Hone Your Message: Effective Use of Templates for Shorts

YouTube Shorts are short, 60-second videos that can be shared across all social media platforms. They’re a great way to quickly and easily share your message with your audience. As a result, many creators are turning to YouTube Shorts Templates to help them create professional-looking videos that stand out.

YouTube Shorts Templates can create a wide variety of videos, from product demos and how-tos to vlogs and comedy skits. They can help you create polished and engaging videos without the need for expensive equipment or a lot of editing experience.

This article will explore everything you need to know about YouTube Shorts Templates, including how to use them, tips for creating great videos, and examples of how other creators use them to boost their views and reach.

Overview of YouTube Shorts

YouTube Shorts is a new feature launched by YouTube in September 2020, which allows users to create short, 15-second videos that can be shared across all social media platforms. According to the statistics of EarthWeb , YouTube Shorts has seen tremendous growth in popularity since its launch, with billions of views every day.

According to YouTube, in the U.S. alone, the watch time for Shorts has grown over 4x since November 2020, and by December 2021, daily active users of Shorts exceeded 200M. As per YouTube’s official blog, In India, Shorts watch time has grown by over 20x since its launch, and by the end of 2021, India had over 150M daily active users.

In addition to the strong growth in views and engagement, YouTube Shorts has also become a powerful tool for creators to reach new audiences and grow their channels.

According to a study by Influencer Marketing Hub, YouTube Shorts have a higher engagement rate than traditional YouTube videos, with Shorts receiving an average of 3x more comments and likes than regular videos. The study also shows that Shorts videos have a higher completion rate of 60% compared to traditional videos with 40%.

As a result of the popularity of YouTube Shorts, many creators are now turning to YouTube Shorts Templates to help them create professional-looking videos that stand out. YouTube Shorts Templates can create a wide variety of videos, from product demos and how-tos to vlogs and comedy skits. They can help you create polished and engaging videos without the need for expensive equipment or a lot of editing experience.

How To Get Profit from Short Videos

There are a few ways to monetize your YouTube Shorts videos and turn them into a source of profit. One way is through YouTube’s built-in monetization options, such as displaying ads on your videos, sponsorships, and affiliate marketing. Another way is to use your Shorts videos’ popularity to promote your products or services.

You can also use YouTube Shorts to drive traffic to your website, where you can sell products or services. Collaborating with brands and promoting their products in your videos can also be a great way to monetize your content. It’s important to remember that building a sizable audience and creating high-quality content is key to monetizing your YouTube Shorts.

Benefits of Using Templates to Create YouTube Shorts

There are several benefits to using templates to create YouTube Shorts, including:

• Time-saving: Templates provide a pre-designed structure for your video, which saves you time and effort in creating a polished and professional-looking video.
• Consistency: Templates can help you maintain a consistent look and feel for your videos, which helps to build your brand and make your videos easily recognizable.
• Cost-effective: Templates can be cost-effective, eliminating the need for expensive equipment or editing software.
• Increased engagement: Templates can help you create engaging videos that capture your audience’s attention and increase the likelihood of them watching and engaging with your content.
• Access to a wider audience: Templates can help increase your views and reach, which can help you grow your channel and reach a wider audience.
• Easy to use: Templates are easy to use, even if you have yet to gain any prior video editing experience.

Using templates allows you to quickly create high-quality, professional-looking videos while also saving money and reaching a wider audience.

How to Make YouTube Shorts Using a Video Editor With Templates

Creating YouTube Shorts using a video editor with templates is a great way to save time and effort while still producing polished, professional-looking videos. One great video editor that can be used for this purpose is Filmora. Filmora has desktop and mobile versions, so you can create YouTube Shorts using any device.

Video Templates Feature of Filmora

With Wondershare Filmora , users can access a variety of templates for YouTube Shorts, which can be easily customized to fit the style and theme of their videos. These templates include various themes such as travel, vlogs, product demos, and more.

Wondershare Filmora also provides a wide range of editing tools, such as text, music, and effects, to help users create engaging and visually appealing videos. Filmora’s templates are an easy and efficient way to create visually appealing and engaging YouTube Shorts that stand out from the rest.

Free Download For Win 7 or later(64-bit)

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Step-by-Step Guide to Create YouTube Shorts With Templates Using Filmora for Desktop

Creating professional-looking YouTube Shorts can be time-consuming and daunting, especially if you have limited experience with video editing. However, using a video editor like Filmora, you can easily create high-quality YouTube Shorts using templates. This step-by-step guide will show you how to use Filmora’s video templates feature to create visually appealing YouTube Shorts on your desktop.

Step 1. Start Wondershare Filmora on your computer. On the “Templates” tab, you will find a variety of component templates to choose from.

Step 2. Select the template you want to use and place it on the timeline point.

Step 3. Add your videos, pictures, and audio files to the designated placeholders in the template to replace the sample ones.

