When communicating online, you can use GIFs for sharing a witty response or a funny moment—anything that makes your conversation lighter. But when you can't find the GIF you want to use or perhaps want to create a custom one, it's time to explore the best GIF apps for iPhone.
If searching for one feels overwhelming, we've narrowed it down to the best GIF apps for you, complete with their standout features, pros, and cons.
Part 1. Best GIF Apps for iPhone and iPad
GIFs are mainly used in messaging apps like WhatsApp, iMessage, and Messenger. These looping animations usually last 5–10 seconds long. So when choosing the best app for creating GIFs on iPhone, we've made sure these apps offer easy sharing across these platforms and come packed with features to make your GIFs stand out.
Here are our 10 top-pick GIF apps for iPhones:
1. GIFO
With GIFO, you can capture all your fun, memorable moments and turn them into shareable animated GIFs in seconds. With features like collage creation, creative filters, stylish text, and frames, this app lets you add a personal touch to every GIF you make. You can even control the speed of your GIFs for added drama and share them instantly across your favorite apps.
- Add unique filters to enhance the look of your GIFs
- Stylish borders to frame your creations
- Various font styles for text overlays to personalize your GIFs
- Adjustable speed for dramatic effects
- Compatible with all iPhone and iPad models, including the latest iOS versions
- Allows you to create GIF collages
- Removing the watermark requires a subscription
- Some advanced features are locked behind a subscription
- Occasional glitches reported by users, including crashes that may result in losing unsaved GIFs
3.8 / 5 (23 ratings)
Free with in-app purchases ranging from $0.9.$1.99.
2. Giffer
The next best GIF app for iPhone is Giffer. Giffer combines simplicity with pretty cool features. You can create stop-motion animations, reverse GIFs, time-lapse sequences, text overlays, and more in just a few taps. Sharing your creations is also easy, with options to post directly to Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also send via Messages, Email, or Airdrop.
- Crop GIFs to any size ratio
- Cinemagraph mode with stabilization
- Adjustable animation speed and individual frame delays
- Onion skin with adjustable opacity for perfect alignment
- Include in-app camera modes, such as single-frame, burst with adjustable delay, and auto-timer
- Access over 25 filters to enhance your GIFs with artistic effects
- Add text to your GIFs with a variety of font options
- Flexible export options including Live Photos, videos, and shareable links
- Requires some learning curve for advanced tools like cinemagraph and onion skin
- Heavy editing features could be resource-intensive on older devices
4.2 / 5 (67 ratings)
$1.99
3. Gif Me! Camera
Gif Me! Camera is a good GIF app for iPhone that you can also use on iPad. You can capture short, memorable moments using the app's camera and quickly transform them into animated GIFs. With a range of creative image filters, you can enhance your GIFs to add a unique touch before sharing them on social networks.
- Capture frames with the app's camera
- Apply real-time color filters while capturing video for your GIF
- Add frames and text to personalize your animated GIFs
- Share your GIFs on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
- Allows for the GIF conversion of longer clips
- Minimal to no ads, good output quality
- Users reported occasional issues, such as a persistent bug affecting frame timing
- Converting longer videos can take a significant amount of time
- New users may find it challenging to navigate due to insufficient guidance or tutorials
4.6 / 5 (302 ratings)
Free; the Pro version costs $1.99
4. GIF Maker by Momento
GIF Maker by Momento is another good GIF app on iPhone that can transform your photos, live photos, and videos into GIFs. The app is equipped with various creative tools such as stickers, text, frames, AR, music, and even GIFs from GIPHY. You can personalize your GIFs to your heart's content.
