flip image
Mirrored in this tab, and previewed before you save.
The short answer
Flipping mirrors the pixels, which is not the same as rotating them: a flip has no equivalent turn, and any text in the picture will read backwards afterwards. That is usually the thing worth checking before saving, and it is why the preview is next to the button.
Flip left to right or top to bottom. Worth previewing: any text in the picture reads backwards afterwards, which is easy to miss until it is printed.
The formula
scale the canvas by −1 on one axis, then draw
Worked examples
- Left to right
- a mirror image, text reversed
- Top to bottom
- upside down, not rotated
- Both at once
- the same as a 180° turn
Reference table
| Operation | Dimensions | Text stays readable |
|---|---|---|
| Flip left to right | Unchanged | No |
| Flip top to bottom | Unchanged | No |
| Rotate 180° | Unchanged | Upside down, but not mirrored |
| Rotate 90° | Swapped | Sideways, but not mirrored |
How to use it
- 01Drop the image inOr pick a file. Read locally, never uploaded.
- 02Flip an axisLeft to right, top to bottom, or both. The preview shows the result.
- 03Save the PNGLossless: a flip rearranges pixels without changing any of them.
Also searched for
Searches that land here include flip image, mirror image, flip photo horizontally, mirror picture online and reverse image.
Mirroring, and what it does to a picture
A mirror is not a turn
Rotations and mirrors are different kinds of transformation. Rotating moves the picture around a point and keeps its handedness; mirroring reverses handedness, which is why letters become unreadable rather than just sideways. No amount of rotating will ever produce a mirror image.
Where the mirrored file is the one you want
Transfer printing, where the artwork is applied face down and comes out reversed. Correcting a selfie that saved the mirrored preview. Making two images face each other in a layout without reshooting one of them. Everything else is usually a rotation in disguise.
Nothing is lost either way
A flip rearranges pixels without altering any of them, and the output here is a lossless PNG, so the operation costs nothing in quality no matter how many times it is applied. Flipping twice returns exactly the original file's pixels.
Questions people ask
Is flipping the same as rotating?
No, and no combination of rotations produces a flip. A rotation preserves which way round things are; a mirror reverses it. That is why a flipped photograph of a person looks subtly wrong to anyone who knows them, and why flipped text is unreadable while rotated text is merely sideways.
When is flipping actually useful?
Selfies, mostly: front cameras usually mirror the preview and some save the mirrored version, so text on a shirt comes out backwards. Beyond that, matching the direction a subject faces across a layout, and preparing artwork for transfer printing, which needs the mirror image to come out the right way round on fabric.
What happens if I flip both ways?
You get the same result as rotating 180 degrees. Mirroring both axes is a half turn, which is a small piece of geometry worth knowing if you are trying to work out which operation you actually need.