The growing use of smartphones, tablets, and PCs has led to a constant need for new and engaging content. Technological advancements like 4G and the emergence of video editing apps have made videos a preferred content format because the human brain can better process visuals and sounds than plain words.
To keep the audience engaged, video content needs to be well-edited, creative, and entertaining. Let’s explore the best video editing apps and their features to help you create interesting videos.
Overview of Video Editing in the Modern Context
Editing has become a critical part of video content creation and marketing. It involves merging raw footage, images, text, and effects for a visually appealing narrative infused with creativity. However, combining these elements and creating a cohesive video requires good editing apps. You can download an app to edit videos and create content that appeals to your audience and earns you money.
Read on as we compare different platforms to help you identify the best video editing app for your needs.
Top 10 Video Editing Apps for 2024
Selecting the right video editing app is the first step towards creating captivating videos. To navigate this crowded market and pick the right one, we evaluate the top 10 video editing apps based on the benefits they offer professionals and amateurs, compatibility with your device, editing capabilities, usability, and pricing.
Adobe Premiere Rush
Adobe Premier Rush is a good choice if you’re a vlogger or social media content creator. Rush started as a mobile app, but a desktop version is now available.
Rush can quickly create videos, from shooting to editing, in minutes. It also converts long videos to bite-sized content for promoting your offerings on social media platforms.
Key Benefits for Professionals
- Provides four aspect ratios: 16:9 vertical and horizontal, 4:5 vertical, and square
- Excellent keyboard controls if you use the desktop version
- Offers extensive editing features to polish your video, including sharpening, vignetting, and adjusting exposure, shadows, and exposure
- Includes 16 transitions
- Supports all formats except 360-degree VR footage
Key Benefits for Amateurs
- Simple to use
- Suggests appropriate titles for every video
- Automatically sets features like lighting and focus
- Can choose the manual option for greater control
- Has an Auto Reframe feature to keep all prominent frames in the video
- Comes with 35 color effect filters for that perfect Instagram reel
Compatibility With Various Devices and Platforms
Rush works well on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS, but make sure your devices meet the following requirements:
- Android 9 or higher. Also, it works only on specific devices like Samsung, Google, Sony, OnePlus, and Xiaomi.
- iOS 13 or higher. It must have an A9 ARM or higher chip.
- Windows 10 version 1903 or higher. Installation through the Creative Cloud desktop app only.
- macOS 10.14 or later. Downloads through DMG.
Rush is ideal for professionals and amateurs who want to create stunning videos. Although it is not as extensive as Adobe Premier Pro and has shortcomings like no green screen and limited transitions, its simple interface and workflows make it a good choice for social video creators. Also, note that it’s not compatible with all devices. Make sure to check compatibility before downloading it.
Final Cut Pro X
Final Cut Pro X is one of the best video editing software for Apple users. Its sophisticated features, like multi-cam support, 360-degree footage editing, and trackless timelines, make it ideal for professional and casual video editors. Its simple user interface adds to its appeal.
Specific Features Tailored for Mac Users
Mac users can enjoy many advanced features, including the following:
- Intelligent motion tracking captures the right frames
- Support for iPhone Cinematic video mode editing for greater flexibility
- Voice isolation for better audio-video synchronization
- Automatic color management
- Improved workflow for faster editing
- Scene Removal Mask to remove the background
- More titles, transitions, and effects
- Organizes media using metadata for easier search and organization
- Use your iPad as a second monitor, provided it’s close to your desktop
Advanced Editing Capabilities
The highlight of Final Cut Pro X is its editing capabilities that help video creators produce engaging videos for their audiences. Here are the features that make Final Cut Pro X stand out in video editing:
- Magnetic timeline to help move, reorder, and trim movie clips without collisions or synchronization headaches
- Supports color coding to help identify different content types
- Bundles audio and video into a single package
- Multi-cam editing for greater versatility
- Trackless editing keeps editing tidy and mess-free.
- Built-in color grading
- Works well for a distributed editing team, as they can share the same video and audio while using different libraries to edit them
- Has extensive audio filters, limiters, and compressors to create the best audio
All these features make Final Cut Pro X one of the best video editing apps for Apple users. Though it could take some time to get used to its editing features, it is powerful once you master it.
iMovie
iMovie is a free and entry-level video editing software from Apple. It comes pre-installed on iOS and iPad. You can also remove the app and reinstall it from the Apple store.
