Instagram has officially rolled out Edits, a free video editing app designed to help content creators build polished, professional clips for Reels and beyond, marking Meta’s most direct challenge yet to TikTok’s popular CapCut editor.
Available from today on iOS and Android, Edits is pitched as a powerful standalone platform for creators. It offers a suite of advanced features that go beyond Instagram’s in-app editing tools, including AI-powered animations from still images, green screen background swaps, and precise subject cutouts.
Meta describes Edits as a “video creation app designed for creators” and says it also includes project management tools to track ideas and notes, plus access to performance data. In addition, creators can save and revisit video concepts, a feature designed to support long-term content planning.
The app arrives as competition between social media giants intensifies. CapCut, developed by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, has become the editing tool of choice for many short-form video creators. Edits was first teased in January, notably during a period when TikTok and CapCut were temporarily removed from U.S. app stores, fueling speculation that Meta was capitalising on the vacuum to push its own alternative.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri addressed comparisons to CapCut at the time, posting on Threads that Edits would be “more for creators than casual video makers.” He also noted to The Verge’s Chris Welch that the app would differ from CapCut by offering “a much broader range of creative tools and probably a smaller addressable audience.”
Instagram is already teasing future updates for Edits, including support for keyframes, more AI-driven editing options, and collaborative video editing features, allowing multiple users to work on the same clip.
