Best App To Make Reels: 8 Editing Apps You Need To Try

It seems as though there are apps for everything related to Instagram nowadays. Some apps claim they can get you more followers, while others promise to deliver more likes on your content. Other apps, on the other hand, exist to help you elevate your posts and make them more beautiful and high-quality. That includes the many video editors for Instagram Reels. Today, we’re exploring the best app to make Reels, depending on your editing needs.

There is a plethora of tools out there that can be your best friend when editing Reels. There are paid and free apps, tools that focus on special effects, and classic editors for smooth transitions. You just have to pick the one that fits your needs and editing skills best.

By choosing the right video editing tool, you can be well on your way to success with your Reel game. And we’ve made things easier for you. In this guide, you’ll find eight of the best-performing video editing apps for Instagram Reels. Read through them to see which one is perfect for you!

Why Use Video Editing Tools To Create Your Instagram Reels?

Reels are one of the most in-demand content formats on Instagram today. From influencers to businesses to everyday personal accounts, everyone loves watching and posting Reels. These short-form vertical videos are super addicting and make for amazing marketing tools.

Because everyone loves Instagram Reels, the platform is saturated with this type of video content as it is. So, if you want to start making Reels, you need to step up your game to stand out. One way to do that is by using a third-party video editing app to spruce up your Reels’ overall aesthetic.

Using a video editing tool to make your Reels has plenty of benefits. Sure, Instagram has its own built-in Reels editor. But other apps have features that give you more control to make your videos look exactly how you pictured them.

Video editing apps allow you to be as creative as possible with their abundance of useful editing features. With these apps, you can trim, cut, and add sound effects, animations, and dynamic transition styles to your video clips. Some apps also have advanced features, like filters, multi-layer editing, high-resolution exporting, and cinematic effects.

Whether you go for basic or advanced apps, tools like these can make your Reels look more interesting and captivating. And when your Reels are high-quality and valuable, they will get more views. So, if you want to succeed in producing Instagram Reels, a trusty editing app can be your ultimate sidekick.

Best Reel Editing App With Video Templates for Beginners: Canva

Not everyone who makes Instagram Reels is an expert when it comes to editing and designing aesthetic content. Beginners and those who don’t have an eye for design will need a bit of extra help through video templates.

While Canva is most known for digital poster and brochure templates, they have vertical video templates as well. That’s why they’re the best Reel editing app for beginners who need a hand in producing beautiful Instagram vertical videos.

Canva offers hundreds of Instagram Reel templates with thousands of design elements, photos, and fonts you can use. The best part is that they’re absolutely free to use. All you have to do is choose a template and upload your video clips. Then, the rest is pretty much just drag-and-drop, like all of Canva’s other easy-to-use creative templates.

Editing Reels with Canva doesn’t just give you mesmerizing video content. It also allows you to create your video in record time. Because they already have templates, you don’t need to start from scratch when making your Reel. This saves you a huge amount of time.

Plus, you don’t have to stress yourself out with conceptualizing your Reel’s look, transitions, and effects. Canva’s templates already have those for you; you just need to plug in your video clips, and you’re done. It’s truly the easiest way to make Reels if you’re new to the content format!

Best App To Make Reels With Music and Voiceovers: CapCut

Some content creators might tell you that what makes or breaks a Reel is its audio. And they’re not wrong. A video’s background music and voiceover give a Reel its character and entertainment value. If audio is super important to you, use CapCut—the best app to make Reels with music and voiceovers.

CapCut is a video editing tool that is a sister company to TikTok. However, you can use it to edit vertical videos for Instagram Reels, too. It’s an awesome all-around video editor that lets you trim and merge videos and add text and stickers to them. But if there’s anything about CapCut that stands out, it’s their specialty in music and sounds.

CapCut has a huge library of royalty-free music you can use as background music for your videos. They also have plenty of cool sound effects that you can layer on top of one another. These sounds can make any Reel feel more engaging than they originally were.

Aside from music and sound effects, CapCut also allows you to record voiceovers for your Reel. Unlike other third-party editing apps, they don’t set a time limit to your voice recording. They also allow you to play around with the pitch, speed, and volume of your voiceover. Their automatic closed captions are just the cherry on top of this awesome feature.

Music is an amazing way to elevate your Instagram Reels and add more storytelling to them. CapCut lets you experiment with all kinds of audio clips and voiceovers, allowing you to express yourself creatively through sound.

Best Paid App for Editing Videos: Adobe Premier Rush

While Adobe is most known for Photoshop, the company also has a mobile editing app called Adobe Premier Rush. This app allows anyone to edit their phone videos the way a professional would. The paid app has plenty of advanced features, from color correction to exporting videos in high definition. Here are just some of the many things you can do on the app:

• Create smooth transitions from one clip to the next.
• Adjust your video’s speed to make it slower or faster.
• Add audio from Adobe’s library of royalty-free music. You can also adjust your Reel’s audio by reducing noise and balancing the sounds.
• Use one of their templates and easily plug your videos and photos into them.
• Share your video straight to Instagram and other social media platforms in one click.

Of course, you’re not just paying for all these features. You’re also paying a premium for Adobe’s name as a top design and editing brand. So, expect a hefty price for this app. But don’t worry—we can vouch for its awesome features that will totally upgrade your Instagram Reels. You won’t regret investing in this app for sure!

