Instagram’s Highly Anticipated Video Editing App, Edits, Has Arrived
Instagram Edits
After months of teasers and sneak peeks, Instagram has officially launched Edits, a standalone video editing app.
The app directly competes with ByteDance’s popular CapCut, but Instagram says Edits is specifically designed for creators and mobile-first videos.
In contrast, CapCut and other tools have increasingly expanded beyond that focus, supporting team workflows and formats outside of mobile.
Inside the App: What Edits Can Do Today
Edits is built around five core areas:
Ideas: Jot down ideas or notes on saved Reels
Inspiration: Browse and remix trending Reels, save audio
Projects: Organize and manage multiple videos in one hub
Camera: Capture up to 10 minutes, access green screen, music, countdown, and touch-up tools, then publish in high-quality video with no watermarks
Insights: Access insights for existing posts and Reels published from Edits, including new metrics like Skip Rate, Like Rate, Comment Rate, and Save Rate
What’s Coming Next
Instagram says Edits was built with direct feedback from creators, and it has several new features in development:
Keyframes: Pinpoint exact moments to animate the rotation, position, and scale of clips
Modify: Quickly change the look and feel of videos with AI
Collaboration: Share drafts with creators or brand partners for feedback
Customization: Access more fonts, filters, animations, sound effects, and royalty-free music
Why It Matters: The Bigger Picture
Edits arrives as ByteDance and the US government work on a long-term plan for TikTok and CapCut to remain in the US. Meanwhile, CapCut has been increasing subscription costs and paywalling features that were previously free, prompting some creators to explore other options.
While CapCut offers more advanced editing features, Edits delivers something valuable for Instagram-native creators, as creator and talent manager Lloyd George points out:
“I’m determined to put as many of my eggs in the Instagram basket. This means using as many of their features and apps as they have. Not because they are better, but rather because that's where I want to grow.”
He continues, “The app isn’t the best platform on the market, but it is the best app for people who specifically want to grow on Instagram.”
Edits also highlights a broader trend of investment in standalone apps from major tech platforms. From ByteDance’s continued investment in CapCut to help creators and marketers produce organic and paid content for TikTok, to Pinterest’s launch of Shuffles, which birthed its popular Collages feature, to Meta’s own launch of Threads to compete with X.
With Edits, Instagram adds to its priority of providing creators with best-in-class creative tools, including the ability to test features in Edits before they’re added to the native Instagram app and a new revenue stream when it does decide to paywall features.
While Edits might not be perfect right away, Instagram’s improvement of Threads since its launch indicates that Edits will only get better with time.
