How to rotate a GIF
DropGIF turns every frame of the animation the same way, so the rotated GIF plays exactly like the original, just facing the right way. It takes a few seconds:
- Drop your GIFDrag it onto the page, tap Choose a GIF or video and pick it, or paste it with Ctrl/⌘+V. Animated WebP, APNG and sideways videos work too.
- Turn itUnder Crop & turn (on a phone, the Crop tab), tap Right to turn it 90° clockwise or Left to turn it 90° counterclockwise. Tap twice for 180°. The preview turns as you tap.
- Mirror or flip it if you likeMirror swaps left and right, like a reflection. Upside down flips it top to bottom. Both work on their own or together with a turn.
- Export and saveTap Export GIF. Then tap Download on a computer, or Share or save GIF on a phone.
Changed your mind? Reset next to the buttons puts the GIF back the way it came in.
Which button does what
| Button | What happens | Shape |
|---|---|---|
| Right | Turns it 90° clockwise | Wide becomes tall |
| Left | Turns it 90° counterclockwise | Wide becomes tall |
| Right twice | Turns it 180°, upside down and back to front | Same shape |
| Mirror | Swaps left and right | Same shape |
| Upside down | Flips top and bottom, like a reflection in water | Same shape |
Upside down is not the same as 180°. A 180° turn keeps the picture readable if you turn your head; Upside down mirrors it, so text in the frames comes out backward. For an upside-down joke, turn it 180°. For a reflection, use Upside down.
What rotating changes, and what it keeps
- The width and height swap on a quarter turn. A 480 × 270 GIF turned 90° comes out 270 × 480: DropGIF never stretches a GIF past its own size. A big video keeps the width you chose under Size, so a wide clip turned upright comes out taller.
- Timing travels with each frame. Rotating doesn't touch the frame delays, so a GIF that pauses on its last frame still pauses there.
- Captions stay upright. Text you add under Add words is drawn after the turn, so it reads normally whichever way the picture faces.
- Crop shapes are the shape you get. Pick 9:16 under Crop and the rotated GIF comes out 9:16, whichever way you turned it. Crop works on the original, upright picture; the turn happens after it.
- Transparency is kept. A see-through background stays clear in the rotated GIF.
Fix a sideways video before it becomes a GIF
Phone clips sometimes come out lying on their side, especially screen recordings and videos sent through chat apps that drop the rotation tag. Drop the video here, tap Right or Left until it stands up, then drag the yellow trim handles around the moment you want. The video to GIF converter has more on picking the best few seconds, and the iPhone video to GIF page has tips for clips from an iPhone.
Mirror is handy for selfie videos too: front cameras often save the picture reversed, so writing on a shirt or a sign reads backward. One tap on Mirror puts it the right way round.
Turning a wide clip into a tall one makes it taller, so the file can grow. Check the Where it fits strip under the preview, and if Slack or Discord shows a ✗, tap Fit next to it. The GIF compressor page explains what Fit changes.
Frequently asked questions
How do I rotate a GIF?
Drop the GIF into DropGIF, tap Right or Left under Crop & turn to turn it 90°, then tap Export GIF. It's free, with no watermark, and the GIF is rotated on your device.
How do I flip a GIF horizontally?
Tap Mirror under Crop & turn. It swaps left and right on every frame. To flip it vertically, tap Upside down.
Can I rotate a GIF 180 degrees?
Yes. Tap Right twice (or Left twice). The GIF turns upside down and back to front, and keeps its shape.
Does rotating a GIF lower the quality?
A quarter turn moves pixels without blurring them. DropGIF re-encodes the GIF when you export, so keep Colors at 256 for the closest match. Free exports go up to 480 px wide, so a wider GIF comes out smaller unless you have Pro.
Will my caption be rotated too?
No. Words you add in DropGIF are drawn after the turn, so they stay upright. Text that was already in the frames turns with the picture.
Is this GIF rotator free?
Yes. Rotating and flipping are free, with no watermark and no sign-up. Free GIFs go up to 480 px wide and 20 seconds, and Pro raises that to 1080 px and 60 seconds.