Ease of Use for Beginners
iMovie is well-suited for beginners. The highlight of this tool is its uncluttered and intuitive user interface, which makes video editing less overwhelming for newbies. Some key features that make it highly accessible for beginners are:
- A standard three-pane interface, with source content on the top left, preview on the top right, and timelines at the bottom.
- Can drag clips down to the timeline to extend the running time.
- Clips in the source panel show an orange line when used
- Imports with most formats, including HEVC videos, HEIC photos, 360-degree video, and 4K
- Allows you to mark clips and sections as Favorites or Rejects
- Clip Connection feature to keep audio and video together for easy editing
- Precision Editor to show the clips before and after edits for quick comparison
- Can crop, trim, and rotate photos to get the desired effects.
Along with these features, it also integrates well with the Apple ecosystem.
Integration With Apple Ecosystem
iMovie is a part of the Apple ecosystem, and you can move files to other Apple devices. Other tasks you can do with this integration are:
- Start a project on one device, export it to iCloud, and continue editing from another Apple device.
- Open the iMovie project in Final Cut Pro X for using advanced editing tools.
- Add audio from iTunes.
- Display the iMovie on Apple TV
- Send the video via Mail to reach your target audience quickly.
- Works well with ClassKit for students who watch videos to complete assignments
Overall, iMovie is a simple video editing tool that works well for many situations. Its simple user interface is ideal for beginners, and its templates are a good starting point for creating engaging videos. Though it doesn’t have advanced features like multi-cam editing, tagging, or motion tracking, its color matching and audio tools are enough for simple productions.
DaVinci Resolve
DaVinci Resolve is a powerful application with advanced features, including cutting, keyframing, and color coding, to help professionals create the highest quality videos. However, the downside is that it uses extensive computer resources and has a steep learning curve.
High-end Features for Professional Video Editors
DaVinci Resolve, one of the best video editing apps for professional video editors, comes with the following features:
- Drag and drop files or folders from anywhere
- It works well with all professional video and audio file formats, like H.264, H.265, EXR, DNx, and ProRes.
- You can mark the “in” and “out” points in clips to identify the parts you want to use and move them on the timeline.
- Its Edit Overlay feature provides seven ways to edit a clip: insert, overwrite, replace, fit to fill, place on top, ripple overwrite, or append on top.
- DaVinci Resolve automatically trims and tightens your clips to save time. It also supports context-sensitive trimming.
- It offers an extensive transitions and effects library.
- The Text Generator feature can create impressive 2D and 3D titles.
- It animates any clip or effect.
Besides the above features, DaVinci Resolve eases post-production.
Post-production Strengths
DaVinci Resolve is a complete post-production platform that allows team members to collaborate on the same project. The features that make DaVinci Resolve a go-to tool for post-production are the following:
- Blackmagic Cloud allows team members to add their creations for review while enabling project managers to stay on top of workflows and progress.
- Its Color Control Panels put all the critical parameters under your natural hand positions for increased productivity.
- It supports a wide range of workflows while keeping the interface intuitive.
- It offers many color grading tools, including Luma, HSL, and 3D keyers.
- You get a ton of tools for post-production, like HDR tools, color warper, and elastic wave audio retiming.
DaVinci Resolve combines editing, visual effects, post-production audio, motion graphics, and color correction to provide the perfect video you want. It also comes with a free version with many features of the paid version. Overall, you get a complete production studio through a single app!
KineMaster
KineMaster is one of the quickest video and photo editing apps today. It comes with a simple interface for editing videos of all lengths. You can insert videos, images, graphs, clips, audio, and other content formats in KineMaster with a single drag and drop.
Mobile Editing Capabilities
A highlight of KineMaster is its powerful editing capabilities, all through a mobile app. Below are some of its mobile editing capabilities:
- With KineMaster, you can shoot a video or export existing ones from your mobile device.
- It allows you to edit the color, size, and video length.
- You can easily add images, special effects, texts, and stickers to make your videos attractive to viewers.
- It supports sound, visual effects, and animation.
- You can reverse, speed up, or slow down videos.
- Adding or enhancing the audio using music, voiceovers, and voice changers is easy.
- Its Full-Screen Timeline supports professional-grade video editing.
- Use the Chroma Key to composite your green screen video with other videos.
- You can remove backgrounds with the AI-based Magic Remover feature.
- You can create videos with transparent backgrounds.
Unique Features
Besides its editing features, KineMaster also comes with many unique features:
- It offers thousands of trending video templates. Also, you can create and share your video templates.
