The best mobile video editing apps 2021 for android and iOS

Using a video editing app is critical for creating a stunning video and a winning marketing strategy.

However, these days, the best video editing apps are not just aimed at professionals working in the TV and movie industry. They’re also a great choice for business use, YouTube creators, social media influencers, and anyone wanting to make their holiday videos look better.

Whether you’re using a tablet or smartphone, Android or iOS, there’s a great video editing app out there for you. Often faster, more efficient and more intuitive than desktop software, they make it easy to do video editing tasks wherever you are.

There are several free and inexpensive video editing apps you can download that run the gamut from super simple to Hollywood-level powerful. So, whether you’re starting from scratch at a new business venture, are dabbling in social media as an influencer, already have an established brand that needs more video content, or are just interested in creating stunning videos for your TikTok, we have the apps for you. Read on to find the best fit for you.

Adobe Premiere Rush

Platform: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS (Cross-Platform)

Features: Cross-platform, Useful export options, Free starter plan, Full version needs a subscription

Aimed at the YouTube generation, Premiere Rush is a cross-platform, video editing app that’s much easier to use than Adobe’s more complex desktop tools.

Premiere Rush focuses on making it easy to process your clips quickly and upload them to social media by processes like automatically converting videos to the specific aspect ratios and quality levels required by each platform.

It’s also one of the best video editing apps for professionals, as it allows you to take the content you’ve been working on your desktop, and make further tweaks to it on a phone or tablet.

The app also has a simple interface with large icons and panels, making it very straightforward for standard video editing tasks

How do you get Premiere Rush?

You can subscribe to the $9.99 or £9.99 a month plan. The app even has a limited free starter plan.

Quik

Platform: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS

Features : Easy interface, Sync songs to footage, Horizontal levelling

Quik, the official GoPro app, was rebranded in March this year with a fresh look, incorporating the music-sync editing tools of the original Quik app.

The best video editing app for GoPro users, this video editing app automatically imports your action footage and makes it easy to do things like sync your clips to music, add photos, titles and timelapse sequences, and include graphs based on your stats.

Additional features such as the Horizon Levelling editor tweak the angle of your scene to correct things if your camera wasn’t mounted in line with the horizon.

This app is free, but with in-app purchases, you can get extra themes and filters, as well as the ability to auto-upload photos and videos to the cloud.

LumaFusion (iOS)

Platform: iOS

Features: No subscription needed, Multi-track editor, iOS only, No iCloud syncing

The best video editing app for iPhone and iPad users, LumaFusion is an iOS app that’s commonly used by journalists, filmmakers, and video producers to capture and edit videos on the run.

This app gives you six video/audio tracks for photos, videos, titles and graphics, along with an extra six audio tracks for narration, music and sound effects.

LumaFusion’s most impressive features are that any effect can be keyframed allowing precise adjustments to your project.  Other advanced tools on offer include overwriting capability, colour correction, a fully-featured audio mixer, lossless export and support for vertical video.

There are also endless sharing options and exporting options. One of the best video editing apps for professional creators out in the field, the fee of $29.99 is something of a bargain.

KineMaster

Platform: Android, iOS

Features: Multi-track editing, Precision control, Watermarks on the free version

KineMaster is one of the best video editing apps for professional use.

Available for both iOS and Android, it has high-end features such as blending modes, chroma-keying, and audio mixing.

This advanced app allows you to shoot, edit and export your footage on your phone or tablet via a multi-layer interface.

One of the best video editing apps for trimming clips and layers with frame-by-frame granularity, you can also adjust the audio clip timing with sub-frame accuracy.

Kinemaster is packed with advanced features, including instant edit previews, precise volume envelope control and colour LUT filters. You can also upload multiple layers of video (on supported devices), images and text, as well as multi-track audio.

The app is free to download but adds watermarks to videos for which you need a subscription to remove.

iMovie

Platform: iOS, Mac

Features: Free for Apple users, Not the most feature-rich, Not the most powerful

If you’re a beginner who wants to get started editing video and add titles, music, voiceovers and photos to it, this app has everything you need.

And, if you have an iPhone, iPad or Mac, you’ll have iMovie, as it’s automatically included with your hardware.

iMovie supports 4K on modern devices and integrates beautifully with the Apple ecosystem as expected. You can save clips to the iCloud drive or stream them to an Apple TV via AirPlay.

FilmoraGo

Platform: Android, iOS

Features: Free, No watermarks, No multi-track editing, No 4K support

The best free video editing app, that too with no watermarks, FilmaraGo is an app for iOS and Android made by Wondershare.

FilmaraGo lets you edit online HD videos without a steep learning curve. Thanks to its themed filters and effects, it can help even newbies make their videos look impressively professional.

Some in-app purchases are available, but not necessary for your video editing. And there are internal ads, as expected, but they aren’t especially intrusive.

So while it’s a basic app without multi-track editing or 4K support, it’s still one of the best video editing apps around.

Apple Clips

Platform: iOS

Features: Free

Easy to use

The best easy-to-use video editing app, AppleClips is made for ordinary folk to edit their home videos. Designed for iOS users, this free app allows you to create and send video messages, or tell video stories with filters, animated text, music, emoji, and stickers.

Primarily aimed at children and families, Apple Clips is pretty lightweight stuff, though it appears to be changing into a serious video editing app with each new update.

In the latest update, it got a refreshed interface, support for vertical and horizontal video, and HDR recording.

Filmmaker Pro (iOS)

Platform: iOS

Features: Video grading, Green screen support, No multi-track editing, Best features not free

Filmmaker Pro is another one of the best video editing apps for your iPhone. Enchanting users with some unique features, this app is primarily aimed at consumers but comes with some nice pro features too, including 30 filters, 17 transitions and Audiometer assisted voiceovers.

You also get video grading, superb green screen support, nearly 200 different fonts for your text overlays, and some advanced tools such as chroma keying.

Like many apps on this list, Filmmaker Pro is free to download, but you would need to pay for the full feature set and removing watermarks.

Inshot

Platform: iOS

Features: Free, No advanced features, Pay to remove watermarks, Easy to use

Geared towards creating clips for social media, Inshot is a good choice for influencers and marketers as it comes with a clear and easy-to-use interface and pre-built canvas sizes for everything from IGTV to TikTok.

Inshot makes it smooth and easy to import, trim and edit your clips together, then add filters, stickers, captions, emojis, and other fun things on top, as well as free music and sound effects.

The app is free but comes with ads, and your videos will be watermarked, which can be removed with a small monthly subscription. There are also one-off purchases for more advanced features.

ActionDirector

Platform: Android

Features: Free version, Slow and fast motion effects, Supports 4K, Basic editing only

An Android video editing app for action footage, in addition to being a basic video editing app it is also for capturing and editing action video footage.

ActionDirector offers some nifty action effects to apply to your shots beyond just making it easy to add titles and text.

You can also mix in music, and share video via social networks or slow down or speed up video segments with precision, to create eye-catching slow-motion or fast-motion scenes. The app also allows you to highlight specific sections of your video to replay or rewind.

ActionDirector is free, with in-app purchases for certain features.