Best Video Editing Apps For Instagram Stories

While you can do basic video editing on Instagram, it’s definitely not the best option out there. If you want to import videos and use some of the more advanced editing tools, your best bet is to use one of these professional video editing apps.

There is simply no reason to use Instagram when you can make professional videos with these apps. Let’s take a look at some of the top options for Video editing apps for instagram.

 Horizon

horizon

Most Instagram users record their videos in portrait mode since it’s best-suited for Instagram, and you’re able to fill the entire screen of a user’s phone. However, almost every other platform supports videos shot in horizontal. If you want your Instagram videos to match your YouTube or Twitter videos, Horizon will avoid shooting in portrait mode no matter how you hold the camera.

You can tilt the camera up, down, back and forth, and the captured video will always be in horizontal. This helps tremendously in ensuring your horizontal videos look clean and professional.

Key Features:

  • Lets you use a horizontal viewfinder
  • Adds feeling to your creations with real-time filters
  • Gives you options to upload items or record footage directly on the app
  • Shoots in slow or fast-motion
  • Shoots in 2k resolution
  • Gives you an in-app tutorial on how to capture and edit your first videos

Horizon offers a free version for Android users. However, the features are limited, and you can only record video clips up to 15 seconds. They also have a watermark in the bottom corner, and each video ends with a Horizon brand advertisement. Having said that, investing $1 to unlock all features and have no advertisements might be worth it.

iOS users still don’t have access to a free version and will pay a one-time payment of $1.99. When you pay for the iOS version, you’ll unlock all features right away.

Who Is Horizon Best Suited for?

Horizon will best benefit Instagram users who prefer a horizontal view on their videos.

Seen: Stories Maker for Dynamic & Animated Stories

If you’re looking to add profession-level animations to your Instagram Stories, Seen is full of slick and seamless transitions!

With Seen, you can easily create slides that have smooth, animated and engaging transitions between each 15-second post — so your audience will be hooked in and less likely to tap away from your posts.

Plus, Seen has animated text options that help bring your posts to life, making even a simple product photodynamic and super-engaging.

Free download: iOS (Note: Premium membership is required to unlock certain templates and transitions).

Adobe Premiere Rush

adobe instagram editing tool

Previously referred to as Adobe Premiere Clip, Adobe Premiere Rush is a free video editing app that’s connected with Adobe Premiere Pro.

They offer 2 forms of editing to cater to your needs: freeform and automatic. Freeform mode will let you take control and do all of the editing yourself while automatic mode will create the video for you with smooth transitions and selected footage clipping.

Key Features:

  • Lets you sync everything to the cloud
  • Transfers your work into Adobe Premiere Pro and edit further
  • Downloads on any device
  • Exports optimized for all social platforms, including Instagram
  • Includes some features found in Adobe Premiere Pro like built-in transitions, filters, and text are available
  • Allows you to make your own videos or let the app make it for you

Like Magisto, AI powers Adobe Premiere Rush, which they call Adobe Sensei. This AI will capture all of the best moments of your clips and mash them together automatically. However, it can also make the footage a bit rocky by cutting to different clips at random moments, resulting in the video making no sense at all.

The app is free to download and use, but only comes with 2GB of storage. If you need more than that, you can pay $9.99/month for the Premiere Rush Single App.

Who Is Adobe Premiere Rush Best Suited for?

If you already have other Adobe products downloaded, this app will feel familiar to you in terms of editing. Their freeform mode is one of the most versatile tools for creating high quality, customized videos.

Later to Schedule Your Instagram Stories Content

Posting regularly on Instagram Stories is key to building an audience and increasing your views, and you can plan your stories just like you would plan other social posts in your content calendar.

Now instead of coming up with new stories daily, you can add your photos and text directly to your Instagram Stories scheduler!

By scheduling your content in advance, you can make sure you’re posting consistently and staying top of mind with your followers.

Plus, it gives you an opportunity to take a bird’s eye view of your stories design and content — so you’ll never share an off-brand post again!

All you have to do is drag and drop your stories on to the storyboard tool, and then re-arrange them to fit the order and look that you want.

Next, you can add links or captions to your scheduled stories, which will be copied to your phone when it’s time to post.

iMovie

imovie

Designed for iOS users, iMovie may be the easiest to use Instagram video editing tool for you. It’s a well organized, user-friendly interface that helps you create good quality videos with many great editing features. You can take control and edit on your own with the movie option, or let iMovie edit for you with the trailer option.

Key Features:

  • Allows you to stay organized by putting all your content in different media libraries
  • Includes access to 30 video filters and 20 audio filters
  • Matches color to make your video look more consistent and tweak the white balance
  • Supports HD and 4K
  • Includes a stability feature, which most Instagram editing tools don’t have
  • Lets you share easily with social media platforms

All of these features come at no cost as iMovie is free.

