01 The quick answer
Use a GIF for short, silent, looping reactions and memes. Use WebM or MP4 for anything longer, anything with sound, or anything where quality and small file size both matter. For most "clip from a video" cases, a video file is the better choice.
02 Where GIF wins
- Autoplays and loops silently and forever — perfect for reactions.
- Universally supported and renders identically everywhere.
- No play button — it just moves, inline.
The catch: GIFs are limited to 256 colours per frame and compress poorly, so they get large quickly.
03 Where WebM/MP4 win
- Far smaller for the same length and resolution.
- Full colour and sharpness — no 256-colour ceiling.
- Sound, and comfortably handle longer clips.
The catch: they show a play control rather than autoplaying like a GIF, and very old clients handle them less gracefully.
04 Side by side
| GIF | WebM / MP4 | |
|---|---|---|
| File size | Large | Small |
| Colours | 256 max | Full |
| Sound | No | Yes |
| Autoplay & loop | Yes | Loops; may need a tap |
| Best length | 1–5 s | Any |
| Best for | Reactions, memes | Clips, highlights |
05 When to use each
- A reaction face, a 2-second loop, a meme: GIF.
- A game highlight, a tutorial clip, anything with audio: MP4/WebM.
- It needs to autoplay with no click and stay tiny: a short, low-fps GIF.
06 How GiphyFy fits in
GiphyFy's /giphyfy specialises in turning images and short clips into clean GIFs. If you've decided a GIF is right, see turn a video into a GIF and shrinking it under the limit. If a video is the better fit, just upload it to Discord directly.