- Integration with camera roll for easy access to photos and videos
- Customization options with stickers, text, and music
- AR capabilities to add interactive elements to GIFs
- Ability to adjust GIF speed, direction, and size
- High user satisfaction and positive reviews for functionality
- Simple and appealing interface for enjoyable use
- Extensive sharing options, including TikTok, iMessage, WhatsApp, WeChat, LINE
- Free users have limited access to filters, frames, music, and stickers
- Watermark on exported GIFs for free users
4.6 / 5 (24.9K ratings)
Free version available; subscription starts from $9.99/month or $39.99/year
5. ImgPlay
As one of the best apps for GIFs on iPhone, ImgPlay is a comprehensive tool for GIF making. You can create, convert, and split GIFs from videos, Live Photos, or burst sequences and personalize each GIF to suit your style. It's also integrated into the iMessage app, so you can send GIFs/videos from Camera Roll without leaving the conversation.
- Multiple ratios like 1:1 (square), 9:16 (Instagram Story), and more
- Six meme canvas styles with auto-text area
- View, reorder, and merge frames easily with drag & drop functionality
- Control over brightness, contrast, saturation, warmth, and sharpness
- Flexibility in saving/exporting in various sizes and formats, including APNG and WebP
- Includes tools to rotate, crop, flip, and adjust FPS settings for precise editing
- Requires a subscription to access all features
- Exports videos in HEVC codec, which may not be compatible with some platforms
- Slider for GIF/video duration can be imprecise for exact timing
4.8 / 5 (43.1K ratings)
Free; subscription plans start from $2.99/week or $69.99 one-time
6. GIPHY
Create memes on GIPHY, the leading free GIF app for iPhone. Dive into the world's largest library of GIFs and stickers, designed for swift searches and seamless sharing of your animated reactions.
- Use the in-app camera or upload your own content to create GIFs and stickers
- Easily share your stickers and GIFs across all platforms
- Access GIPHY directly from iMessage or your keyboard for quick sharing
- Copy GIFs to your clipboard or save to favorites for easy access later
- Fun filters when creating GIFs from the in-app camera
- Integrates with platforms like Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Snapchat
- Explore trending and viral moments through curated GIF collections
- Can take a long time to load GIFs
- Some users report app freezing after creating GIFs
4.8 / 5 (560.3K ratings)
Free
7. GIF Toaster
GIF Toaster provides a flexible toolset for creating GIFs from your videos or photos. The app also enables you to extract still images from any GIF and personalize your GIFs by cropping, resizing, and applying several editing features.
- Supports various aspect ratio formats
- Add text overlays, images, and shapes to GIFs
- Range tool to adjust the number of GIF frames
- Offers a selection of filters for GIFs
- No limit on the number of frames per GIF
- Can change the direction of GIF playback
- Colors can sometimes be muddled in complex GIFs
- Includes ads (not very intrusive)
- Exporting in high resolution requires a subscription
4.6 / 5 (648 ratings)
Free; Pro version costs $2.99
8. 5SecondsApp
5SecondsApp is one of the best free GIF apps for iPhone. You can create, edit, and share animated GIFs using your photos or videos, or take new ones in-app. No signup required, plus access tons of GIFs from GIPHY. Compatible with iPad and iMessage.
- Enhance GIFs with various filters
- Rearrange frame order for perfect animation
- Add stickers and text to each frame
- Import GIFs directly from URLs
- Responsive customer support
- Option for iCloud backup
- App can crash frequently
- Free version limits GIFs to 5 seconds
4.8 / 5 (1.3K ratings)
Free; Pro version (full upgrade) costs $1.99
9. Gif Maker Funny - Video to Gif
Gif Maker Funny lets you create and edit GIFs from photos, videos, burst photos, or live photos. It also features a GIF library for browsing, saving, and sharing.
- Create GIFs directly from your camera
- Compress GIFs to save space
- Adjust frame speed of GIFs
- Archive created GIFs within the app
- Search and save GIFs from the library
- Occasional crashes at final step
- Relatively high cost compared to similar apps
2.6 / 5 (14 ratings)
Free; Subscription starts from $4.99/week or $14.99/month
10. GifLab
GifLab - GIF Maker & Editor simplifies GIF creation. Convert videos into GIFs, adjust quality and speed, add custom text, and share on social media.