Step 4. Trim, edit the clip or add other effects, texts and stickers as you like.

Step 5. Click the “Export“ button on the upper part to save your clip.

When creating YouTube Shorts, it is important to remember that these videos are vertical. You can easily find vertical video templates in Filmora’s template library. So select the one that best fits your needs and style.

Step-by-Step Guide to Use YouTube Shorts Video Templates With Filmora for Mobile

Creating professional-looking YouTube Shorts on mobile devices is now more accessible than ever. This step-by-step guide will show you how to use Filmora’s video templates feature to create visually appealing YouTube Shorts on your mobile device.

Step 1. Install the Filmora app on your device, then open it.

Step 2. Tap the “Template“ button on the screen’s bottom right.

Step 3. Select the template you wish to use.

Step 4. Press the “Make Video“ button to download the chosen template.

Step 5. Add the necessary footage to edit the template, then tap “Next.”

Step 6. You can preview the video and make any necessary changes.

Step 7. Tap the “Export“ button to save the completed video.

If you want to learn more about using Filmora’s video templates feature to create YouTube Shorts on your mobile device, we recommend watching this video tutorial:

YouTube Shorts Video Template Resources in Filmora

Filmora offers a wide variety of video templates that can be used to create YouTube Shorts. These templates include various themes such as an event, sports, fashion, lifestyle, and more. These templates can be found in Filmora’s library, making it easy for users to find the perfect template for their YouTube Short.

1. Event YouTube Shorts Template

Event YouTube Shorts Templates are an interactive way for creators to showcase their events dynamically and engagingly. These templates come with pre-designed elements such as animations, backgrounds, and text styles that are perfect for highlighting the key moments and creating excitement among the audience. It’s an effective way to make the event more engaging and interactive for the audience.

2. Sports YouTube Shorts Video Template

Sports YouTube Shorts video templates are pre-designed, customizable video templates for creating short, engaging sports-related content for YouTube’s Shorts feature. These templates often include scoreboards, team logos, and highlights footage and can be easily customized with your text, images, and videos. They are ideal for sports teams, athletes, and content creators looking to quickly and easily create professional-looking videos.

3. Fashion YouTube Shorts Template

Fashion YouTube Shorts templates are pre-designed video templates that can be used to create visually appealing and engaging content for fashion-related YouTube Shorts. These templates often include elements such as fashion models, clothing and accessory displays, and trendy backgrounds and can be easily customized to suit the creator’s specific needs and aesthetic. They can be used to create various types of videos, including fashion lookbooks, product reviews, and styling tutorials.

4. Life Style Shorts Template

Lifestyle YouTube Shorts templates often include elements such as different lifestyle scenes, like traveling, cooking, home decor, and DIY projects, and can be easily customized to suit the creator’s specific needs and aesthetic. They can create various videos, including travel vlogs, recipe videos, and DIY tutorials.

Conclusion

YouTube Shorts are a great way to connect with your audience and promote your brand. Using a video editor like Filmora, you can easily create high-quality YouTube Shorts using templates. Filmora offers various video templates that can be used to create YouTube Shorts, including templates for events, sports, fashion, and lifestyle.

Filmora templates are fully customizable, meaning you can change the text, images, and colors to match your brand. These templates can be found in Filmora’s library, making it easy for users to find the perfect template for their YouTube Short. With the help of Filmora, you can easily create professional-looking YouTube Shorts that stand out and capture your audience’s attention.

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Step-by-Step Guide to Create YouTube Shorts With Templates Using Filmora for Desktop

Creating professional-looking YouTube Shorts can be time-consuming and daunting, especially if you have limited experience with video editing. However, using a video editor like Filmora, you can easily create high-quality YouTube Shorts using templates. This step-by-step guide will show you how to use Filmora’s video templates feature to create visually appealing YouTube Shorts on your desktop.

Step 1. Start Wondershare Filmora on your computer. On the “Templates” tab, you will find a variety of component templates to choose from.

Step 2. Select the template you want to use and place it on the timeline point.

Step 3. Add your videos, pictures, and audio files to the designated placeholders in the template to replace the sample ones.

Step 4. Trim, edit the clip or add other effects, texts and stickers as you like.

Step 5. Click the “Export“ button on the upper part to save your clip.

When creating YouTube Shorts, it is important to remember that these videos are vertical. You can easily find vertical video templates in Filmora’s template library. So select the one that best fits your needs and style.

Step-by-Step Guide to Use YouTube Shorts Video Templates With Filmora for Mobile

Creating professional-looking YouTube Shorts on mobile devices is now more accessible than ever. This step-by-step guide will show you how to use Filmora’s video templates feature to create visually appealing YouTube Shorts on your mobile device.

Step 1. Install the Filmora app on your device, then open it.

Step 2. Tap the “Template“ button on the screen’s bottom right.

Step 3. Select the template you wish to use.