Who is iMovie Best Suited for?

iMovie is great for beginners who are looking for something simple that still gives you good video quality. Unfortunately, it’s only available to iOS users.

Canva for Customizable Templates to Match Your Brand Aesthetic

Canva’s mobile app is another super-simple way to create beautiful Instagram Stories templates — and it thrives in giving users creative flexibility.

From designing your own templates from scratch, to customizing fonts, images, colors, and layouts, you have the power to make it yours.

For Instagram Stories, there’s plenty of ready-made templates to choose from, and you can customize your template with millions of background options, 130 different fonts, and tons of graphics to create “on-brand” templates for your business:

Once you’ve nailed your Canva template, it’s easy to maintain a consistent brand aesthetic on your Instagram Stories!

Creating branded Instagram Stories templates will help save you time and maintain a cohesive presence across your stories, posts and business as a whole. And the best news — no graphic design experience is necessary!

Photography by (from left to right): Rawpixel.com, Evgeniya Porechenskaya, DODOMO. Available on Shutterstock. Images created with Canva.

Free download: iOS & Android

WeVideo

wevideo instagram editing tool

WeVideo is a great video editing tool that’s cloud-based, making it accessible by anyone, anywhere in the world, at any time. Because of this handy feature, there are over 30 million existing accounts. And, if you’re looking for more than just a quick and simple editor, WeVideo has plans that include features to take your videos to the next level.

Key Features:

  • Allows different people to get in there and make edits on the same footage with its cloud-based feature
  • Includes compatible on almost any device including Windows, Mac, IOS, Android, and Chromebook
  • Creates square, vertical, and horizontal videos
  • Includes features like green screen, screen recording, speed effects, and licensed music

WeVideo offers 5 plans. The most basic plan is free, but as you can imagine, it doesn’t provide many features. You’ll get 1GB of cloud storage, and only be allowed 5 minutes of publish time per month. If your business is planning on getting serious about uploading videos on Instagram, it would be beneficial to invest in a paid plan.

Here is a look at the paid plans:

  • Power: $4.99/month
  • Unlimited: $7.99/month
  • Professional: $17.99/month
  • Business: $29.99/month

The power plan only gives you 30 minutes of publish time per month. But publish time is unlimited with all of the other plans. All of the plans offer a single-seat license except the business plan, which offers a team license with 3 seats.

Who Is WeVideo Best Suited for?

WeVideo is an excellent option for small to medium businesses looking to create high-quality videos for Instagram. Its simple interface and iCloud sharing makes it an enjoyable video editing tool all around. The iCloud feature also makes it easier for remote companies to share and edit projects.

Apple Clips

apple clips instagram video editing tools

Apple Clips was created by Apple as a dead-simple, “what you see is what you get” video editing app. It’s feature-rich but doesn’t offer many advanced options for those looking to take their editing beyond the starting line. However, the simple functionality of Apple Clips is precisely the reason why people prefer to use it.

Key Features:

  • Lets you edit videos with straightforward controls
  • Allows for creativity with fun stickers, emojis, and posters
  • Adds music from your library, or choose from Apple Clips tracks
  • Records in-app and drag and pinch to zoom in or out
  • Shares directly to Instagram or any other social platforms

As is the case with most of Apple’s products, you must have an iOS device to download it. Apple Clips supports any iOS device. However, to be able to use all the features, you must have an iPhone 7 or later, iPad (6th generation), or the 2017 iPad Pro or later.

And the best part is that Apple Clips is 100% free!

Who Is Apple Clips Best Suited for? 

Apple Clips best suits iOS users who are looking for an easy Instagram video editing tool that allows for plenty of creativity but doesn’t overwhelm the user with complicated features.

VSCO

vsco


If you’re interested in photography, you probably already have a VSCO account or at least have heard about it. In 2017, VSCO upped its game by creating a video editor. It’s relatively new, but it’s a great tool to use for your Instagram videos.

Having a VSCO account also gives you access to their VSCO community, where you can get access to a huge network of other creative users.

Key Features:

  • Includes a library with 200+ presets
  • Offers advanced editing tools like HSL (high-speed link) and borders
  • Shares your work for a chance to be curated on the VSCO community
  • Gives you access to tutorials with tips and tricks to help you develop your skills further
  • Lets you upload anything with no size or length limitations
  • Uploads 4K videos up to 30 frames per second, and 60 frames per second up to 1080

VSCO offers a 7-day free trial so you can decide if it’s worth it for you. After your free trial, you’ll pay a low price of $19.99 per year with access to the video and image editor.

Who Is VSCO Best Suited for?

