Add text to a GIF
Put text at the top, bottom or middle of an animated GIF: meme text, black text or a white caption strip
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How it works
Tap or click the box and choose your GIF, then type your sentence in the "Text to put on the GIF" field. The text can go at the bottom, the top or in the middle. The default style is meme text: white capitals with a black outline that read on any background. On light, mostly white GIFs, black text reads better. If no part of the picture should be covered, choose the white strip: a white band is added below or above the GIF, the text goes there, and the GIF gets taller by that much. At automatic size, the text is shrunk until it fits on at most two lines and in roughly a quarter of the GIF's height. Example: type "me on monday morning" at the bottom of a 480×270 pixel cat GIF with meme text, and every frame shows "ME ON MONDAY MORNING" at the bottom, while the 24 frames and the total length stay the same. Press "Add text" and save the result with "Download".
This tool is also known as add text to gif, gif caption, put text on gif, gif meme maker, caption animated gif, write on gif, gif text editor.
What is Adding text to an animated GIF?
An animated GIF is made of dozens of separate frames; for text to stay on screen for the whole animation, it has to be printed on each frame separately. An ordinary photo editor often opens a GIF as its first frame only and loses the animation. This tool decodes the GIF frame by frame, prints the text in the same position on every frame and writes the GIF again without changing the frame times or the loop.
What is Meme text?
Meme text is the white, heavy, all-capitals lettering with a black outline used in internet jokes. The black outline makes it readable on both light and dark backgrounds, so in an animated GIF it stays visible even when the background changes from frame to frame. This tool uses the Anton typeface for meme text; the switch to capitals follows the page language, and Anton covers accented Latin letters such as é, ñ, ü and ø.
What is the difference between adding text to a GIF and making a meme?
The meme generator adds top and bottom text to a still photo and gives you a JPG or PNG; if you give it an animated GIF, only the first frame is kept. Adding text to a GIF keeps the animation: the text is printed on every frame and the result is still an animated GIF. If you are joking with a photo, use the meme generator; if you are captioning a reaction GIF, this page is the right tool. This page has a single text field; if you need both top and bottom text, run the GIF through it twice.
What changes in a GIF with added text
The frame count, each frame's time and the loop stay the same. Because a GIF can use at most 256 colors per frame, the tool rebuilds the color palette from all frames after printing the text; the white and black of the text are on every frame, so they always make it into the palette. In very colorful GIFs, gradients can shift very slightly, which you usually cannot see.
The text is the same on every frame; text that appears at a certain moment or changes from frame to frame is not available on this page. In a transparent GIF the transparent area is kept and only the pixels under the text are filled. With the white strip, the output gets taller by the height of the strip; the result line gives the new size.
Which style and position to choose
The classic layout for reaction GIFs is meme text at the bottom; if a speaking face is in the upper part, bottom text keeps the face clear. If something important happens in the lower part of the picture, move the text to the top. Text in the middle grabs attention but covers the most important part of the picture; it suits a short, one-word punchline.
If the GIF is small (for example 240 pixels wide), long sentences shrink at automatic size and get hard to read; pick a short sentence or use the white strip style. For GIFs you will send in messaging apps, the white strip keeps the text sharp and readable in the chat window too.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add text to an animated GIF?
Choose the GIF in the box, type your sentence in the "Text to put on the GIF" field, pick the position and style, then press "Add text". The text is printed on every frame and the animation stays intact. The "Download" button saves the result to your Downloads folder.
Does adding text change the GIF's speed?
No. The frame count, each frame's time and the number of loops are kept exactly; the result line confirms this along with the frame count. If you also want to change the GIF's speed, use the GIF speed changer.
Do accented letters (é, ñ, ü) show correctly?
Yes. The Anton typeface covers Latin and extended Latin letters, and capitals are made with the language's own rules: "café" becomes CAFÉ, "año" becomes AÑO. In the white strip style your text stays exactly as you typed it, without switching to capitals.
Can I put separate text at the top and the bottom?
This page has a single text field. Add the bottom text first and download the GIF, then choose the downloaded GIF again and add the top text; the frame times are kept in both passes.