An EZGIF alternative for making GIFs from scratch
EZGIF is a toolbox for GIFs you already have: turn a clip into a GIF, crop it, speed it up, compress it, convert it to WebP or APNG. smooth.video starts earlier, before the GIF exists: you place text, images and shapes on a timeline, make them move, and export the result as a GIF. Both are free, with no signup and no watermark.
smooth.video vs EZGIF
| smooth.video | EZGIF | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free, with ads |
| Account | Not needed | Not needed |
| Watermark | Never | Never |
| Makes a GIF from | Text, images, shapes, drawings and video, animated on a timeline | An uploaded video or a set of images |
| Moving text | Entrances and keyframes: slide, pop, bounce, blur, flip | Text shown on a range of frames, without motion |
| Where your files go | Nowhere, they stay on your computer | Uploaded to its servers, kept up to an hour after last use |
| Compression and optimization | No | Yes: lossy, fewer colours, fewer frames, target file size |
| Format conversion | No | GIF, WebP, APNG, AVIF, MP4, WebM and more |
EZGIF as of September 2026. Plans change, so check theirs before you decide.
How it works
- 1
Open smooth.video. No account, nothing to upload.
- 2
Add text, images, shapes or a video, and give each one an entrance or move it at points in time.
- 3
Export as GIF at the size you set. To squeeze the file further, run it through EZGIF's optimizer.
Start from a template
See all 164 templatesWhen smooth.video fits better
The GIF doesn't exist yet: an animated headline for an email, a badge for a website, a demo for a README. You want to build it from text and images, make things move, and keep your files on your computer.
When EZGIF fits better
You already have the GIF or the clip and need to do something to it: cut it, change its speed, reverse it, shrink it under a size limit, or convert it to WebP, APNG or AVIF. smooth.video does none of that.
Questions
- Can I compress a GIF in smooth.video?
- No. A short GIF with a modest size and few colours stays light; to shrink it further, run the exported file through a GIF optimizer such as EZGIF's.
- Can I turn a video into a GIF?
- Yes. Add the video to the scene, put text or stickers on top if you like, and export the whole thing as a GIF.
- Are my files uploaded?
- No. Everything, the GIF export included, runs in your browser, so your images and videos never leave your computer.