Clips can be rearranged with ease, and you can pinch to zoom the timeline if you don’t like staring at thumbnails. Load a selection of clips and iMovie arranges them on a magnetic single-track timeline. You might say the same of its mobile incarnation. It’s no Final Cut Pro, but it gets the job done. On the desktop, iMovie has long held a reputation for marrying ease of use with power.

Download Kinemaster for iPhone/iPad (free + IAP).

Download Kinemaster for Android (free + IAP).

iPhone/iPad users should stick with LumaFusion though. If you do pay, it’ll cost you around $23 / £19 / AU$38 annually – reasonable value for the best pro-oriented option on Android, especially if you make use of the assets store. If nothing else, this at least means you can try before you buy. It looks cluttered, but feels efficient when working, even on a phone.įor free, you get access to the bulk of the toolset, if not the assets, and exports are watermarked. By default, a large preview is flanked by a toolbar for vital commands (undo, settings and so on) and a camera-like record button with icons around it for quickly getting at media, audio and overlays. Importing clips is a cinch, and the app makes great use of screen space. But what soon becomes clear is this is powerful, usable software – whether you’re willing to pay for it or not. There’s a sense of trepidation with KineMaster when you launch the app and it immediately wants to rope you into a subscription.

Like the idea of LumaFusion’s effects but not its price tag? LumaFX carves that bit off into a standalone app, available for a bargain $0.99 / 99p / AU$1.49. Right now, it's our top pick for the title of best video editing app.

In short, if you have video-editing needs on iPhone and iPad, LumaFusion should be your first choice, unless you can’t get on with the interface or it’s overkill for your needs. Even the up-front cost, which might look off-putting, is reasonable when you realize it’s a one-off and not a subscription.

And there’s a multitude of effects, color-correction tools and audio mixing features to experiment with. The magnetic timeline is flexible and responsive, even when juggling 4K footage, with a useful overview that lets you jump to any point in your edit.

Tracks can be locked, hidden and muted, keeping everything manageable – even on an iPhone. There’s a multi-track editor – up to six for video/titles/graphics and audio six more for overlaid effects, music and voiceovers. Rather than simplifying editing for mobile, LumaFusion embraces complexity, yet makes it accessible. Although it’s not quite enough to hurl your PC out of the window, we’ve heard of editors using it to complete entire projects – and it’s easy to see why. LumaFusion is the mobile app synonymous with desktop-grade video editing.

Iphone video editing apps free