Best Free App To Make Reels: Instagram Itself!

Of course, we’ve got to show Instagram some love, too! Instagram itself stands out as the ultimate expert when editing Reels. That’s why we’re naming it the best free app to make Reels.

Instagram’s in-app Reels editor may not have that many advanced features. But it has everything you could need to create engaging video content for your followers.

On Instagram, you can trim and rearrange video clips to tell the story you want. You can also try adding trendy transitions to your clips to make them even more exciting. You can add songs as background music and text overlays to your clips. If you’re feeling extra silly, you can even use fun VR filters to add extra pizzazz to your selfie videos.

One unique thing about Instagram is that it lets you film clips directly from the Reels editor. This is terrific for quick, no-nonsense Reels of you talking to your audience.

If you don’t want to download a third-party editing app (or pay for one), stick with the Instagram editor. It might not have all the fancy features some of the more advanced apps do. But it’s amazing for making straightforward Reels that are still fun and playful, all while saving you time and money.

Best for Unique Formats and Trendy Effects: InShot

InShot is another popular video editing app that people use to create their Reels. They cover all the basics, from easily trimming your videos to adjusting speed to integrating music into the final product. But one thing they do incredibly well is allow users to play around with playful, trendy effects and transitions.

InShot keeps the latest Instagram Reel trends in mind when they come up with new transitions. You can use 3D video effects, replace the sky, and even make yourself look like a giant in your video. It’s amazing for creators who want to entertain their audience in a light, trendy way.

The app is also super useful for working with horizontal video clips that you want to post on Reels. It lets you add bars or blank spaces above and under these clips, turning them into a vertical video. You can also stack horizontal videos on top of each other to make them vertical through the app.

Best Editing App for Classic Cinematic Effects: Splice

People usually use Instagram Reels to create lighthearted and relatable content. Most creators might use simple transitions with minimal animations and effects. As long as their storytelling is on point, they’re not needed anyway.

But others go out of their way to make the most stunning, visually mind-blowing video content with cinematic effects. No, these creators don’t whip out a professional camera to produce these videos. They can do it with video clips from their phone and an editing app called Splice.

Splice allows you to add Hollywood-level cinematic effects to your Reels. These include panning and zooming out, as well as making custom background videos for your final Reel. After you finish editing your video, it will have the appearance of being edited by a team of cinematographers and videographers.

But it’s not just the cinematic transitions that allow Splice to make your Reels look polished and satisfying. The app also performs color grading on your videos, the way moviemakers do with films before the final cut. You can adjust the tones and hues in your video clips to create the mood and atmosphere you want. This goes a long way in storytelling through video.

Best App When Working With a Green Screen: Kinemaster

Content creators who have been making Reels for a while will sometimes use a green screen when filming videos. This allows them to choose background videos to go behind them in their Reels. It’s a fantastic way to paint a specific setting for your Reel. It also allows you to show yourself and relevant photos or clips in the same frame.

But not every editing app will have features to cater to a green screen, also known as a chroma key. You have to find one that allows you to do chroma key compositing while retaining your videos’ high resolution. And that’s exactly what KineMaster does.

KineMaster allows you to remove a specific background color from your videos. Typically, this color is green, creating a green screen. However, you can choose whatever color you’d like. Then, it allows you to plug in other clips that will serve as your Reel’s background video. And with KineMaster’s fine-tune settings, you can have chroma key videos that are super clean and look professionally edited. It’s perfect for overlaying photos and videos!

The best part is that you can export your final video in 4K. This allows you to upload crisp, high-quality Reels that your audience will simply eat up.

Note that KineMaster is a paid editing app. They do have a free version, but videos exported through that will contain a watermark. Just a heads up!

Best for Fun Stickers, Emojis, and AR Effects: Clips

If you love emojis and stickers, you’ll enjoy making Reels with Clips, an Apple-owned video editor for iOS devices. It’s the perfect tool to use to produce Reels that are fun, colorful, and dynamic.

With Clips, you can edit both vertical and horizontal videos. Add all the design elements you want, from stickers to emojis to captions, in every font style and color imaginable. You can even insert speech bubbles, music from your library, and animated text into your clips if you want!

Much like the built-in Instagram Reels editor, you can also record videos straight from the Clips app. You can alter the look of the room you’re in using their special AR Spaces feature, too. It’s kind of like Instagram filters but augmenting an entire space instead of just your face. Super cool!

Use These Apps To Elevate Your Instagram Reel Game!

There are so many apps out there that can help you make your Reels look perfect. If you’re not confident in your skills in conceptualizing video content yet, go for Canva’s beginner-friendly video templates. If you want to experiment with cinematic effects or maybe work with a green screen, opt for Splice or KineMaster. There’s a video editing tool out there for everyone. Just choose wisely so you can start producing the best Reels you’ve ever made.

After finding out the best app to make Reels for your skillset and needs, it’s time to get cracking. Make the most creative, entertaining, relatable, and impressive Reels you can. Then, work with Path Social to get more people to see them!

Our proprietary targeting algorithm takes your content and pushes it out to your target audience. That means the people who will most likely enjoy and engage with your posts will actually see them. Plus, because many people will discover your content for the first time, you’ll get tons of new followers. Grow your fanbase and get more views on your Reels today.