diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index c9cb6dce..d9339478 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -12,6 +12,11 @@
   - Transparent images are premultiplied to 8 bits, like browsers do: halving takes 24 instead of 43 ms, doubling 103
     instead of 260 ms. What shows once they're composited differs from 3.2.1 by up to about 2 steps (alpha by at most 2),
     the color of pixels that are almost transparent can differ more.
+- `RotateOptions.fast` (default `true`): rotations by angles that aren't multiples of 90° sample with 8-bit weights
+  on 8-bit premultiplied pixels, two channels per multiplication, and skip the parts of each row outside the source.
+  Rotating a 1920×1080 photo by 30° takes 51 instead of 119 ms (61 instead of 114 ms with alpha). Opaque pixels stay
+  within 1 of 3.2.1 (0.5-2% of the values differ), what shows of translucent ones (also the faded edges) within
+  about 2.5 steps. `fast: false` keeps the precise sampling.
 
 ### Performance
 
diff --git a/src/image.ts b/src/image.ts
index 81e6a2f6..e294fb17 100644
--- a/src/image.ts
+++ b/src/image.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import { TextLayout } from './text-layout.ts';
 import { Metadata, resolveMetadata, pngText, exifData } from './metadata.ts';
 import { encode as utf8 } from './util/utf8.ts';
 import { resample, BOX, TRIANGLE, CUBIC } from './util/resample.ts';
+import { rotateBilinear } from './util/rotate.ts';
 import { gaussianBlur, boxBlurRGBA, premultiply, unpremultiply } from './util/blur.ts';
 import { isOptions } from './util/options.ts';
 
@@ -170,6 +171,13 @@ export interface DominantColorOptions {
 export interface RotateOptions {
     /** Whether to resize the image so it fits all pixels or just ignore outlying pixels. Default: `true` */
     resize?: boolean;
+    /**
+     * Whether to sample with 8-bit weights on 8-bit premultiplied pixels (like {@link ResizeOptions.fast}), about twice
+     * as fast: opaque pixels stay within a step of the precise result, what shows of translucent ones (also the
+     * faded edges) within about 2.5 steps (pixels that are almost transparent keep less of their color). Only affects
+     * angles that aren't multiples of 90°. Default: `true`
+     */
+    fast?: boolean;
 }
 
 /** Options of {@link Image.trim} */
@@ -1551,7 +1559,7 @@ export class Image {
      */
     rotate(angle: number, resize?: boolean): this;
     rotate(angle: number, resizeOrOptions: boolean | RotateOptions = true): this {
-        const { resize = true } = typeof resizeOrOptions === 'object' && resizeOrOptions !== null ? resizeOrOptions : { resize: resizeOrOptions };
+        const { resize = true, fast = true } = typeof resizeOrOptions === 'object' && resizeOrOptions !== null ? resizeOrOptions : { resize: resizeOrOptions };
         angle = ((angle % 360) + 360) % 360;
         if (angle === 0) return this;
 
@@ -1579,6 +1587,7 @@ export class Image {
         const outWidth = resize ? Math.round(Math.abs(width * cos) + Math.abs(height * sin)) : width;
         const outHeight = resize ? Math.round(Math.abs(width * sin) + Math.abs(height * cos)) : height;
         const out = new Image(outWidth, outHeight);
+        if (fast && rotateBilinear(this.bitmap, width, height, out.bitmap, outWidth, outHeight, sin, cos)) return this.__apply__(out);
         const s8 = this.bitmap, d8 = out.bitmap;
 
