GIF Speed Changer

How to change GIF speed

Use this GIF speed changer when a GIF feels frantic or drags on. Every frame keeps its place in the loop; only the timing changes.

1. Drop your GIFDrag it onto the page, tap Choose files, or paste it with Ctrl/⌘+V. Animated WebP and APNG open the same way, with every frame and its original timing.
2. Open Motion and drag SpeedThe Speed slider runs from 0.25× (four times slower) to 4× (four times faster). It snaps to common steps like 0.5×, 1.5× and 2×.
3. Watch the previewThe preview plays at the new speed. On a computer, the GIF length next to the play button updates as you drag.
4. Fine-tune single frames (optional)In the Frames strip, tap the time under any frame and type a new one to hold it longer or move past it faster.
5. Export GIFTap Export GIF, then Download GIF on a computer or Share or save GIF on a phone.

How GIF speed works

A GIF has no playback speed setting. Each frame stores its own delay, in hundredths of a second, and the app showing it waits that long before the next frame. To change GIF speed, DropGIF divides every delay by the Speed you pick. At 2×, a frame that showed for 0.10 s shows for 0.05 s. No frames are added or dropped, so the motion keeps its rhythm and the file size barely changes.

Slowing down makes a GIF longer, so watch the length. A 12-second GIF at 0.5× runs 24 seconds, which needs Pro or a few frames removed. Speeding up has no such catch.

Change the timing of one frame

The Speed slider changes the whole GIF. The Frames strip under the preview changes one frame at a time, which is how you build a pause into a loop.

• Hold the punchline. Tap the time under the frame where the reaction peaks and type 1.5. The GIF pauses there before it moves on.
• Rest at the end. A last frame of about 1 second gives a looping GIF a beat before it starts again.
• Cut dead air. Use the remove button on frames at the start or end. The GIF gets shorter and the file gets smaller.
• Fix one odd frame. If a single frame flashes past or hangs too long, set its time to match its neighbors.

A frame can show for up to 10 seconds. Speed still applies on top, so a 1-second frame at 2× shows for half a second. Slideshows from the GIF maker from photos work the same way, with Frame time setting the default for every photo.

Why a GIF won't go any faster

Browsers have a floor. Safari and Firefox play any frame delay of 10 ms or less at 100 ms instead, so a GIF that tries to be extremely fast ends up slow. DropGIF never writes a frame shorter than 0.02 s, the fastest timing those browsers play as written. If a GIF is already near that, 4× may look no faster than 2×, because the frames stop at 0.02 s. For a short GIF, removing every other frame in the Frames strip is the way to go faster still.

The same rule explains GIFs that look oddly slow everywhere. Some tools write a delay of 0, which browsers show at 0.1 s per frame. DropGIF reads those frames the same way, so the preview matches what people see, and an export from here gets real delays that play as set.

Speed up or slow down a video GIF

The same slider works when you start from a video. Your frame rate stays where you set it, and DropGIF samples the clip faster or slower to match. Speeding up also fits more video into a free GIF: the 20-second limit counts the finished GIF, so at 2× you can select up to 40 seconds of video.

Slow motion needs frames to work with. Slow a regular 30 fps phone video much below 0.5× and the same frame starts showing twice, so the motion steps instead of flowing. Video recorded at 60 fps holds up better. The video to GIF page has frame rate and width settings by use, and the GIF editor covers everything else you can change.

Want it to play backward as well? Direction sits right under Speed: pick Reverse or Boomerang. The reverse GIF page explains the difference.

Frequently asked questions