How to Reverse a YouTube Playlist and Play It Backwards
Many YouTube creators add videos newest-first, so playing a course or series in order means starting at the end. YouTube has no built-in "reverse" button — but you can flip any playlist to oldest-first in a couple of clicks.
The fastest way to reverse a playlist
Open playlist.tools, paste the playlist URL (or its ID), and choose "Sort by date → oldest first." The whole playlist instantly plays in chronological order, from the very first video to the latest.
Because it reorders on your side, you never have to scroll to the bottom of a 200-video playlist again or guess where the series begins.
Can you reverse a playlist on YouTube itself?
Only if you own it. The playlist owner can change its sort order in YouTube's playlist settings, for example to date published, oldest first. For anyone else's playlist, YouTube offers no way to flip the order or play it backwards.
playlist.tools reverses any public playlist, whether or not you own it, and the original playlist on YouTube stays untouched.
Reverse a YouTube playlist on your phone
In the YouTube app, open the playlist, tap Share, and copy the link. Paste it into playlist.tools in your phone's browser and sort by date, oldest first. There is nothing to install, and it works the same on iPhone and Android.
Why YouTube plays courses backwards
When a channel uploads lessons over time and appends each new one, the newest video sits at the top. Auto-play then starts you at the most recent lesson instead of lesson one — confusing for any structured course.
Reversing to oldest-first fixes this for tutorials, language courses, lecture series, and any sequential content.
Keep your place across sessions
Once reversed, mark videos as watched and track your progress so you always know where you left off — even across devices with a free account.
You can do all of this free on playlist.tools — paste any playlist URL and start sorting and tracking in seconds.