What’s the Best Program to Rotate Video on Windows?

We’ve got four different programs you can use to rotate videos in Windows. Two of them — Clipchamp and Video Editor — are Microsoft apps, whereas both VLC and DaVinci Resolve are third-party apps.

DaVinci Resolve is the most capable program on the list. It is available for free, but it is a program designed for use in a professional environment. If you plan on editing videos regularly, you should take the time to familiarize yourself with it.

Video Editor is built into Windows 10 and Windows 11 by default and can perform basic video editing operations. Clipchamp is Microsoft’s latest foray into video editing software. It is designed to fill the gap left in Windows operating systems — and our hearts — after Windows Movie Maker was retired. Both have a serious drawback: they cannot export video at resolutions above 1080p.

VLC isn’t a video editor at all; it is just a fantastic video player with a bunch of useful features thrown in for good measure. VLC is kind of the Swiss Army Knife of video players.Here’s a quick rundown of how these programs work for rotating videos:

• VLC – A little clunky, not really a video editor, third-party program
• Clipchamp – Limited to 1080p export, clunky UI, requires an internet connection, Microsoft app
• Video Editor – Limited to 1080p export, limited functions, UI isn’t great, included in Windows
• DaVinci Resolve – Limited to 4K export only, fantastic functionality, busy UI, third-party app

Which you use really depends on your needs. However, you can never go wrong learning the most versatile program — DaVinci Resolve. In the worst-case scenario, you wind up better equipped the next time you need to edit a video.

How to Rotate Videos With VLC

VLC is a free, open-source media player that has built-in codec support for just about every video format out there, and it’s available on every platform. It is our preferred video player. Rotating a video in VLC is not quite as simple as doing it in Video Editor or Clipchamp, but if you’ve already got VLC, you may as well use it.

• First, open your video in VLC. Open the “Tools” menu and select “Effects and Filters” or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+E.

In the “Adjustments and Effects” window, on the “Video Effects” tab, click the “Geometry” tab and tick the “Transform” check box.

Select a rotation from the dropdown menu (we’re rotating ours by 180 degrees, so we’re selecting “Rotate by 180 degrees”) and then click “Close.”

The video should now be correctly oriented. You can watch it right away if you want. You could also use the “Rotate” tool, but selecting a transform from the dropdown is simpler if you just need a basic rotation.

This change isn’t permanent, though. You’ll need to save this video in its new orientation for that. Open Tools > Preferences (or press Ctrl +P), and at the bottom of the preferences window, enable “All” settings.

With all the settings shown, drill down to the “Sout stream” heading (it will be under “Stream output”), and then click on “Transcode.” On the right, select the “Video transformation filter” option (this replaces the “Rotate video filter” option from older versions of VLC) and then click “Save.”

Open VLC’s “Media” menu and select “Convert/Save.” In the “Open Media” window, click the “Add” button and choose the file you just rotated, then click the “Convert/Save” dropdown at the bottom of the “Open Media” window and select “Convert.”