install and launch the program.
Add your MOV files to the app by clicking Add Media and then Add Video.
From the Images tab, choose a preferable GIF preset.
Click Convert, wait for a short while.

How do I convert MOV to GIF in Adobe?

To convert MOV to GIF with Adobe^® Photoshop^®, follow these steps:

Open your frames as layers. Go to File > Import > Video Frames to Layers.
Open the timeline window, click Create Frame Animation. Then go to Window > Timeline and click Create frame animation.
Select Make frames from layers from the menu. You can tweak the order and length of the frames and adjust the loop duration.
Once you are satisfied with the result, go to File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy) and save your file as a GIF.

How do I convert MOV to GIF in FFmpeg?

Here is how to turn MOV into GIF using FFmpeg:

Download FFmpeg from the official website.
Download FFmpeg
Add your video files to the folder where you keep the ffmpeg.exe file.
Hold the Shift key, and right-click inside that folder. Select Open command or PowerShell window here from the pop-up.
Type the following command for the MOV file you want to convert to a GIF clip.
For OpenCommand: ffmpeg -i input.mov output.gif
For PowerShell: .\ffmpeg -i input.mov output.gif
Instead of input.mov, type the name of the file you want to convert. Instead of output.gif, enter the name you want the resulting file to have.
Press Enter. This command will convert the MOV file to GIF in the same location.

How do I convert MOV to GIF with a transparent background?

Normally you need proper software and some editing skills to remove backgrounds from each frame of your clip. And then you could change MOV to GIF with a transparent background.

If your video has a background of one solid color, you can do as follows:

Convert your MOV to GIF in any way you like.
Open a GIF editor.
Go to ezgif.com
Go to the Effects tab and click on the Effects tool.
Upload your GIF, go to Replace color with transparency tab, and choose your background color.
Click Apply selected! and wait for the processing of your GIF to end. You will see the preview below.
Click Save if you are happy with the result.

How do I convert MOV to GIF on an iPhone?

You can install an app and convert .mov to .gif on your device. We can recommend The Video Converter.

Also, there is a MOV-to-GIF free converter right here.

See other useful how-to guides

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