TikTok is a popular short-form video app that allows users to create and share 15 to 60 second videos. As of January 2023, TikTok has over 1.1 billion monthly active users globally (Source). In the United States alone, there are over 150 million monthly TikTok users (Source).
With the viral nature of TikTok, creators aim to produce high-quality, entertaining videos that capture audience attention immediately. This requires video editing skills to customize clips, add effects, insert text, and more. Understanding the top video editing apps for TikTok can help creators enhance their content.
Types of Video Editing Needed for TikTok
When creating videos for TikTok, there are a few key types of editing you’ll likely need to do:
Trimming/Cutting Videos – One of the most common video edits on TikTok is trimming down longer videos to keep only the best parts. TikTok videos are limited to 3 minutes for regular accounts and 10 minutes for TikTok Pro accounts, so you’ll need to cut longer videos to fit. The best TikTok editing apps make it easy to trim the start and end points and cut out any unnecessary middle sections.
According to research from Influencer Marketing Hub, trimming videos to highlight the most engaging parts is essential for creating effective TikTok content (https://influencermarketinghub.com/tiktok-video-editing-apps). The key is to trim out dull moments and keep only the most interesting, sharable portions of your footage.
There are several excellent video editing apps designed specifically for creating high-quality TikTok videos. The top video editing apps for TikTok include InShot, CapCut, VivaVideo, and Adobe Premiere Rush. These apps provide powerful editing tools and effects to enhance videos in the quick, engaging TikTok style.
Top Video Editing Apps for TikTok
InShot
InShot is one of the most popular free video editing apps for both iOS and Android. It provides professional-level editing tools with an intuitive interface perfect for TikTok. Key features include trimming, merging, and cutting clips, various visual effects, text and sticker overlays, and music. InShot makes it easy to export properly formatted vertical videos optimized for TikTok.
CapCut
CapCut is a highly-rated free video editor designed exclusively for TikTok. It offers a huge range of stylish effects, transitions, filters, and more to give videos a professional, captivating look. CapCut provides advanced editing features like speed control, multi-layering, trimming, and screen recording. It also includes an extensive music library and automatically formats videos for TikTok.
VivaVideo
VivaVideo is a free app with powerful editing tools and effects for creating stunning TikTok videos. Key features include trimming, merging, transitions, texts, effects, filters, and sticker overlays. VivaVideo makes it easy to record high-quality videos directly in the app and offers a library of background music. The simple interface is easy to navigate for quick and polished TikTok edits.
Adobe Premiere Rush
Adobe Premiere Rush is a premium video editing app designed for on-the-go video creation. It provides professional-grade tools in an intuitive mobile interface. Key features like trimming, transitions, titles, audio editing, color correction, and auto-ducking help enhance videos with TikTok-friendly effects and music. Videos can be directly exported to TikTok at the ideal dimensions and format.
InShot
InShot is one of the most popular free video editing apps for TikTok. It’s easy to use with a simple interface and has all the key editing features needed for creating great TikTok videos.
Some of the key features of InShot include:
- Trimming and splitting video clips
- Adding text, stickers, filters, music, and sound effects
- Adjusting video speed
- Cropping and rotating videos
- Adjusting video volume
InShot makes it easy to export videos in square format ideal for TikTok. Videos can be exported at HD 1080p quality. InShot is free but offers paid upgrades to remove watermarks and access additional features.
Pros of using InShot: https://www.mobileappdaily.com/product-review/inshot-video-editor
- Intuitive and easy to use interface
- Lots of effects, filters, stickers, text options
- Free with no video length limits
Cons:
- Lower resolution and frame rates than some advanced editors
- Watermark on free version videos
CapCut
CapCut is an easy-to-use yet powerful video editing app made specifically for short social media videos like those on TikTok. Some of the key features of CapCut include:
- Hundreds of templates and effects to easily create high-quality videos
- Tools to trim, splice, and merge clips
- Options to add text, stickers, filters, transitions, and more
- Speed controls to adjust the pace of videos
- Multi-layer timelines for advanced editing
- Music library with trending audio and sound effects
The pros of CapCut are that it’s free, intuitive to learn, and has all the key features needed for short-form social videos. The templates, effects, and creative tools allow users to make professional-looking videos without much effort. The cons are that CapCut lacks some advanced features like keyframing, color grading, and motion tracking that are available in premium desktop editing software. But for straightforward TikTok videos, CapCut provides more than enough functionality.