         // bilinear sampling of the counterclockwise rotated source, with premultiplied alpha
diff --git a/src/util/alpha.ts b/src/util/alpha.ts
index 93e151d0..6de5ca88 100644
--- a/src/util/alpha.ts
+++ b/src/util/alpha.ts
@@ -42,6 +42,11 @@ export function unpremultiply8(bitmap: Uint8ClampedArray): void {
     for (let i = 0; i < pixels.length; i++) {
         const p = pixels[i], a = p >>> 24;
         if (a === 255) continue;
+        // what the table gives at alpha 0, without looking it up
+        if (a === 0) {
+            pixels[i] = 0;
+            continue;
+        }
         const o = a << 8;
         pixels[i] = table[o | p & 255] | table[o | p >> 8 & 255] << 8 | table[o | p >> 16 & 255] << 16 | a << 24;
     }
diff --git a/src/util/rotate.ts b/src/util/rotate.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..57dc784f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/util/rotate.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+// bilinear rotation on the pixels as 32-bit words: 8-bit premultiplied pixels and 8-bit weights, so red and blue,
+// green and alpha share a multiplication (like the fast resampling)
+
+import { littleEndian, isOpaque, premultiply8, unpremultiply8 } from './alpha.ts';
+
+// the range of steps x (within from..to) where start + x * step lies within 0..limit, widened by a step on either side
+function span(start: number, step: number, limit: number, from: number, to: number): [number, number] {
+    if (step === 0) return start >= 0 && start < limit ? [from, to] : [from, from];
+    const a = -start / step, b = (limit - start) / step;
+    const lo = Math.floor(Math.min(a, b)) - 1, hi = Math.ceil(Math.max(a, b)) + 1;
+    return [Math.max(from, lo), Math.max(Math.max(from, lo), Math.min(to, hi))];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Samples the source rotated counterclockwise (by the angle of `sin` and `cos`) around its center into `out`, centered
+ * as well. Pixels outside the source stay transparent, edges fade like the taps outside the source were transparent.
+ * Returns false (without writing anything) on big endian machines
+ */
+export function rotateBilinear(src: Uint8ClampedArray, width: number, height: number, out: Uint8ClampedArray, outWidth: number, outHeight: number, sin: number, cos: number): boolean {
+    if (!littleEndian) return false;
+
+    // premultiplied, with a transparent border of one pixel: taps outside the source need no checks
+    let bitmap = src;
+    if (!isOpaque(src)) premultiply8(src, bitmap = new Uint8ClampedArray(src.length));
+    const pixels = new Int32Array(bitmap.buffer, bitmap.byteOffset, width * height);
+    const stride = width + 2;
+    const padded = new Int32Array(stride * (height + 2));
+    for (let y = 0; y < height; y++) padded.set(pixels.subarray(y * width, (y + 1) * width), (y + 1) * stride + 1);
+
+    const result = new Int32Array(out.buffer, out.byteOffset, outWidth * outHeight);
+    // source position (in padded coordinates) of the center of the first pixel in a row, then one step per pixel
+    const x0 = 0.5 - outWidth / 2, cx = width / 2 + 0.5, cy = height / 2 + 0.5;
+    for (let oy = 0; oy < outHeight; oy++) {
+        const dy = oy + 0.5 - outHeight / 2;
+        const sx0 = x0 * cos - dy * sin + cx, sy0 = x0 * sin + dy * cos + cy;
+        // the pixels of the row that hit the source (give or take one, the check below is exact)
+        const [xFrom, xTo] = span(sx0, cos, width + 1, 0, outWidth);
+        const [from, to] = span(sy0, sin, height + 1, xFrom, xTo);
+        let o = oy * outWidth + from, sx = sx0 + from * cos, sy = sy0 + from * sin;
+        for (let ox = from; ox < to; ox++, o++, sx += cos, sy += sin) {
+            if (!(sx >= 0 && sy >= 0 && sx < width + 1 && sy < height + 1)) continue;
+            const ix = sx | 0, iy = sy | 0;
+            // 8-bit fractions, and weights summing to 256
+            const fx = (sx - ix) * 256 + 0.5 | 0, fy = (sy - iy) * 256 + 0.5 | 0;
+            const w11 = fx * fy + 128 >> 8, w10 = fx - w11, w01 = fy - w11, w00 = 256 - fx - fy + w11;
+            const i = iy * stride + ix;
+            const p00 = padded[i], p10 = padded[i + 1], p01 = padded[i + stride], p11 = padded[i + stride + 1];
+            const rb = Math.imul(p00 & 0xff00ff, w00) + Math.imul(p10 & 0xff00ff, w10) + Math.imul(p01 & 0xff00ff, w01) + Math.imul(p11 & 0xff00ff, w11) + 0x800080;
+            const ga = Math.imul(p00 >>> 8 & 0xff00ff, w00) + Math.imul(p10 >>> 8 & 0xff00ff, w10) + Math.imul(p01 >>> 8 & 0xff00ff, w01) + Math.imul(p11 >>> 8 & 0xff00ff, w11) + 0x800080;
+            result[o] = (rb >>> 8 & 0xff00ff) | (ga & 0xff00ff00);
+        }
+    }
+
+    // the edges are translucent even for opaque sources
+    unpremultiply8(out);
+    return true;
+}
diff --git a/tests/rotate.js b/tests/rotate.js
index 84d1054b..8c5f2851 100644
--- a/tests/rotate.js
+++ b/tests/rotate.js
@@ -79,4 +79,25 @@ const panic = msg => {
         if (!Buffer.from(image.bitmap).equals(Buffer.from(image.rotate(360).bitmap)))
             panic('rotate 360 failed');
     }
+
+    // the fast sampling (the default) stays within a step of the precise one for opaque pixels, transparent ones
+    // within 2.5 steps where it shows (premultiplied, alpha within 2)
+    {
+        const photo = (await Image.decode(await fs.readFile('./bench/inputs/photo.jpg'))).crop(700, 300, 400, 300);
+        const transparent = photo.clone();
+        for (let i = 0; i < transparent.bitmap.length; i += 4) transparent.bitmap[i + 3] = (i >> 2) % transparent.width * 255 / (transparent.width - 1);
+        for (const source of [photo, transparent])
+            for (const [angle, resize] of [[30, true], [-17.5, true], [123, false], [0.3, true]]) {
+                const a = source.clone().rotate(angle, {resize, fast: false}).bitmap, b = source.clone().rotate(angle, {resize}).bitmap;
+                let opaque = 0, shown = 0;
+                for (let i = 0; i < a.length; i++) {
+                    if (a[i] === b[i]) continue;
+                    const al = a[i | 3], bl = b[i | 3];
+                    if ((i & 3) === 3) shown = Math.max(shown, Math.abs(a[i] - b[i]));
+                    else if (al === 255 && bl === 255) opaque = Math.max(opaque, Math.abs(a[i] - b[i]));
+                    else shown = Math.max(shown, Math.abs(a[i] * al - b[i] * bl) / 255);
+                }
+                if (opaque > 1 || shown > 2.5) panic(`fast rotate ${angle}: ${opaque} (opaque), ${shown} (shown)`);
+            }
+    }
 })();
diff --git a/tests/targets/rotate-45-noresize.png b/tests/targets/rotate-45-noresize.png
index 00840faa..8090ddd0 100644
Binary files a/tests/targets/rotate-45-noresize.png and b/tests/targets/rotate-45-noresize.png differ
diff --git a/tests/targets/rotate-45.png b/tests/targets/rotate-45.png
index 257925be..5ad6201c 100644
Binary files a/tests/targets/rotate-45.png and b/tests/targets/rotate-45.png differ