How to add a GIF to an email

To make a GIF play inside your email, it has to be inserted in the message body (inline), not just attached. Here's how to do that in Gmail, every version of Outlook and Apple Mail, and how to keep it small enough to load fast.

By David Ray · Updated October 30, 2026 · 6 min read · How we research

Inline vs attached: why it matters

There are two ways to add any image to an email:

• Inline: the GIF sits in the body of the email and plays as the reader scrolls. This is what you want.
• Attachment: the GIF shows as a file at the bottom (or as a thumbnail). Many apps won't animate it until the reader opens it.

If your GIF arrives as a paper-clip file, it was attached rather than inserted. Use the steps below.

First, get the GIF onto your computer or phone. Download it (right-click › Save image as on a computer), or make your own. Copying a GIF from a web page and pasting it into an email sometimes works, but it often pastes as a still image or a link. Saving and inserting the file is more reliable.

Add a GIF in Gmail

On a computer:

1. Click Compose and click where the GIF should go in the message.
2. Drag the GIF file from your desktop or Downloads folder straight into the message body. Google's help confirms you can drag an image into the compose window.
3. Or click the Insert photo icon at the bottom of the compose window, choose Upload, pick the GIF, and make sure Inline is selected (not As attachment). Click Insert.
4. Click the GIF to resize it (small, best fit, original size).

In the Gmail phone app, adding a GIF from your photos may send it as an attachment rather than in the text. If it matters that the GIF plays inside the message, send it from Gmail on a computer.

Personal Gmail accounts have a 25 MB attachment limit. Bigger files are turned into a Google Drive link automatically, which won't play in the message at all.

Add a GIF in Outlook

New Outlook for Windows:

1. Start a new email and click where the GIF should go.
2. On the ribbon, choose Insert › Pictures.
3. Browse to the GIF, select it, and choose Open.
4. Drag a corner handle to resize it.

Outlook on the web and Outlook.com: click in the message, choose Insert › Pictures, pick the GIF and choose Open. You can also right-click the image for formatting options.

Classic Outlook: click in the message, choose Insert › Pictures, select the GIF and choose Insert. Make sure the message is in HTML format (Format Text › HTML); plain text emails can't show images in the body.

Outlook phone app: photos you add are often sent as attachments. For a GIF that plays inside the message, Outlook on the web or the desktop app is more reliable.

Add a GIF in Apple Mail

On a Mac:

1. Open a new message.
2. Drag the GIF from the desktop or Finder into the body of the message. Or click the Attach button in the toolbar, or choose from Photos.
3. Apple Mail inserts images at full size. If there's an Image Size menu on the right of the message header, leave it on Actual Size so Mail sends your original GIF file.

On iPhone or iPad: tap in the email where you want the GIF, tap the expand arrow above the keyboard, then tap the photo button and choose the GIF from your library. If Mail asks about image size when you send, choose Actual Size.

Keep the GIF small

GIFs get big fast because every frame is a separate picture. A large GIF loads slowly, especially on phones, and some readers see a blank box until it does.

• Aim for under 1 MB for a GIF in a personal or work email. This is a practical rule of thumb, not an official limit.
• Make it narrower. About 600 pixels wide fills most email layouts. Many downloaded GIFs are much wider than that.
• Trim frames. A 2 to 3 second loop is plenty.
• Use fewer colors. GIFs allow up to 256; cutting that makes the file smaller.
• Compress it before inserting.

Why GIFs don't animate in some inboxes

• Older classic Outlook for Windows. Some older desktop versions show only the first frame. Choose a GIF whose first frame makes sense on its own, so those readers still get the message.
• Animations turned off. Microsoft says that if only the first frame plays in Outlook, animated GIFs are turned off. In Outlook for Microsoft 365, turn on Show animations in Windows (Windows 10) or Settings › Accessibility › Visual effects › Animation effects (Windows 11). Older Microsoft 365 builds have File › Options › Advanced › Play animated GIFs.
• Images blocked. Some readers or companies block images until you click "Show images" or "Download pictures."
• It was attached, not inserted. Re-send it inline using the steps above.
• Plain text email. Switch the message to HTML.

Make GIFs accessible

• Add alt text. In Outlook, right-click the GIF and choose the alt text option (Edit Alt Text in classic Outlook), then describe it: "Animated GIF: a dog spinning in circles with excitement." Screen readers read this aloud, and it shows when images are blocked.
• Don't put the key message only in the GIF. Say it in the text too: "We hit our goal!" above the celebration GIF.
• Avoid fast flashing. Rapid flashing can be uncomfortable for some readers and is a known risk for people with photosensitive epilepsy.
• One is usually enough. Several moving images make an email hard to read.

When a GIF works well

• A quick "how to" demo: three seconds showing where to click.
• A celebration or thank-you to your team.
• A product preview in a newsletter, as long as the first frame works as a still picture.

Skip GIFs in formal emails, job applications and messages to people you haven't met.

Questions people ask

How do I add a GIF to an Outlook email?

Click in the message body, choose Insert, Pictures, select the GIF and choose Open (or Insert in classic Outlook). Make sure the email is in HTML format.

How do I insert a GIF in Gmail?

Drag the GIF file into the message, or click Insert photo, upload the GIF and choose Inline, then Insert.

Why is my GIF not moving in Outlook?

Animations may be turned off in Windows or Outlook, or an older classic Outlook version may show only the first frame. Microsoft's fix is to turn animations back on in Windows settings.

Why does my GIF show as an attachment?

It was attached rather than inserted inline. Use Insert photo with Inline in Gmail, or Insert, Pictures in Outlook.

What size should an email GIF be?

As a rule of thumb, under 1 MB and about 600 pixels wide. Smaller GIFs load faster, especially on phones.