Best Animated GIF Makers for Mac to Create GIFs

GIFs are becoming notoriously popular on social media. Thanks to their small file sizes and short clip-like playback, they occupy the sweet spot between images and videos. In theory, creating GIFs should be as simple as picking a video, converting it to GIF format, and publishing it! You may end up with a GIF that's way bigger than the original video, making it unsuitable for uploads. Or, it can lose its quality to the point of deteriorating into a pixelated mess. You can avoid these and many other issues by choosing the right GIF maker for Mac. Here are some recommendations from us.

Part 1: Best Animated GIF Maker for Mac [Recommended!]

HitPaw Univd for Mac (HitPaw Video Converter for Mac) is an outstanding video converter with a powerful GIF-making feature. It's designed for everyone, from beginners to professional content creators looking to creating high-quality GIF from video on Mac. Univd's all-in-one toolbox gives users complete control over their GIFs, including resolutions, file sizes, playback speed, cropping, trimming, and more. Univd for Mac is the only tool you'll ever need for anything to do with GIFs.

Guide to Create GIF from Video on Mac using Univd

Step 1: Activate Video to GIF Feature

Launch HitPaw Univd for Mac >> Go to 'Video' tab >> Choose 'Video to GIF' >> Import your video.

Step 2: Choose GIF Output Settings

In the preview window, adjust the aspect ratio by dragging the cropping box.

Use the 'Frame Rate' dropdown to set the desired frame rate, which is set to 10fps by default.

Using the 'Size' dropdown, you can set the compression ratio by percentage.

Step 3: Create GIF from Video on Mac

Use the drag bars on the timeline to set the start and end points of the video portion to be converted to GIF >> Preview the video portion >> Click 'Create GIF.' You can batch create GIFs by selecting new segments and repeatedly using the 'Create GIF' button.

Step 4: Export GIFs from Mac

Click "Export" to save your GIFs.

Part 2: Other 5 GIF Creators for Mac You Can Try

1. GIPHY Capture

GIPHY Capture is the official GIF-making app for Mac from GIPHY, one of the most popular GIF-making services on the web. It's very intuitive and easy to use. You can record the entire screen or its parts, making it a perfect tool for creating brief GIF tutorials for social media. It's free, requires minimal effort, and offers basic customizations.

Pros

Free
Easy to use
Lightweight
Great stock GIF content available

Cons

Limited editing
No advanced customizations
Often fetches inappropriate content

2. EZGIF

For Mac users who don't wish to install new software for GIF creation, EZGIF is an excellent tool. It is a free online GIF-maker that anyone can use from any device, including Mac, Windows, Android, iOS, and Linux. EZGIF lets users convert videos as well as images to GIFs.

Pros

Supports all major image formats, including BMP, JPG, PNG, TIFF, HEIC, etc.
A good number of GIF customizations

Cons

Ad-supported
Not suited for batch processing
Few video file formats are supported

3. GIF Brewery

GIF Brewery is one of the more complicated GIF-makers for macOS. Learning this tool takes some time, but the rewards make it worth the initial effort. GIF Brewery offers a high degree of customization with respect to frame rate, resolution, size, text, filters, and more. GIF Brewery is a great option for professional content creators looking to create high-quality GIFs.

Pros

Highly customizable outputs
High-quality creations

Cons

Paid tool
Steep learning curve

4. CloudApp

CloudApp is a powerful cloud-based screen recording and GIF creation tool which lets you create GIFs directly by recording screens and webcam footage. It's a feature-rich tool with sharing and collaboration features. CloudApp is surprisingly easy to use, thanks to its simple interface.

Pros

Fast GIF creation
Simple and easy to use

Cons

Limited advanced features
Subscription required for advanced features

5. ScreenFlow

ScreenFlow is a full-fledged screen recording and video editing tool with a reliable GIF-making feature. Users can customize frame rates, video length, cuts, trims, and more on videos before converting them into high-quality GIFs. It also gives users greater control over the GIF's settings during conversion. ScreenFlow's robust features make it a great tool for intermediate to advanced users.

Pros

Advanced editing tools
Great GIF quality

Cons

Expensive
Steep learning curve

Part 3: 5 Tools That Can Record GIFs on Mac

1. LICEcap

LICEcap is a simple, lightweight GIF recording tool for macOS. Its minimalist interface makes it a hassle-free tool for users to record full or portions of the screen and turn the recordings into GIFs. With a focus on simplicity and ease of use, LICEcap offers only basic editing features for GIF-making.

2. Camtasia

Camtasia is a popular screen recording and video editing tool among Mac users, but few know it can convert screen recordings to GIF format. Camtasia is one of the most feature-rich tools for GIF creation. It offers a high degree of customization on output settings and a great variety of editing features before video conversion.

3. Snagit

Snagit treads the fine line between feature availability and ease of use. On the one hand, it lets users capture screen recordings and convert them into GIFs, besides converting videos and images. On the other, it's remarkably simple and easy to use. It's a great tool for beginners.

4. CleanShot X

CleanShot X is one of the most versatile tools for converting screen recordings to GIFs. It lets users grab recordings of a specific area, full screen, or a specific window. It hides desktop icons and lets you set a custom background on your screen grabs. It's the best basic screen recording and GIF-maker for Mac.

5. GIF Recorder - Gifox

Gifox's sleek, user-friendly interface makes it worth every penny it costs. This GIF-making tool for macOS is easy to use and lightweight, but don't let that fool you. It's a beast capable of capturing smooth recordings and creating GIFs that rival professional quality. There are enough customization options to give you the ability to control the viewing experience of your audiences.

FAQs about GIF Maker on Mac

Q1. How to create a GIF from a screen recording on Mac?

A1. Several tools, like EZGIF, Adobe Photoshop, GIPHY Capture, HitPaw Univd, and so on, can convert your screen recordings to GIFs on Mac. Univd is the most beginner-friendly and powerful tool for converting screen recordings to GIFs.

Q2. Can I add text or captions to a GIF on a Mac?

A2. Yes. HitPaw Univd lets you add text and on-screen captions to a GIF on a Mac. However, there are also many other tools with this feature, although their usability and performance vary greatly.

Q3. Can I add filters to a GIF on a Mac?

A3. Yes. Among the many tools that let users add social media filters to GIFs, HitPaw Univd is the most powerful yet user-friendly app.

Conclusion

Creating high-quality GIFs on Mac can be complicated, but it doesn't have to be. The right screen recording to GIF converter can take away much of the hassle from your task and make it easy for you to create high-quality tutorials and more on Mac. With a solution like HitPaw Univd, you can customize your GIF's quality, aspect ratio, resolution, on-screen text, file size, and more. More importantly, HitPaw Univd lets you create superb quality GIFs without dropping their original video quality. Check it out today.

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