GIF to MKV Converter

What happens when you convert GIF to MKV

• Every frame of the animation is encoded as H.264 video, keeping the GIF's own timing. GIF has no sound, so the MKV is silent, and the width and height are rounded down to even numbers, which the video codec requires.
• Video has no transparency, so transparent areas of the GIF are filled with a solid colour. A still image makes a video of a single frame.

How to convert GIF to MKV online

1. Press "Choose GIF files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. You can add files of any size your device can hold in memory.
2. Adjust the settings if you need to: resolution and quality control the size of the result. The defaults suit most people.
3. Press "Convert to MKV". The first audio or video conversion downloads the converter engine, about 32 MB, which your browser then keeps for next time.
4. Save each MKV with its download button. Close the tab and every trace of the files is gone from memory.

Why convert GIF to MKV?

GIF files usually come from short looping animations, reactions and simple graphics. People convert them to MKV because MKV keeps several audio and subtitle tracks in one file and is the favourite container of media servers such as Plex and Jellyfin.

In short, GIF is good at what it was made for, and MKV is the more practical choice when the file has to play, upload or edit somewhere else. GIF opens and animates in every browser, while Chrome and Edge play many MKV files; Safari and iPhones do not.

How to convert GIF to MKV on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android

On Windows

Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your GIF files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each MKV is saved to your Downloads folder.

On a Mac

Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the GIF files from Finder onto the drop zone and the MKV files land in Downloads.

On iPhone and iPad

Open the page in Safari and tap Choose GIF files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted MKV appears in Files, in the Downloads folder; to put it in your photo library, open it there, tap Share and choose Save Video.

On Android

Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose GIF files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The MKV is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.

Best settings for GIF to MKV

Short animations are small, so the defaults suit almost every GIF. Resolution only shrinks: a 480 pixel wide GIF stays 480 pixels wide at Keep original, and choosing 1080p does not enlarge it.

Quality decides how much detail the encoder keeps. Standard is fine for sharing; choose High for pixel art or text, where compression blur is easy to see. Either way the MKV is usually a small fraction of the size of the GIF, because video codecs store only what changes between frames.

GIF vs MKV: the differences

About GIF and MKV files

What is a GIF file?

GIF stores each frame with a palette of at most 256 colours, so photos turn grainy and animations get large fast. Transparency is on or off per pixel, with no soft edges.

What is an MKV file?

MKV can hold unlimited audio tracks, subtitle tracks and chapters in one file, which is why film rips use it. OBS offers MKV recording because a crash part way through does not corrupt the whole file.

GIF to MKV not working? Common problems

• The conversion is slow. Audio and container changes take seconds, but re-encoding video runs on your own processor. Lower the resolution to 720p, close other tabs, and keep the device plugged in.
• The tab stops or reloads on a very large file. Browsers limit how much memory one tab can use, around 2 GB and less on phones. Split long recordings or convert them on a computer.
• The MKV will not play on an old device. Try the other formats offered for GIF, or choose 720p, which older players handle more reliably.

Convert GIF to MKV with ffmpeg

This converter runs ffmpeg inside your browser. If you would rather use the ffmpeg command line on your own computer, this command produces an equivalent MKV with the same kind of settings:

ffmpeg -i input.gif -c:v libx264 -crf 23 -c:a aac -b:a 128k output.mkv

Replace input.gif with the name of your file. For a whole folder of GIF files, run the command in a loop, or drop them all on the converter above, which processes them one after another.