If you’re already familiar with VSCO, this could be the easiest Instagram video editing tool for you. VSCO doesn’t cost much, and you also get access to an active community of users. VSCO also offers the most presets out of any other tool.

FilmoraGo

filmorago

FilmoraGo is a free video editing app to spice up your Instagram videos. This app was worth the mention because it’s free, and it doesn’t add any branded watermarks or advertising to your videos. There’s also no limit on the length of video you can record, edit, or share.

Key Features:

  • Imports videos from camera roll or social networks like Instagram and Facebook
  • Offers many stylish features that look professional
  • Includes a library of licensed songs that you can choose from, or you can import your own
  • Exports to the 1:1 Instagram ratio
  • Allows you to reverse, speed up or slow down your video
  • Lets you choose built-in transitions, add text, and add still and motion features

FilmoraGo has all the ingredients to make an entertaining, visually appealing Instagram video. Plus, the fact that you won’t get watermarks, ads, or a time limit on your video is everything.

FilmoraGo is entirely free, and you’ll only pay extra if you want additional unique features like holiday and retro effects.

Who Is FilmoraGo Best Suited for?

FilmoraGo is for anyone looking for a cheap, simple way to make fun Instagram videos. However, it’s not the most developed app out there. If you’re a company looking to create super polished videos through heavy editing, it would be more beneficial to go with something like Adobe Premiere Rush. That way, you can connect to Adobe Premiere Pro, which could support heavier edits.

Over Text Graphics

Whether you’re sharing tips, inspirational quotes, or want to add a creative twist to your campaign, Over is a great app for Instagram Stories that lets you overlay text and graphics onto your photos and videos!

Over has a “gazillion” photos, fonts, graphics, templates and tools to choose from to help you create high-quality, on-brand content.

Using Instagram Stories templates is one of the easiest ways to upgrade your stories, and Over makes it easy to add a little movement to your perfectly on-brand content.

Over’s stock video library has tons of different animations you can choose to bring some life to your creation.

Whether you pick a template or start from scratch; the options are seemingly endless. Their loyal community even has a #bestofover hashtag to help you find inspiration from other creators if you’re ever feeling stuck!

Looking for a step-by-step guide? Watch this video to learn how to create stunning Instagram Stories for your feed — tune for free to see just how quick and easy it can be:https://www.youtube.com/embed/BjJj6iUMng4?autoplay=0&mute=0&controls=1&origin=https%3A%2F%2Flater.com&playsinline=1&showinfo=0&rel=0&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&enablejsapi=1&widgetid=3

Feeling inspired? We teamed up with Over to share the 10 graphic design trends that will be HUGE on Instagram in 2021 — it has everything you need to get ahead of the curve!

Free download: iOS & Android

Filmm for on Trend Video Editing

Born out a collaboration from Instagram giants Zoella and A Beautiful Mess, Filmm is one of the latest apps on the scene.

With +100 filters and effects to choose from, film-inspired frames and templates, multi-clip editing and royalty-free audio tracks baked into the app, it’s easy to see why this is quickly becoming a go-to app for Instagram Stories video edits.

Plus, if you’re loving the “vintage tech” trend, this is the app for you — in just a few taps you can transform your shot-on-mobile footage into a dreamy, old-school showreel for Instagram Stories.

Free download: iOS (with the option to unlock added features on a Filmm+ subscription at $29.99 per year or $5.99 per month.)

Smash Balloon

Smash Balloon Homepage

Smash Balloon is the world’s leading social media feed plugin and the best way to grow your Instagram followers.

This plugin allows you to leverage your site’s traffic to connect with more people on Instagram. From there, you can use the other tools on this list to engage those new followers and transform them into loyal customers.

How does this work?

Smash Balloon can add your Instagram feed to your website in just a few clicks.

Plus, you can tailor the feed to match your site’s look and style. That means you’ll display your Instagram videos without distracting or harming your visitor’s UX.

These feeds can be displayed in a variety of layouts, and you don’t need any coding experience to embed feeds on your site in seconds.

So when your site’s traffic arrives from other marketing channels, they’ll get a glimpse of your Instagram content.

As a result, you’ll see more people switching over to your Instagram account and following you. Over time, you can nurture these new followers and guide them down your sales funnels.

At the end of the day, this means more followers AND more sales for you.

Key Features

  • Fast setup
  • No coding required
  • Customizable feeds
  • Lightweight for optimized page performance
  • And much more…

Get started with Smash Balloon today!

And that’s all for today! These have been 15 of the best Instagram video editing tools on the market.

Plus, we shared 3 expert tools that you can use to convert your Instagram followers into happy (and paying) customers.

Conclusion

These days, Instagram allows you to import and edit videos, but if you’re looking for more features – things like green screen, 360° video, etc. – your best bet is to use a video editing app.

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