11 Best Software or Online Tools to Create GIFs For Free

The term gif(Graphics Interchange Format) was first introduced in the late 80s by one of the United States' leading commercial online service establishments at the time, CompuServe, which was later bought over by AOL.

If you're wondering why people are making use of GIF images, while it has been clear that GIF makes it easier to explain a situation, like its counterpart " emojis" GIFs can express everything from emotion to wide-spanned comical and marketing ideas. GIFs are eye-catching and attract visitors or possible clients when browsing a website and thus are handy to incorporate into your web pages, especially when are lot of content is used.

GIF imagery makes a great branding statement, not only expressing emotions when incorporated with emojis but also branding your company, service, or products. There are ample resources available online to assist you in creating GIFs for your website.

• Part 1: Best Free GIF Making Software on Windows & Mac
• Part 2: Best Free Online GIF Creators on Browser
• Part 3: Secrets for Making Creative GIFs
• Part 4: Frequently Asked Questions About GIF Makers

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Part 1: Best Free GIF Software on Windows & Mac [desktop software]

There are several GIF maker tools to help you create GIFs; some are fully equipped with a wide selection of tools and extras as often seen in paid versions; however, you can also achieve maximum results with free GIF editing tools.

1. Best GIF Makers for Making GIFs with a Professional Look - Filmora

The first one on the top list is Wondershare Filmora and here is why it is great for you and your website aspirations. The Wondershare Filmora is rated as one of the best of its kind in film and GIF maker software. It is user-friendly, and it showcases many features to aid you in your designing needs for your website and more. Enjoy over 100 features of visual effects as well as complete control over audio and video settings.

• Very easy to use
• Create a GIF from still images
• Create GIFs from videos in any format like AVI, MPEG, WAV, DAT, EVO, MKV, MP4, WMV, etc.
• Allow you to edit GIF with basic editing like crop, combine, rotate, speed up, slow down, and color correction.
• Allow you to edit GIFs with wonderful effects, text, and subtitles.

2. Photoscape

With Photoscape you can do lots of fun editing effects for your videos, and it includes features such as:

• Editor
• Viewer
• Page merging
• Animated GIF
• Color picker
• Photo splitter to cut up a single photo into several pieces
• Crop
• Filters

Pros: Many users find this a fair program and easy to use

Cons: Some users found it to be a bit slow

3. Gifted Motion

Runs independently of a platform but utilizes JAVA and is able to work on all Operating Systems. No installations are required; users can simply get to work right away.

• Edit existing imagery
• Supports PNG, JPEG, BMP, GIF
• No licensing costs

Pros: Simple to use

Cons: Loading big-size images takes some time

4. SSuite Gif Animator

SSuite Gif Animator is compatible with all Windows, including 32 and 64-bit software. It is one of the very few Green Software programs and uses less energy when running the program. Create movies, slide shows, animated gifs, and more.

Pros: Energy efficient simple to use, does not require Windows registration.

Cons: There are some restrictions on the ability to fully take control of editing

5. Gimp

Gimp is a free & open-source image editor that allows you to edit pictures and create gifs and movie slides.

Pros: Accessible online and free

Cons: Not as efficient as some other movie edit programs and lacks certain crucial editing features

6. UnFREEz

UnFREEz is a wonderful program that allows you to create creative gifs. It does not incorporate intricate user interfaces and not too vast like some bigger programs, but it has great features.

Pros: Easy to use, no learning curve

Cons: No advanced features

Part 2: Best Free Online GIF Creators on Browser

There are many online GIF creators available that allow you to make gifs by uploading images from your PC or by linking from the internet. One concern with almost every online service is privacy and watermark. So, please pay attention to their TOS before uploading your images.

1. Filmora Meme Maker

Filmora Meme Maker is your ultimate solution for making GIFs online. It helps you make images, GIFs, and video memes directly without a watermark. It is totally FREE to use and no signup. You can change text size, color, and position to create a caption when you are editing. You can also put text inside or outside in GIF. Just with a few clicks, your GIF is done. One of the best parts is this online meme maker can turn videos within 5 seconds into a GIF directly with ease.

2. Picasion

Picasion allows you to import photos or videos from Picasa, Flickr, or any other gallery. It is available in multi-languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian. It is ad-laden, but you can avoid it if you stay in the right place on the website page. What's more, you can adjust the size of your images, and create and add your own avatar.

Pros: It is easy to use and supports many formats.

Cons: It contains ads.

3. GifPal

GifPal is a fully online user-friendly gif maker software tool.

• Drawing tools texts and photos
• Speed adjustments on frames
• Timeline frame editing
• 30 effects
• 20 frames
• No watermarks on pictures

Pros: Free GIF tool with efficient effects

Cons: Need internet access in order to use

4. Gickr

Flickr allows you the freedom to easily create your very own gifs by simply uploading them from your picture gallery or from your Flicker, YouTube, or Picasa account. Gickr allows safe browsing and is efficient.

Pros: Free

Cons: Needs internet access

5. MakeAGif

Create your very own gifs and enjoy fantastic features in a safe environment.

Pros: Simple to use and free

Cons: Site, not child friendly may contain adult content

Part 3: Secrets You Should Know for Making Creative GIFs [Tutorial]

Creating GIFs with this GIF creator is easy, just drag and drop your media such as videos and images to the timeline first, and then do some basic editing such as removing unwanted parts from the media, changing video speed, or adding some transitions if you prefer, and at last click Export to turn the media in GIF format in the Export window. Learn more detailed steps about Turning Video into GIF Images >>

With Filmora, you can export the video to a gif and change the resolution, frame rate, and bit rate of the gif based on your needs. You can download and try out the free trial of this gif creator even before purchasing the actual app. Learn more from the Wondershare Video Community.

Part 4: FAQs about GIF Maker

1. Can I Make a GIF with My iPhone?

Yes, you can. You can make a GIF on an iPhone from normal photos or live photos. To make a GIF from live photos, open it using the Photos app. Now you have it drag this live photo upwards, which will reveal the effects panel. Select either the loop or bounce effect, and your live photo will turn into a GIF.

To make GIFs from photos and videos, you can also open shortcut apps, and select Convert Burst to GIF, Video to GIF, or photos to GIF. Select one to finish the GIF creation process. Here are some more GIF makers for iPhone that you can try.

2. Can You Turn a GIF into a Video?

Yes, you can easily turn a GIF into a video in Filmora. The first step is to download and install Filmora. Once installed, create a new project. Next, import the GIF file you want to convert to video. Now click the highlighted EXPORT at the top. From the options, select a file format for the video. Rename the file and choose a save location. Finally, tap the Export button to turn GIFs into a video.

3. How to Turn a Picture into a GIF?

Filmora is an excellent tool for turning pictures or videos into GIFs. Launch Filmora and create a new project. Now import the images for the GIF. Once the pictures are on the timeline, tweak them (add text, transitions, color correction, combine, rotate, split, crop, etc.) according to your preference. The final step is to export your file with the GIF extension. Your pictures have now been successfully converted to a GIF.