- This tool saves your project in cloud storage.
- KineMaster enhances the image quality with the AI-based Super Resolution tool.
- It supports up to 4K resolution and 60 Frames Per Second (FPS).
- This tool provides royalty-free BGMs and audio clips.
- Its powerful audio editor has advanced features, including pitch control, volume, reverberation, and voice modulation.
Even with these advanced features, KineMaster has a reasonable price tag. The standard version is free and works well across all devices. For professional videos, upgrade to the paid plan for removing the watermark. It costs $3.99 per month or $39.99 per year.
In all, KineMaster is a convenient video editing tool with advanced audio and video editing features.
Filmora Go
Filmore Go is a video editing app with an excellent and intuitive user interface. It is affordable and gets the job done in most scenarios. Moreover, it leverages the latest AI capabilities to create stunning videos with little effort from you.
Balancing Between Advanced Features and Beginner-friendliness
Filmore Go comes with many basic editing features. Although it has advanced features, like keyframing and motion tracking, it doesn’t offer the fine control that video editing professionals need. Still, it balances advanced users and beginner-friendliness with the following features:
- It removes the background of any video.
- You can select and edit any unwanted object or background from your clip.
- With its Instant Mode, you can create videos in minutes.
- It offers a ChatGPT plug-in to create text.
- Allows you to mask objects when needed.
- This tool uses AI to create videos from text prompts.
- It generates video thumbnails for social media sharing.
Fillmore Go’s features support beginners and professional video editors. However, there’s a learning curve for the advanced features as they are not readily visible in the user interface.
Cross-platform Availability
Filmora Go offers a unique cross-platform license for six devices: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, iPad, and Android tablets. This plan is affordable at $59.99 per year and works well for people who want to create videos for different devices.
Besides the cross-platform plan, Filmora Go also offers:
- Subscription plan: $49.99/year
- Perpetual plan: $79.99/year
Filmora Go is a convenient video editing app for iPhone, Windows, Mac, and Android. Its seamless integration and balanced set of features make it a good choice for all kinds of video editors.
InShot
InShot is one of the best video maker apps today. Its AI capabilities also help edit videos quickly.
Ideal for Social Media Content
This powerful video maker and editor is well-suited for creating bite-sized social media content. Its key features include the following:
- It comes with many built-in templates.
- This tool removes video backgrounds.
- You can easily add glitter and AI effects to create viral videos.
- It is easy to trim, cut, split, and freeze video clips.
- It offers a wide range of stickers and filters.
Besides social media, you can also use InShot to edit existing videos.
Features for Quick Edits
Some exclusive features that support quick editing are:
- Generates and edits captions
- Replaces dull backgrounds with more colorful ones
- Smoothens slow-motion videos
- Provides a cinematic feel
- Supports many transitions
- Access to a royalty-free music library
Overall, InShot is a popular choice for quickly editing videos, especially for sharing them on social media. Its user-friendly interface and extensive editing options make it ideal for all users.
PowerDirector
PowerDirector is one of the best video editing apps for those looking to leverage emerging technologies. It helps you create videos with amazing effects to enthrall your audiences.
Editing Features
PowerDirector has integrated the latest AI advancements to give you more flexibility and control with less effort. Below are the powerful editing features of this tool:
- It offers nine blending and layering modes for comprehensive flexibility.
- PowerDirector Removes background or unwanted objects from your footage.
- This tool applies body effects to moving objects.
- It comes with thousands of templates and special effects.
- It can add text, graphics, and effects to objects as they move.
- This tool supports split-screen video collages.
- You can create green-screen effects with the chroma key engine.
Despite its advanced features, PowerDirector’s user interface remains simple.
User interface
PowerDirector’s redesigned user interface makes it easy to edit videos, fine-tune them, add effects, fix the audio, and more. Here are some outstanding features of the new UI.
- The main toolbar runs across the top instead of the left-hand pane. This change makes it intuitive to find the features you want.
- There are fewer pop-up windows for adjusting text and animations.
- All the complex features are hidden behind the Advanced option on the Edit panel. This move ensures that beginners don’t feel too overwhelmed by its features.
- The Auto Object Selection Tool helps to select the primary object in an image for further edits.
Overall, PowerDirector is one of the few tools that updates its offerings as newer technologies emerge. Due to its AI integration, you don’t need specialized skills to create captivating videos.
