Ijharul Islam
To rotate a video, open it in an editor, turn it 90 degrees clockwise or counter-clockwise (or 180 degrees) until it's upright, and save a new copy. On iPhone use Photos' Crop tool, on Android use Google Photos' Rotate button, on any computer use a free browser tool such as QuickVeed's Rotate Video, or use FFmpeg's transpose filter.
This guide gives the steps for each, explains why some rotated videos still play sideways in other apps, and shows how to mirror a video as well.
The short answer
To rotate a video for free: on iPhone, open it in Photos, tap Edit, then Crop and the rotate button; on Android, open it in Google Photos, tap Edit, Crop, then Rotate; on a computer, open QuickVeed's free Rotate Video tool, pick 90°, 180° or 270° and save. With FFmpeg, run ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf transpose=1 out.mp4 for 90° clockwise.
Key takeaways
- Phones' photo apps can rotate a video and save it; check the result in another app before you share it.
- Re-encoding the picture (browser tool, FFmpeg filter) fixes rotation in every player.
- A 90° turn swaps width and height: a 1920×1080 video becomes 1080×1920.
- Flipping (mirroring) is a separate step from rotating; you can do both.
Disclosure: we make QuickVeed and show how to do this in it, along with other ways. Details about other products come from their public pages, checked in October 2026 and linked at the end.
How to rotate a video on iPhone or Android
iPhone and iPad (Photos app)
- Open the video in Photos and tap Edit.
- Tap Crop.
- Tap the rotate button until the video is upright. There's also a flip button for mirroring.
- Tap Done to save the change.
Apple's help pages describe rotating and flipping videos in Photos' Crop tool on iPhone and in Photos on Mac, where the editing controls are in the sidebar.
Android (Google Photos)
- Open the video in Google Photos and tap Edit.
- Tap Crop.
- Tap Rotate to turn it 90 degrees. Use the dial above it for small straightening.
- Tap Save. Google's help page says this saves a copy of the video with your edits.
Google's help page notes that some video editing features need a device with Android 6.0 or later and at least 1 GB of RAM, and menu labels can vary between versions.
On both phones, check the saved video in another app, such as a messaging app or a computer's player, before you share it widely. If it shows sideways there, use one of the re-encoding methods below; they turn the pixels themselves, so the fix travels with the file.
How to rotate a video on a computer, free and without uploading
QuickVeed's free Rotate Video tool works in any modern browser on Windows, Mac, Linux or Chromebook. It is free, runs in your browser, nothing is uploaded and no sign-up is needed, and adds no watermark.
- Open the tool and drop your video. Any video your browser can play works, up to 500 MB and 10 minutes.
- Choose 90° clockwise, 180° or 90° counter-clockwise (270°). The preview turns at once, and the frame turns with it, so a landscape video becomes portrait.
- Tick Flip horizontally to mirror it left to right, or Flip vertically, with or without rotating.
- Click Rotate and save, then download the new file. The sound is kept.
The browser plays the video once and records the result, so saving takes as long as the video (for a speed change, as long as the new video). Keep the tab open and in front while it runs. The file is MP4 when your browser can record MP4 and WebM otherwise, and the tool tells you which before you start. Videos larger than 1920 px on the long side are scaled down to that size, and the result is re-encoded, so it isn't bit-for-bit identical to the original.
Windows and macOS also include built-in editors that can rotate a clip; the steps differ by version, so check your system's help if you prefer those.
How to rotate a video with FFmpeg
FFmpeg is free and fast for batches. The transpose filter rotates the picture by re-encoding it, so the fix works in every player:
| Rotation | Command |
|---|---|
| 90° clockwise | ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf transpose=1 -c:a copy out.mp4 |
| 90° counter-clockwise | ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf transpose=2 -c:a copy out.mp4 |
| 180° | ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf "transpose=1,transpose=1" -c:a copy out.mp4 |
| Mirror left to right | ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf hflip -c:a copy out.mp4 |
| Flip upside down | ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf vflip -c:a copy out.mp4 |
-c:a copy keeps the sound as it is. FFmpeg's transpose filter also has values 0 and 3, which rotate and flip in one step. Add -crf 18 if you want to keep the re-encoded picture very close to the original.
Rotate many videos at once
On macOS or Linux, loop over a folder: for f in *.mp4; do ffmpeg -i "$f" -vf transpose=1 -c:a copy "rotated_$f"; done. Check one output first, because a wrong value means re-doing the batch.
FFmpeg's transpose filter is part of every standard build, so the same commands work on Windows, macOS and Linux. Run ffmpeg -h filter=transpose to see the options your version supports.