- Converts videos into various GIF formats (loop, reverse)
- High customization of GIF speed and quality
- Add text in various fonts and colors
- Social media integration for easy sharing
- Easy for converting live images to GIFs
- Allows text customization in multiple colors/fonts
- Removing watermarks requires a subscription
- Some privacy concerns raised by users
- Crashes often when exporting in HD
4.6 / 5 (227 ratings)
Free; Subscription to GifLab Studio starts from $0.99/month or $44.99/year
Part 2. Our Recommendation for the Best GIF App for Desktop
The best GIF apps for iPhone we've listed before are perfect for creating and sharing GIFs on the go. But for those who need better control over quality or the ability to handle larger projects, a desktop solution is the way to go.
The top choice for creating GIFs on a desktop is Wondershare Filmora. This software not only supports GIF exports but also offers many intuitive video editing tools. With Filmora, your creativity has no boundaries—you can design and customize GIFs effortlessly, using all the features you need in one platform.
Secure DownloadWhy Use Filmora to Create GIFs
- AI-Powered Fast GIF Creation: Looking for the best GIF app for iPhone or a reliable free GIF maker iPhone users can trust? Filmora's smart AI tools let you turn videos, images, or screen recordings into GIFs in minutes. You can also leverage built-in AI text-to-video and AI image-to-video features to generate creative animations and convert them directly into GIFs—perfect for quick memes, reactions, and social-ready content.
- Advanced Editing Tools Beyond Basic GIF Apps: Unlike many simple GIF apps for iPhone, Filmora gives you full creative control, letting you adjust speed, frame rate, resolution, aspect ratio, and looping. Add captions, stickers, filters, and effects to enhance your GIFs and make them more shareable and engaging.
- Supports 150+ Formats for Maximum Flexibility: Filmora handles over 150 media formats, making it easy to create free GIFs for texting iPhone users, social platforms, or professional presentations, without worrying about compatibility.
- Beginner-Friendly & Creator-Focused: With an intuitive interface designed for all experience levels, Filmora helps anyone—from beginners to seasoned editors—create high-quality GIFs faster and more efficiently than traditional editing tools.
- Create Trend-Ready GIFs for Any Occasion: Whether it's a holiday greeting, a birthday surprise, or a funny reaction meme, Filmora offers templates and creative resources to help you craft eye-catching, share-worthy GIFs in just a few taps.
- Edit Anywhere, Anytime: Filmora works on both desktop and mobile, giving you more flexibility than standard GIF apps for iPhone that only support one platform.
Watch this video for a tutorial on how to create GIFs easily using Filmora:
Conclusion
Hopefully, our article has helped you choose the best GIF apps for iPhone, whether you opt for a free one like 5SecondsApp and GIPHY or a paid one. Each app on our list brings something unique to the table, so make sure to assess each one to find one that suits your needs.
For those who prefer working on a larger screen, we recommend Filmora as a desktop solution. Its advanced features, intuitive interface, and professional-level tools make it the perfect companion for making high-quality GIFs with ease.
💬 FAQs About GIF Apps for iPhone
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1. What should I look for when choosing the best GIF app for iPhone?
When comparing GIF apps for iPhone, consider whether the app offers easy editing, supports high-quality exports, and allows text, stickers, and filters. Also look for features like GIF-to-video conversion, frame-rate control, and built-in templates. If you share GIFs frequently, choose an app that integrates directly with Messages, iMessage, or social platforms.
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2. How do I send free GIFs for texting on iPhone without losing quality?
To keep GIFs sharp when texting or using iMessage, export at a suitable resolution and optimized file size (usually 480–720px width). Tools like Filmora help preserve quality while reducing file weight so your GIF loads quickly and doesn't compress heavily.
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3. Can I make animated memes or reaction GIFs using AI?
Yes—AI-powered tools enable faster creation of trending memes and reaction GIFs. Filmora offers AI text-to-video and AI image-to-video features that let you generate animated content and convert it to GIF format, ideal for social media or messaging.