VivaVideo
VivaVideo is a mobile video editing app with thousands of video effects, themes, fonts, transitions, and stickers. Using this app, you can cut and combine intuitive clips to quickly create videos with the desired effects.
Slideshow and Short Video Production
VivaVideo’s intuitive editing capabilities make it a good choice for creating slideshows and short videos. Its features that help with slideshow and video creation include the following:
- Offers many built-in templates
- Easy to apply effects, stickers, and filters
- Works well on both Android and iOS
- Allows you to add interactive fonts
- Supports quick trimming, video splitting, and copying capabilities
- Ideal for creating slideshows and presentations for weddings, anniversaries, and birthdays.
The above editing features are matched with a user-friendly interface.
Ease of Use and Creative Features
VivaVideo also supports creativity and imagination with some unique features.
- With VivaVideo, you can shoot, edit, and share videos within minutes.
- It supports multilayered tracks for both videos and audio.
- It comes with a built-in music library.
- You can adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, and hue.
Overall, VivaVideo has decent editing tools to add fun to your videos or to create a slideshow of your memories. However, it’s not the best choice for professional video editors because of its limited features.
LumaFusion (iOS Exclusive)
LumaFusion is a top-notch video mobile editor for iOS devices. A highlight of this tool is its timeline model that blends track-based editing with a magnetic timeline to help you create beautiful timeline videos.
Advanced Features Tailored for iOS Users
LumaFusion also comes with many advanced features tailored specifically for iOS users, such as:
- This tool offers keyframed motion effects.
- It creates beautiful multilayer titles.
- LumaFusion allows you to import fonts, logos, graphics, shapes, and other custom objects from your iOS devices.
- It comes with royalty-free music tracks.
- It enables you to export your project to Final Cut Pro X.
With these features, LumaFusion offers comparable control and flexibility with desktop-class editing tools.
Comparison with Desktop-class Editing Tools
Let’s see how LumaFusion compares with desktop-class editing tools.
| Feature | LumaFusion | Desktop-class editing tool |
|---|---|---|
| Editing | Easy and simple | Can be complex |
| Accessibility | To all iOS device users | Need a high-end desktop |
| On-the-go | Flexible and helps capture memories | Not flexible |
| Touch option | Ideal for those who prefer editing by touch | Ideal for those who prefer keyboards and specialized hardware for editing |
Overall, LumaFusion is a quick and flexible option to edit videos without losing your professional touch.
Now that we’ve seen some of the best video editing apps, let’s talk about how you can choose the right one for your needs.
Choosing the Right App for Your Needs
Consider these six factors when choosing a video editing app.
Budget
While price is a top factor, it must not be the deciding one. Start with a list of what you need and narrow your list based on it. Eventually, use price as a determining factor if your final list of products has comparable features.
Ease of Use
Your tool must be easy to use, especially if you’re new to video editing. Also, if you prefer to edit for personal use, opt for tools with a simple user interface, even if they have limited features.
Format Support
Based on your project and the kind of files you’ll be working with, select a compatible tool. In general, it’s good to go for a tool that supports most formats.
Advanced Editing
If you’re a professional video editor or want to use multiple elements in your video, opt for tools with advanced features like multi-cam editing, motion tracking, and AI effects.
Special Effects
AI usage is slowly catching up due to its versatility while reducing time and effort. Although you won’t have the fine-grained control needed for professional editing, consider tools that leverage AI for special effects.
Customer Support
An overlooked aspect is customer support. But, when you face problems, ensure your tool has a responsive and helpful team.
Thus, these are some factors to consider while choosing the best video editing app.
Future Trends in Video Editing Software and Apps
Video editing software and apps are becoming more user-centric while leveraging technological advancements. In particular, software developers are looking to use AI to produce accurate results with limited effort. Along with AI, cloud-based editing is gaining momentum to cater to a diverse and remote workforce.
Moreover, the increasing power and capabilities of smartphones and tablets help users edit videos on the go, contributing to the democratization of video editing tools. These trends are reshaping video editing, making it more accessible and efficient for all users.
Explore the Best Video Editing Apps
The video editing space is evolving as more users prefer to watch videos for learning and entertainment. This trend is boosting demand for video content and creating more opportunities for video producers and editors.
That is why we looked at the best video editing apps and their unique features to help you find the best fit for your needs and budget. With the right app, you can optimize the viewing experience of your target audience.
The best video editing app will depend on the kind of video editing you do, the device you have, and whether you’re a beginner, enthusiast, or professional. Start your exploration with the video editing apps listed above.
