Turn a short video clip into an animated WebP: full-colour, loops like a GIF and is usually several times smaller. Trim it, choose the frame rate, width and quality, and see how much smaller it is than a GIF made from the same frames.
Last updated:
Preview at your frame rate · choose a video or try the sample clip
0:00 / 0:00
Trim
Animation
Your animated WebP
WebP
GIF
Advertisement
Advertisement
How to use the Video to Animated WebP
Choose a video or press Try a sample clip.
Trim it: type the start and end seconds, or play the preview and press Set start here / Set end here.
Pick the frame rate, width and quality. 12 to 15 fps at 480 px is a good balance for most clips.
Press Convert to WebP. Leave Also make a GIF ticked to see the size difference.
Press Download WebP (and Download GIF if you want both).
Animated WebP vs GIF vs MP4
Animated WebP
GIF
MP4 video
Colours
16.7 million (24-bit) plus 8-bit alpha
256 per frame, 1-bit transparency
16.7 million, no transparency
Compression
VP8 lossy or WebP lossless, per frame
LZW lossless on indexed colours
H.264 with motion prediction between frames
Typical size for a 4 s, 480 px clip
Small
Largest, often 2 to 5 times the WebP
Smallest
Autoplays and loops as an image
Yes
Yes
Needs a video tag (muted, autoplay, loop)
Sound
No
No
Yes
Best for
Stickers, reactions, product loops, web pages
Maximum compatibility, old apps and email
Anything longer than a few seconds
How the conversion works
The tool seeks through the trimmed part of your video one frame at a time, at intervals of 1 / fps seconds, and draws each frame at the output width. Every frame is compressed with the browser's WebP encoder, then the frames are packed into a single animated WebP file: a VP8X header that marks the file as animated, an ANIM chunk with the loop count, and one ANMF chunk per frame with its display time in milliseconds. Frame times are rounded so that the total always matches the clip length; at 15 fps the delays alternate between 67 and 66 ms.
The number of frames is clip length × frame rate, so a 4 second clip at 15 fps has 60 frames. File size grows roughly with frames × width × height, which is why lowering the frame rate or width shrinks the file far more than lowering the quality.
Tips for small, smooth WebP animations
Trim to the moment that matters; a 2 to 4 second loop is ideal for reactions and product shots.
Pick a start and end that look alike so the loop is seamless.
Use 480 px or less for chat and social posts; 800 px is plenty for a full-width blog image.
Screen recordings and flat graphics compress best with Lossless; camera footage with quality 60 to 80%.
If you need a GIF anyway, the MP4 to GIF tool has palette and dithering controls.
Frequently asked questions
Is animated WebP smaller than GIF?
Usually much smaller. GIF is limited to 256 colours per frame and uses older LZW compression, while WebP uses modern VP8 compression with full 24-bit colour. For video footage a lossy animated WebP is commonly 50 to 80% smaller than a GIF of the same size and frame rate. The tool makes both so you can see the exact difference for your clip.
Which browsers and apps can show animated WebP?
All current versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera and Safari (version 14 and later on macOS Big Sur or newer and iOS 14 or newer) display animated WebP. Most chat apps and content management systems accept it too, but some older image editors and email clients only support GIF, so keep a GIF copy for those.
What frame rate and width should I use?
For reactions, stickers and UI demos, 10 to 15 fps at 320 to 480 px wide looks smooth and stays small. Use 24 to 30 fps only for fast motion. Each doubling of the width roughly quadruples the pixels per frame, so width has the biggest effect on file size.
What does lossless mean here?
Lossless WebP stores every pixel exactly, with no compression artefacts. It is ideal for screen recordings, pixel art and flat graphics, but for camera footage it is much larger than lossy WebP. For most videos, lossy quality between 60 and 80% looks almost identical and is far smaller.
Why can't I convert in Safari?
Creating WebP files depends on the browser's built-in WebP encoder, which Safari does not expose to web pages. Safari can view animated WebP but cannot make it. Use Chrome, Edge or Firefox to convert, and the result will play everywhere.
Is there a length limit?
The tool allows up to 600 frames, for example 40 seconds at 15 fps or 20 seconds at 30 fps. Animated images are meant for short loops; for anything longer an MP4 or WebM video is much smaller.
Is my video uploaded?
No. Frames are extracted, encoded and packed into the WebP file inside your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
Are all the tools on FreeToolCabin tested for quality and accuracy?
Yes! Every tool on our site undergoes automated Q/A testing in real browser environments to ensure high precision, correct output, and zero errors. If you happen to spot a bug or have a suggestion, please contact us at [email protected] and our team will review it right away.