Why a rotated video can still play sideways
Phones usually record video in the sensor's native landscape shape and store a small rotation flag saying "show this turned 90 degrees". Most players read the flag; some older players, editors and websites ignore it. That's why a video can look right on your phone and sideways somewhere else.
| How it was rotated | What changes | Plays right everywhere |
|---|---|---|
| Rotation flag (metadata) only | A note in the file; pixels unchanged | Not always |
| Re-encoded (browser tool, FFmpeg transpose) | The pixels themselves are turned | Yes |
If a video keeps showing up sideways on one site, re-encode it with the browser tool or FFmpeg; the rotation is then part of the picture.
Rotating by 90 degrees also changes the shape. A 1920×1080 landscape video becomes 1080×1920 portrait, which is what you want for Shorts, Reels and TikTok. If you instead need a vertical video from a landscape one without turning it on its side, you need to crop and reframe, not rotate; see how to convert horizontal video to vertical.
To check which kind of file you have, run ffmpeg -i video.mp4 and look for a rotation or display matrix line in the output. If one is there, the file relies on a flag; re-encoding with the transpose filter removes the dependence on it.
Rotate, flip or crop: which do you need
Three different edits get called "rotating", and picking the wrong one is the most common reason people redo the job:
| You want | Edit to use | What happens to the shape |
|---|---|---|
| Fix a video filmed sideways | Rotate 90° clockwise or counter-clockwise | Width and height swap: 1920×1080 becomes 1080×1920 |
| Fix a video that's upside down | Rotate 180° | Shape unchanged |
| Undo a mirrored selfie (text reads backwards) | Flip horizontally | Shape unchanged |
| Make a vertical Short from a landscape video | Crop or reframe, not rotate | 1920×1080 becomes 1080×1920 with the sides cut |
| Straighten a slightly tilted horizon | Straighten (a few degrees) with a small zoom | Shape unchanged; edges cropped |
Tips to avoid sideways videos in the first place
- Turn the phone before you press record. Phones decide the orientation when recording starts, so turning mid-clip doesn't help.
- If your phone has an orientation lock, check whether it's on before filming in landscape.
- When filming the screen of another device, hold the phone level for a moment before starting so it picks the right orientation.
- Check one test clip on a computer before a long shoot.
If you rotate a batch of clips with FFmpeg, test the command on one file first. A wrong transpose value means re-encoding everything again.
After rotating: get it ready to post
- Check the size each platform wants in our social media video size guide, or the guides to YouTube Shorts size and Instagram Reels dimensions.
- Add captions: QuickVeed's Captions & subtitles transcribes a video (1.5 credits a minute, rounded up) and burns captions in one of 11 styles at the bottom, middle or top, from 3 credits a copy.
- Speed it up or trim the start with the free video speed changer.
Rotated phone videos are often 1080×1920 already, which is the size Shorts, Reels and TikTok expect. Older phones and action cameras may give you 720×1280 or odd sizes; that's fine to post, but check the result on a phone before publishing, and re-export at 1080×1920 if text looks soft. If the rotated video is for a website rather than social media, landscape is usually better, so rotate only clips that were truly filmed sideways.
Frequently asked questions
How do I rotate a video on my iPhone?
Open it in Photos, tap Edit, tap Crop, and tap the rotate button until it's upright. Tap Done to save.
How do I rotate a video on Windows for free?
Use a free browser tool such as QuickVeed's Rotate Video, which works in Edge or Chrome without uploading the file, or FFmpeg with the transpose filter.
How do I permanently rotate a video?
Re-encode it so the pixels are turned, not just flagged. A browser tool that records the rotated picture, or FFmpeg's transpose filter, does that.
Does rotating a video lose quality?
Re-encoding always loses a little, as any export does. Rotating with a metadata flag loses nothing but doesn't work in every player.
How do I flip or mirror a video?
On iPhone, use the flip button in Photos' Crop tool. In QuickVeed's Rotate Video tool, tick Flip horizontally. With FFmpeg, use -vf hflip.
Why does my video play sideways on some sites?
The file probably has a rotation flag that the site ignores. Re-encode it with the rotation built into the picture.
Try it with your own video
Once it's upright, add captions people can read with the sound off. Try the free tools first, then upload a video when you want captions, clips or dubbing. QuickVeed plans start at $18/month, and new accounts get a 14-day trial with 75 credits, no card needed. Sign up or see pricing.
Sources
Competitor details in this post were checked against these public pages in October 2026. Products and prices change, so confirm with each vendor before you decide.
