The Best Instagram Reels Online Editor

Dave Johnson August 10, 2023

You don’t have to be a professional video editor to create stunning Instagram Reels. Online editors can help you create amazing videos and professional-grade Reels even if you don’t have a creative bone in your body.

The best part is that you don’t have to download demanding software or go through hours of tutorials. This article will take a look at the most popular and effective online editors for Instagram Reels.

Canva

Canva is arguably the most popular editing tool for non-professional editors. Canva is more popular among graphics designers, but it can be the perfect tool for you to create your Instagram Reels too. What is most impressive about Canva is that its interface is not overly complex and finding your way around the tools will be quite easy.

With Canva, you can easily edit your Instagram Reel by adding text, overlays, stickers, and animations to make your videos look more appealing to your audience. You don’t necessarily have to start your video editing process from scratch, as Canva provides a free library of stock images, videos, and even entire templates you can use. It also has a video-resizing tool, so you can easily resize your video if you decide to use it for another social media platform other than your Instagram.

Canva has a freemium model, and its free-to-use offer should be more than enough when you’re starting out. When you feel ready to step up your Reel game, you can download the dedicated app or move to a paid plan to get more templates that make your brand feel more unified. It also allows you to automatically share your video on social media, eliminating any confusion about saving video formats and downloading files.

Adobe Express

Most video editors can’t go without Adobe products, specifically Premiere Pro or the lighter Premiere Rush apps. However, they are standalone programs that have quite a learning curve and might not even be suitable for a mobile phone. Enter Adobe Express (in beta), Adobe’s solution for online-first video editing.

While Express doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of a full app, it’s a great choice when it comes to editing Instagram Reels. It offers plenty of photo and video editing tools, and comes with a generous dollop of assets and templates you can use to jumpstart your process.

Since it is made for non-professionals, Express has a user-friendly interface that looks almost too simplistic at first glance. However, you might need to delve a bit deeper into menus to find exactly the option you’re looking for.

Despite Premiere Rush’s minimalist interface, it provides a wide range of advanced editing tools that can make your Reels really special. You can easily apply video and audio transitions, adjust colors and exposure, add text overlays, and incorporate motion graphics and titles to make your Reels look more professional.

Additionally, Express has a generous tutorial and helper guides that can make your videos pop.

Adobe Express works on a freemium model, with the paid plan costing $9.99 monthly (at the time of writing). Since it’s still in beta, expect it to improve over time, and your contribution might be vital to Adobe enhancing this already great product.

CapCut

CapCut was developed by Bytedance, the same company behind TikTok. It is a major option to consider when editing your Instagram Reel. CapCut is particularly helpful if you lack video editing experience.

One feature that makes CapCut unique is its multi-layer editing which allows you to work with multiple video and audio tracks simultaneously. This means you can layer clips, add overlays, and synchronize effects.

CapCut also offers an extensive library of royalty-free music tracks and sound effects that you can add to your Reels. You can easily synchronize the audio with your video clips and adjust the volume to give your Reel a more professional outlook. It also is used to add various effects like slow-motion, bounce, or even animations to your Reel.

Apart from being available on a browser, you can download CapCut as an app for more features, but this may be a bit taxing on your mobile device.

invideo (invideo Studio)

While it might look unassuming, invideo has an online video editor that promises results. Similar to other online-only video editors, it provides some handholding while you get used to the platform. It also works on a freemium model, and you don’t have to provide credit card information to make an account, so you won’t get charged with a subscription out of nowhere.

As far as editing tools go, invideo has some of the best editing options out there… if you pay for your account. The basic plan still has more than enough to work with, but there are some limits. First off, the video can’t be more than 15 minutes long (which shouldn’t matter for a Reel). However, the free plan automatically puts a watermark that you can’t remove without a paid plan. Additionally, your export options are very limited, so you can’t drop the video off to another app for further processing.

However, if you want to play around with some professional-grade editing tools, invideo has an easy-to-use interface, plenty of tutorials, and more than you need to make a stellar video. One of the more notable features is the automatic AI text-to-speech generator available with the free plan. The price point for a paid plan that disables the watermark and unlocks more features is a bit steep at $15 a month, so it might not be worth staying there for long.

Are Apps Better Than Online Editors?

While you can get most of the video editing tools by using an online, browser-based editor, using a dedicated app or, even better, a PC program will probably get you better long-term results.

As much as Canva and CapCut are great for quickly editing pieces, full-fledged programs such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple iMovie, and DaVinci just have too many options to pass. On the app side of things, Canva and CapCut already make the cut, but there are also FilmoraGo, InShot, and Adobe Premiere Rush.

However, if you need relatively little editing and want to give your videos a home-made feel and make your brand about being “unfiltered,” then you probably won’t need more than the options that online tools can offer.

Make Your Reel Look Professional

A professional-looking Reel is essential to engagement on Instagram. With online tools, you can quickly edit a quick video you took without breaking the bank or downloading demanding apps to your devices. Remember that although these options are all beginner-friendly, most video editors still require that you spend some time before getting used to them and learning how to get the most out of the platform.

Have you ever tried any of these editors for your Reels? Do you have any challenges or other suggestions? Let us know in the comments section.