Flip an image online
Mirror photos horizontally, vertically or both with a live preview. Batch flip a whole folder of images without uploading anything.
- Runs in your browser
- Files are never uploaded
- Free, no account
How to flip an image
- Drop one or more images onto the box above.
- Switch on horizontal to mirror left ↔ right, vertical to mirror top ↕ bottom, or both.
- Check the live preview of the first image, then press Flip and download the files or the ZIP.
Flip, mirror, rotate — the difference
| Operation | What happens | Text readable? |
|---|---|---|
| Flip horizontal | Reflected across the vertical centre line | No — reads backwards |
| Flip vertical | Reflected across the horizontal centre line | No — upside down and reversed |
| Flip both | Identical to a 180° rotation | No — upside down |
| Rotate 180° | Turned, not reflected | No — upside down |
| Rotate 90° | Turned a quarter turn | Yes, sideways |
The key distinction is chirality. A rotation can always be undone by another rotation; a single flip cannot. Flipping swaps left and right, which is why a flipped photo of a shop front has unreadable signage and a flipped portrait has the parting on the wrong side.
When flipping is the right tool
- Selfies. Phone cameras mirror the front-facing preview so it behaves like a bathroom mirror, then save the true, unmirrored view. Flipping horizontally restores the version you composed on screen.
- Scanned negatives and slides. Film loaded emulsion-side down scans reversed; a horizontal flip corrects it.
- Layout balance. Mirroring a subject so they face into the page rather than off the edge is a standard editorial trick.
- Iron-on transfers and heat-press printing. These must be mirrored before printing so they read correctly once applied.
- Sprite sheets and game art. Producing a left-facing variant from a right-facing one.
- Documents scanned upside down. Flip both axes, which is the same as rotating 180°.
Is any quality lost?
No. Flipping only reorders pixels — every value is copied unchanged to a new position, with no interpolation, no averaging and no rounding. The exported file is pixel-identical to a mirrored copy of the original. The single caveat is the encode step: if you take a JPEG in and ask for a JPEG out, it is compressed once more. Export PNG or WebP if you want a mathematically perfect round trip, or keep the quality at 90+ where the difference is invisible.
A note on text and logos
Flipping reverses any writing in the frame. If your image contains a logo, a licence plate, a street sign or a watermark you need to stay legible, flip the background separately and add the text back afterwards — the watermark tool can stamp it on the flipped result the right way round.
Questions
What is the difference between flipping and rotating?
Flipping mirrors the image across an axis, producing a reversed copy — text reads backwards. Rotating turns it without mirroring, so text stays readable. Flipping both horizontally and vertically is identical to a 180° rotation.
Why does my selfie look wrong when flipped?
Most phone cameras mirror the front-facing preview so it behaves like a mirror, then save the unmirrored version. Flipping horizontally gives you back the view you saw on screen, which usually looks more natural to you and stranger to everyone else.
Is any quality lost?
Flipping is a lossless pixel rearrangement. The only quality change comes from re-encoding a JPEG, which you can avoid entirely by exporting PNG or WebP.
Can I flip several images at once?
Yes — add as many as you like, pick the directions once, and download the results individually or in a single ZIP.