How to change GIF speed
- Drop a GIF on the box, click it to choose a file, or paste one with Ctrl+V. A sample GIF loads first.
- Under Set the speed by keep Speed and click a preset such as 2×, or type a number from 0.1 to 10. Choose New length for the seconds one loop should take, or Frame delay for milliseconds per frame.
- Compare Original with New speed, using Restart both to sync them.
- Click Download GIF. The file name ends with the speed, such as sample-ball-2x.gif.
How the speed is changed
Each GIF frame stores a delay in hundredths of a second (GIF89a specification, section 23, Graphic Control Extension). The tool divides each delay by your speed, rounds to whole hundredths, and carries the rounding leftover into the next frame so the loop length stays exact. The pixels and the loop count stay as they were.
Browsers play a delay of 0 or 0.01 s as 0.1 s (Mozilla bug 232822), so 0.02 s is the shortest real frame. If your speed needs shorter ones and Remove frames when the speed is too fast for browsers is ticked, short frames are merged into the one before. Most GIFs store only what changed in each frame, so the tool then saves the kept frames as a new GIF.
Worked example
The sample is a 160 x 100 px GIF with 20 frames of 0.06 s: one loop takes 1.20 s and the file is 4.2 KB. At the default 2× each delay becomes 0.06 / 2 = 0.03 s, and the New speed pane reads 20 frames · 0.60 s · 4.2 KB. At 10× each frame would last 0.006 s, which browsers cannot show, so the tool keeps 5 of the 20 frames at 0.02 or 0.03 s: 1.20 s becomes 0.12 s and the file shrinks to 1.0 KB.
Limits and edge cases
- A GIF with one frame has nothing to change. You can still save that frame as a PNG.
- Speeds run from 0.1× to 10×. One frame can wait 655 s at most. The loop count is not changed.
- Frames with a delay of 0 or 0.01 s count as 0.1 s, as browsers show them, so even 1× can lengthen such a GIF.
- Files up to 100 MB work. Above 12 megapixels per frame, or 600 million pixels in all, only delays change.
- The image resizer, image cropper and image compressor keep only the first frame of an animated GIF, so use this tool when the animation matters.
GIF speed FAQ
How do I speed up a GIF?
Add the GIF, pick a preset such as 2x under Speed, check the New speed preview and click Download GIF. The tool shortens each frame's delay, so the saved file plays faster in any browser or app.
How do I slow down a GIF?
Choose a speed below 1x, such as 0.5x for half speed. Every frame stays on screen longer, so a 1.20 second loop becomes 2.40 seconds. One frame can wait 655 seconds at most.
Why will my GIF not go faster past a certain speed?
Browsers show a GIF frame for at least 0.02 seconds and play shorter delays as 0.1 seconds. When your speed needs shorter frames, this tool removes frames instead, if Remove frames when the speed is too fast for browsers is ticked.
Does changing the speed lower the GIF quality?
No. Changing delays leaves every pixel as it was. Only when frames must be removed from a GIF that stores just the changes does the tool re-save it, keeping every color unless a frame needs over 255 new ones.
How do I change the frame rate of a GIF?
Choose Frame delay and type the milliseconds each frame stays on screen. 50 ms is 20 frames per second and 100 ms is 10. Browsers cannot show frames shorter than 20 ms.
Sources: W3C, GIF89a specification; Mozilla Bugzilla 232822, GIF frame delays.