Overall, CapCut is considered one of the top video editing apps for TikTok users given its specialization for short vertical videos. As Kevin Makice states in his review on Mobile App Daily, “Capcut is a lighter version of advanced video maker products like Adobe Premiere for desktops. But it’s easy to use and purpose-built for social media videos.”
VivaVideo
VivaVideo is another top video editing app for TikTok. Some of the key features include a library of video effects, music library, photo transitions, voice changers, filters, stickers, titles, and blur effects According to AppPicker. VivaVideo makes it easy to customize and edit videos with various editing tools.
A major pro of VivaVideo is that it has a large selection of effects, filters, transitions and more to help make creative TikTok videos. There are also helpful tutorial features within the app to learn how to use it. The app renders videos quickly so you can preview edits in real-time. On the downside, some users find the interface crowded and overwhelming. There are also occasional bugs and glitches according to some reviews per AppPicker.
Adobe Premiere Rush
Adobe Premiere Rush is a powerful video editing app developed by Adobe that allows users to shoot, edit, and share professional-looking videos quickly and easily. Some of the key features of Adobe Premiere Rush include:
- Intuitive editing interface optimized for mobile devices
- Ability to shoot videos directly in the app or import existing clips
- Tools for trimming, splicing, overlays, transitions, audio, color, animations, and more
- Preset templates for common video types like stories, YouTube videos, etc.
- Sync projects across devices for seamless editing on mobile or desktop
- Built-in sharing to leading social platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram
Adobe Premiere Rush stands out for its professional-grade video editing capabilities despite its mobile interface. It gives users granular control over edits like audio ducking, color correction, graphics, and animations. The app simplifies complex editing tasks like adding music, titles, and transitions (MobileAppDaily).
However, Premiere Rush does have some limitations. There is a cap on project length and resolution quality. Some users may find the interface overwhelming at first compared to simpler mobile editing apps. And it requires a monthly or annual subscription, which can get expensive. But for TikTok creators who want to elevate their video production quality, Premiere Rush is one of the best mobile video editors available today.
Comparison of Top Apps
When comparing the top video editing apps for TikTok, there are a few key factors to consider:
Features:
InShot, CapCut, and VivaVideo offer robust editing features like trimming, filters, text overlays, stickers, transitions, and more. Adobe Premiere Rush has more advanced capabilities but can be overly complex for quick TikTok edits.
Cost:
InShot and VivaVideo have free versions but additional features require paid subscriptions. CapCut is completely free. Adobe Premiere Rush requires a paid subscription.
Ease of Use:
InShot, CapCut, and VivaVideo have intuitive interfaces optimized for mobile devices. Adobe Premiere Rush has a steeper learning curve.
Platforms Supported:
InShot, CapCut, and VivaVideo are available on both iOS and Android. Adobe Premiere Rush is iOS only.
When weighing these factors, CapCut emerges as the best option for most TikTok creators. It provides powerful editing tools, is completely free, and is easy to use on both operating systems.
The Best App for Most TikTok Users
Based on the comparison and analysis of the top video editing apps for TikTok, the best option for most TikTok users is InShot. InShot strikes the right balance of powerful editing features, ease of use, and availability across platforms.
Unlike some other options, InShot is completely free to use with no watermarks on exports. The app provides all the key editing tools needed for short-form social videos, including trimming, filters, transitions, text and stickers. Simple tools like trimming and splicing clips make it easy to cut videos to the 15 or 60 second limits on TikTok.
InShot also has a full array of audio editing features to layer sounds, voiceovers, and music. The library of licensed music tracks is a big plus for easily finding trending songs. Users can also import their own audio files. Basic color correcting tools help polish the look of videos.
While not quite as robust as a desktop editor, InShot packs in a lot of features for mobile use. The interface is intuitive with drag and drop editing. Simple tools and effects make creative editing approachable for beginners.
InShot is free on both iOS and Android. This cross-platform availability makes it easy to edit videos on the go from any device. For these reasons, InShot emerges as the recommended choice for most people looking to craft great-looking TikTok videos.
Conclusion
In summary, for your average TikTok user looking to create unique and high-quality videos simply and quickly, CapCut is likely the best video editing app choice currently. With its user-friendly interface optimized specifically for short-form vertical videos, plus advanced editing tools like video/audio separation, multi-layering, and special effects, CapCut makes it easy to produce engaging TikTok videos without needing professional editing skills. While apps like InShot and VivaVideo have their strengths, and Adobe Premiere Rush offers more robust tools for experienced users, CapCut provides the best balance of ease-of-use and advanced capabilities tailored to TikTok. So if you’re looking for the one video editing app that can take your TikTok content creation to the next level, CapCut is highly recommended.