Add Text to GIF

How to add text to a GIF

Drop in a GIF and DropGIF keeps every frame and its timing, then draws your text on each one. The caption shows on the preview as you type, so what you see is what you'll post.

1. Drop your GIFDrag it onto the page, tap Choose files, or paste it with Ctrl/⌘+V. A video, a photo or a set of photos works too.
2. Type your captionOpen Caption and type into the Add a caption box. One short line usually lands best.
3. Pick a style and positionChoose Outline, Shadow or Box, then set Position to Top or Bottom.
4. Set the color and sizeTap one of the four colors (white, yellow, pink or dark navy) and drag Text size until the words are big without crowding the edges.
5. Export GIFTap Export GIF. The text becomes part of every frame, so it looks the same wherever the GIF is posted.

Choosing a caption style

• Outline puts a thick edge around every letter, black around light text and white around dark text, so it reads over bright and dark parts of the GIF alike. It's the classic meme look.
• Shadow sets a soft shadow behind the letters. It's quieter than an outline and suits darker or simpler footage.
• Box puts each line on a solid rounded band, like a subtitle. It's the safest choice over busy or bright backgrounds, and it makes a caption read like a message.

Captions are set in Anton, a tall, condensed bold font similar to Impact, the typeface that became popular for memes in the 2010s. Narrow letters fit more words across a small GIF.

Top or Bottom? Put the caption where it won't cover the action. Faces usually sit in the upper middle of a frame, so Bottom is the safer default. Top suits GIFs where the action happens low, like a cat batting at something on the floor.

Write text that reads at chat size

Most apps show GIFs smaller than you made them, often on a phone. If you have to squint at the preview, everyone in the chat will too.

• Write in all caps. Capitals with an outline are the look people expect from a meme GIF, and they stay legible when the GIF is small.
• Stay under six words. Longer captions wrap onto up to three lines, and the letters shrink to fit. The box takes up to 120 characters, but a GIF rarely needs half that.
• Pick contrast. White or yellow with Outline reads on almost anything. Dark navy works best on pale backgrounds.
• Export at 480 px if you can. More pixels means sharper letters. If the file is too big, try a Fit button or fewer Colors before you drop the width.

For example: a dog staring at the front door, captioned “ME WAITING FOR FRIDAY”. Four words, all caps, Outline, Bottom. Done.

Add text to a video or photos

No GIF yet? Drop a video and drag the yellow trim handles around the moment first, so the words line up with the reaction. The caption shows for the whole clip, so pick a stretch where it makes sense from start to finish. The video to GIF page has settings for clips from your phone.

With photos, the caption appears on every one, which suits a slideshow with a title. A single photo gets a motion effect such as Zoom, Shake or Pulse, a quick way to turn a still into a reaction GIF with text. See the GIF maker from photos page for more.

What captions can and can't do

• One caption per GIF, at the top or the bottom, not both. Long captions wrap onto up to three lines.
• The same text on every frame. Captions don't fade in, move or change partway through. For animated words, use the text GIF maker. For a reaction bubble, try the speech bubble template.
• Text already in a GIF stays. It's part of the image, so it can't be erased. If it sits along an edge, crop it off and add your own.
• It combines with every other edit. Reverse the GIF, change its speed or crop it, and the caption still reads normally on top.

Check it before you post

The Where it fits strip under the preview shows whether the GIF fits Slack, Discord, X and more, with a Fit button for any that don't. After export, the result screen previews the GIF inside a mock Discord or iMessage chat, so you can see how big the text really looks. Making reactions for a server? The Discord GIF maker has sizing tips.

Frequently asked questions