🔁 Flip Image (Horizontal and Vertical)
By ToolNimba Editorial Team · Updated 2026-06-19
PNG, JPG, WEBP, GIF or BMP. Files stay on your device.
JPEG has no transparency, so transparent areas use this colour.
Choose an image to get started.
This image flip tool mirrors a picture along its horizontal or vertical axis right in your browser. Upload a PNG, JPG, WEBP, GIF or BMP, then press Flip horizontal to mirror it left to right, or Flip vertical to flip it top to bottom. The two flips stack, so pressing both gives a clean 180 degree turn. When the preview looks right, download the result. Nothing is uploaded, the whole operation happens on your device using the HTML canvas.
What is the Image Flip Tool?
Flipping an image creates a mirror reflection of it. A horizontal flip swaps the left and right sides, the way a mirror does when you look into it, so text reads backwards and a face that looked to the left now looks to the right. A vertical flip swaps the top and bottom instead, turning the picture upside down along a horizontal line through its middle. Flipping is not the same as rotating: a rotation spins the whole image around a point and preserves the handedness of the content, while a flip reverses it. The only case where the two look identical is a 180 degree rotation, which is exactly what you get by flipping both horizontally and vertically at once.
Under the hood this tool draws your image onto a canvas using a transform. To flip horizontally it calls scale(-1, 1), which multiplies every x coordinate by minus one, and then translate moves the origin back by the image width so the mirrored copy lands inside the canvas instead of off the left edge. A vertical flip uses scale(1, -1) with a translate by the image height. Because the transform is applied to the drawing context and the image is simply redrawn, the pixels are repositioned exactly, with no resampling and no loss of detail. The output keeps the same width and height as the original.
The file you download is a fresh export from the canvas, produced by canvas.toBlob in the format you choose: PNG, JPEG or WEBP. PNG is lossless and keeps transparency, which makes it the safe default for logos, screenshots and graphics. JPEG and WEBP are smaller but JPEG cannot store transparency, so this tool fills any transparent areas with a background colour you pick before exporting. Since everything runs client side, the image never leaves your computer, which matters when the picture is private or sensitive.
When to use it
- Correcting a selfie or front-camera photo that came out mirrored, so text and faces face the right way.
- Mirroring an image for a symmetrical layout, a reflection effect, or a left and right pairing in a design.
- Flipping a scanned document or photo that was captured upside down or back to front.
- Reversing the direction a subject faces (for example, making a person or arrow point the other way) before placing it in a composition.
How to use the Image Flip Tool
- Click Choose an image and pick a PNG, JPG, WEBP, GIF or BMP file from your device.
- Press Flip horizontal to mirror it left to right, or Flip vertical to flip it top to bottom. Press a button again to undo that flip.
- Combine both flips for a 180 degree turn, or use Reset to return to the original orientation.
- Choose your download format (PNG keeps transparency), then click Download image to save the flipped picture.
Formula & method
Worked examples
You have a 1200 by 800 pixel photo and want to mirror it left to right.
- Load the image, the canvas is set to 1200 by 800 to match.
- Apply scale(-1, 1) to mirror the x axis.
- Translate the origin by 1200 px so the mirrored copy sits inside the canvas.
- Redraw the image, a pixel that was at x = 0 now appears at x = 1199.
Result: A 1200 by 800 image, mirrored horizontally, ready to download.
You want to turn a 600 by 600 image a full 180 degrees.
- Press Flip horizontal, this sets scale(-1, 1) with a translate by 600 px.
- Press Flip vertical, this adds scale(1, -1) with a translate by 600 px.
- The combined transform reverses both axes, so (x, y) maps to (599 − x, 599 − y).
- This is identical to rotating the image 180 degrees.
Result: A 600 by 600 image turned upside down and mirrored, the same as a 180 degree rotation.
What each flip does to an image
| Action | Axis reversed | Visual effect |
|---|---|---|
| Flip horizontal | x (left and right) | Mirror image, text reads backwards |
| Flip vertical | y (top and bottom) | Image turned upside down along a horizontal line |
| Both flips | x and y | Same as a 180 degree rotation |
| Reset | none | Returns to the original orientation |
Choosing a download format
| Format | Transparency | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| PNG | Yes (lossless) | Logos, screenshots, graphics, exact pixels |
| JPEG | No (fills with chosen colour) | Photos where a smaller file is preferred |
| WEBP | Yes | Smaller files for the web with good quality |
Common mistakes to avoid
- Expecting a flip to look like a rotation. A horizontal flip mirrors the image, it does not turn it. Only flipping both axes equals a 180 degree rotation. If you need 90 degrees, use a rotate tool instead, a flip cannot produce that.
- Exporting transparent images as JPEG. JPEG has no transparency, so any transparent areas are filled with a solid colour. If you need to keep transparency, download as PNG or WEBP instead.
- Flipping twice and wondering why nothing changed. Each button toggles its axis. Pressing Flip horizontal twice mirrors then un-mirrors the image, returning it to where it started. Use Reset if you lose track of the current state.
- Forgetting that flipped text becomes unreadable. A horizontal flip reverses any text in the image so it reads backwards. That is correct mirror behaviour, but it means flipping is not a way to fix orientation of documents that contain words.
Glossary
- Flip
- Mirroring an image across an axis, producing a reversed reflection of the original.
- Horizontal flip
- A mirror across a vertical line, swapping the left and right sides of the image.
- Vertical flip
- A mirror across a horizontal line, swapping the top and bottom of the image.
- Canvas
- An HTML element that lets a browser draw and transform images with JavaScript, used here to redraw the flipped picture.
- Transform
- A geometric operation (such as scale or translate) applied to the canvas before drawing, which repositions the pixels.
Frequently asked questions
How do I flip an image horizontally?
Upload your picture, then press the Flip horizontal button. The tool mirrors it left to right using a canvas scale(-1, 1) transform and shows a live preview. When it looks right, click Download image to save it.
What is the difference between flipping and rotating an image?
Flipping mirrors the image, reversing it across an axis so the content faces the other way. Rotating spins the image around a point without reversing it. The one overlap is that flipping both horizontally and vertically gives the same result as a 180 degree rotation.
Does flipping reduce the quality of my image?
A flip just repositions the existing pixels, so there is no resampling or quality loss in the geometry. If you export as JPEG some compression is applied, so choose PNG or WEBP if you want to keep the image lossless.
Are my images uploaded to a server?
No. The whole process runs in your browser using the canvas and FileReader. Your image never leaves your device, which keeps private or sensitive pictures secure.
Can I flip both horizontally and vertically at once?
Yes. Press both Flip horizontal and Flip vertical and the flips stack, reversing both axes. The result is identical to rotating the image 180 degrees.
What image formats can I use and download?
You can upload PNG, JPG, WEBP, GIF or BMP files. You can download the flipped result as PNG (lossless, keeps transparency), JPEG (smaller, with a background fill for transparent areas) or WEBP.