Last updated: March 2026
What Is the Video Rotator?
The Video Rotator is a free online tool that fixes sideways, upside-down, or mirrored videos by rotating or flipping them directly in your browser. Over 500,000 people search for ways to rotate videos online every month — typically after recording on a phone in the wrong orientation. Upload your video, click the rotation you need (90°, 180°, flip), preview the result, and download the corrected file. Unlike most online rotators that upload your video to their servers, this tool processes everything locally using FFmpeg.wasm — your video never leaves your device.
How to Rotate a Video Online
Upload your video (MP4, MOV, WebM, or AVI up to 500MB), then click the rotation button you need. The 90° clockwise rotation is the most common fix for sideways phone videos. You can also rotate counter-clockwise, flip the video horizontally (mirror), flip vertically, or enter any custom angle from 1° to 359°.
The tool shows an instant CSS preview of the transformation so you can verify it looks correct before committing to the full processing step. Once you're satisfied, click “Process Video” to apply the rotation to the actual video file using FFmpeg.wasm. The processed video downloads in the same format as your original.
Understanding Video Rotation vs. Metadata Orientation
When you record video on a smartphone, the camera sensor always captures in the same physical orientation. Whether you hold the phone upright or sideways, the raw pixel data is identical — the phone simply writes an orientation flag in the video's metadata telling media players how to display it. Most modern players respect this flag, but older software, web browsers, and some social media platforms ignore it entirely, causing your video to appear sideways or upside-down.
This tool solves the problem permanently by actually rotating the pixel data rather than just changing the metadata tag. After processing, your video displays correctly in every player, every browser, and on every platform — regardless of whether the software reads orientation metadata or not. For 90° rotations, the output dimensions swap: a 1920×1080 landscape video becomes a 1080×1920 portrait video.
When to Use Flip vs. Rotate
Rotation changes the angular orientation of the video. Use 90° CW or CCW to fix sideways footage, or 180° to correct upside-down recordings. The custom angle option is useful for correcting footage recorded at a slight tilt — entering the exact degree offset straightens the horizon line.
Flipping mirrors the video along an axis. Horizontal flip creates a mirror image (left becomes right), which is useful for correcting selfie-mode recordings where text appears reversed. Vertical flip inverts the video top-to-bottom, which fixes footage from inverted-mount cameras like dashboard cams or underwater housings.
You can also combine operations: rotate 90° first, then use this tool again to flip horizontally. Each transformation is applied cleanly without compounding quality loss.