What's the Best Free Tool to Rotate a PDF? 10 Tools Compared

PDF24 is the tool we recommend first. Its rotate page says the service is free of charge, funded by advertising, and can be used without restrictions or time limits. You do not need to register, and uploaded files are automatically deleted from its servers after one hour.

Rotating is simple. You upload your PDF, click the individual pages you want to turn, set their orientation and download the result. That page-by-page control is exactly what you need for a scan where only a few pages came out sideways.

If you prefer to work offline, PDF24 Creator is a free Windows desktop app with similar tools. Mac users will need to stick with the web version or use Preview.

PDFgear is the best free tool to rotate a PDF that contains anything sensitive. Its rotate page says files are processed locally in your browser and are not uploaded to a web server. It also says the tool is free, with no hidden fees or intrusive ads, and no registration at any point.

You can rotate a single page, a specific set of pages or the whole document using controls on each thumbnail. The desktop software for Windows and Mac works offline and adds more features, and PDFgear also offers mobile apps.

The only real downside is that it is less familiar than the big names. For bank statements, medical forms or contracts, we think local processing is worth that trade.

Adobe's free online rotator is the most capable of the browser tools. According to its page, you can select a single page thumbnail and rotate it clockwise or counterclockwise, or select a range or several non-consecutive pages and rotate them together.

The limits are generous: up to 1,500 pages in total across 100 files, with each file up to 500 pages and a total size of 100 MB. After saving, you can download the file or get a share link. Files are removed from Adobe's servers unless you sign in to save them to an account.

It is a good choice for long reports or batches of documents. Expect prompts to try paid Acrobat features, which you can ignore if all you need is rotation.

Sejda has one trick the others lack: it can rotate only the odd pages or only the even pages in one click. That is perfect for double-sided scans where every back page came out upside down.

Each page also has its own rotate buttons, and you can turn pages 90 degrees either way or 180 degrees. Sejda says uploaded files are automatically deleted after 2 hours.

The free tier is the catch. Sejda limits free users to 3 tasks per hour and documents up to 200 pages or 50 MB. A one-time Week Pass is available if you have a large job, and Sejda says it does not auto-renew. Sejda Desktop offers the same tools with files kept on your computer.

Smallpdf is one of the friendliest PDF sites around. Its rotate page says you can turn a single page without changing the rest of the document, by 90, 180 or 270 degrees, and that uploaded files are deleted automatically after one hour.

For one quick fix, it is hard to beat. The page notes that Pro users get unlimited processing for larger documents, which tells you the free tier has limits. Third-party reviews describe that limit as roughly two tasks per day, so do not count on Smallpdf for a long batch of files.

Use it for an occasional upside-down page. For frequent use, PDF24 or PDFgear will not get in your way.

iLovePDF's rotate tool is designed for speed. You drop in your PDF, hover over the file and use the arrows to turn it left or right, with a reset option if you overshoot.

That makes it ideal when an entire document is sideways, such as a wide spreadsheet saved in portrait. The rotate page describes turning whole files rather than individual pages, so for mixed documents, PDF24, Adobe or Sejda give you finer control.

The rotate page does not mention file size limits, task limits or how long files are kept, so check iLovePDF's terms if that matters for your documents.

If you use a Mac, you may not need any other tool. Apple's Preview guide explains that you open the PDF and click Rotate Left to turn a page. To rotate right, hold the Option key and click Rotate Right.

For several pages, choose View, then Thumbnails or Contact Sheet, select the pages you want and use the same rotate controls. Then save the file so the new orientation sticks. Because everything happens on your Mac, nothing is uploaded anywhere.

Preview is the simplest and most private option for Mac owners. Windows users do not have an equivalent built-in tool, so they should use PDF24 or PDFgear.

PDF2Go is a straightforward option. Its rotate page says the tool is free and needs no account, and files up to 50 MB can be rotated without registering. Pages appear as thumbnails so you can turn only the ones that are wrong.

On privacy, PDF2Go says no person opens your PDF, no copies are taken and no backups of user files are kept. The page does not say how long files remain on its servers, so it is less specific than PDF24 or Smallpdf on that point.

It is a dependable backup when your usual tool hits a limit. Larger files need a free account or a paid plan.

Xodo's free online rotator lets you turn single pages or the entire file. It is part of the wider Xodo Document Suite, which is handy if you already use Xodo for other PDF work.

The free tier has a daily limit. The rotate page shows a "daily free use reached" notice, but does not say how many uses you get. See the Xodo site for paid options and current pricing.

Xodo works well for the occasional fix. For regular use, a tool with no daily cap is a better fit.

Stirling PDF is different from the rest. It is an open-source PDF editor that you can run on your own computer or server, with more than 60 tools. Its site says it is free for individual use, and that it processes files on your own machine so sensitive documents do not have to be uploaded to websites you cannot trust.

Rotation is handled in its Multi Tool, where you can hover over a page thumbnail and turn it left or right, alongside merging, splitting and reordering. The project's GitHub page shows about 95,000 stars, a sign of an active community.

It is the best choice for offices that want an internal PDF toolkit. For a one-time fix at home, it is more setup than you need.