16:9 to 9:16 converter

How to use the 16:9 to 9:16 converter

1. 01Choose your video file, or drop it onto the box.
2. 02Pick Crop to fill the frame or Fit the whole picture.
3. 03For a crop, set the position and check the outlined area on the preview frame. For a fit, pick a blurred or black background.
4. 04Click Make it 9:16, then download the vertical video.

Crop or fit: which one to use

Crop fills the whole vertical frame with part of your video. It keeps the full height of a landscape clip and cuts away the sides, so a 1920 by 1080 video gives up everything outside a window 608 pixels wide. It suits a single speaker, a product on a table or anything else that stays in one part of the shot.

Fit keeps the whole picture. A landscape video is scaled to the full 1080-pixel width and centred, so a 16:9 clip becomes a 1080 by 608 band in the middle of the frame, with the space above and below filled by a blurred, enlarged copy of the same video or by plain black. It suits wide shots, slides and anything where cutting off the sides would lose something that matters.

Setting the crop position

The position slides the 9:16 window across your video from left to right: 0% puts it against the left edge, 50% centres it and 100% puts it against the right edge. The preview shows one frame of your video, taken a second in (halfway through a clip shorter than two seconds), with the window outlined and everything outside it dimmed, and it moves as you change the position.

The position stays the same for the whole clip. Check a few moments of your video before settling on it: a subject who moves across the frame, or a second person who starts talking on the other side, can end up outside the window. If your source is already taller than 9:16, the crop keeps its full width and takes the middle of the frame instead.

What the tool does to your file

The result is always 1080 by 1920 pixels. It is re-encoded to H.264 video with AAC sound in an MP4 file, or to VP9 and Opus in WebM when your browser cannot make MP4; Chrome or Edge can make MP4. The sound is kept, and the frame rate is left as it was.

A crop from a 1080p video is enlarged to fill the frame: the 608-pixel-wide window is scaled up to 1080 pixels, so the result is a little softer than the source. A 4K source gives a window 1216 pixels wide, which is scaled down instead and stays sharp. Sizes are measured on the video as it plays, so a phone clip recorded on its side is handled the way it looks.

Questions about the 16:9 to 9:16 converter

Does the crop follow the person speaking?

No. The crop stays at the position you set for the whole clip. That works well when the subject stays put; for footage where people move or the speaker changes, the crop has to be planned shot by shot.

Can I convert landscape to portrait video without cutting anything off?

Yes. Choose Fit the whole picture: the full frame is kept and centred, with a blurred copy of the video or black filling the space above and below it.

Will the vertical video look softer?

From a 1080p source, a little: the crop is 608 pixels wide and is enlarged to 1080. The re-encode also costs a small amount of quality, usually hard to see after a single pass. A 4K source has enough pixels for a sharp crop.

Is my video uploaded?

No. The conversion runs in your browser; your video, and the vertical copy, never leave your device.

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Updated 23 September 2026 · All free tools