Step 4. Press the “Make Video“ button to download the chosen template.

Step 5. Add the necessary footage to edit the template, then tap “Next.”

Step 6. You can preview the video and make any necessary changes.

Step 7. Tap the “Export“ button to save the completed video.

If you want to learn more about using Filmora’s video templates feature to create YouTube Shorts on your mobile device, we recommend watching this video tutorial:

YouTube Shorts Video Template Resources in Filmora

Filmora offers a wide variety of video templates that can be used to create YouTube Shorts. These templates include various themes such as an event, sports, fashion, lifestyle, and more. These templates can be found in Filmora’s library, making it easy for users to find the perfect template for their YouTube Short.

1. Event YouTube Shorts Template

Event YouTube Shorts Templates are an interactive way for creators to showcase their events dynamically and engagingly. These templates come with pre-designed elements such as animations, backgrounds, and text styles that are perfect for highlighting the key moments and creating excitement among the audience. It’s an effective way to make the event more engaging and interactive for the audience.

2. Sports YouTube Shorts Video Template

Sports YouTube Shorts video templates are pre-designed, customizable video templates for creating short, engaging sports-related content for YouTube’s Shorts feature. These templates often include scoreboards, team logos, and highlights footage and can be easily customized with your text, images, and videos. They are ideal for sports teams, athletes, and content creators looking to quickly and easily create professional-looking videos.

3. Fashion YouTube Shorts Template

Fashion YouTube Shorts templates are pre-designed video templates that can be used to create visually appealing and engaging content for fashion-related YouTube Shorts. These templates often include elements such as fashion models, clothing and accessory displays, and trendy backgrounds and can be easily customized to suit the creator’s specific needs and aesthetic. They can be used to create various types of videos, including fashion lookbooks, product reviews, and styling tutorials.

4. Life Style Shorts Template

Lifestyle YouTube Shorts templates often include elements such as different lifestyle scenes, like traveling, cooking, home decor, and DIY projects, and can be easily customized to suit the creator’s specific needs and aesthetic. They can create various videos, including travel vlogs, recipe videos, and DIY tutorials.

Conclusion

YouTube Shorts are a great way to connect with your audience and promote your brand. Using a video editor like Filmora, you can easily create high-quality YouTube Shorts using templates. Filmora offers various video templates that can be used to create YouTube Shorts, including templates for events, sports, fashion, and lifestyle.

Filmora templates are fully customizable, meaning you can change the text, images, and colors to match your brand. These templates can be found in Filmora’s library, making it easy for users to find the perfect template for their YouTube Short. With the help of Filmora, you can easily create professional-looking YouTube Shorts that stand out and capture your audience’s attention.

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Step-by-Step Guide to Create YouTube Shorts With Templates Using Filmora for Desktop

Creating professional-looking YouTube Shorts can be time-consuming and daunting, especially if you have limited experience with video editing. However, using a video editor like Filmora, you can easily create high-quality YouTube Shorts using templates. This step-by-step guide will show you how to use Filmora’s video templates feature to create visually appealing YouTube Shorts on your desktop.

Step 1. Start Wondershare Filmora on your computer. On the “Templates” tab, you will find a variety of component templates to choose from.

Step 2. Select the template you want to use and place it on the timeline point.

Step 3. Add your videos, pictures, and audio files to the designated placeholders in the template to replace the sample ones.

Step 4. Trim, edit the clip or add other effects, texts and stickers as you like.

Step 5. Click the “Export“ button on the upper part to save your clip.

When creating YouTube Shorts, it is important to remember that these videos are vertical. You can easily find vertical video templates in Filmora’s template library. So select the one that best fits your needs and style.

Step-by-Step Guide to Use YouTube Shorts Video Templates With Filmora for Mobile

Creating professional-looking YouTube Shorts on mobile devices is now more accessible than ever. This step-by-step guide will show you how to use Filmora’s video templates feature to create visually appealing YouTube Shorts on your mobile device.

Step 1. Install the Filmora app on your device, then open it.

Step 2. Tap the “Template“ button on the screen’s bottom right.

Step 3. Select the template you wish to use.

Step 4. Press the “Make Video“ button to download the chosen template.

Step 5. Add the necessary footage to edit the template, then tap “Next.”

Step 6. You can preview the video and make any necessary changes.

Step 7. Tap the “Export“ button to save the completed video.

If you want to learn more about using Filmora’s video templates feature to create YouTube Shorts on your mobile device, we recommend watching this video tutorial:

YouTube Shorts Video Template Resources in Filmora

Filmora offers a wide variety of video templates that can be used to create YouTube Shorts. These templates include various themes such as an event, sports, fashion, lifestyle, and more. These templates can be found in Filmora’s library, making it easy for users to find the perfect template for their YouTube Short.

1. Event YouTube Shorts Template

Event YouTube Shorts Templates are an interactive way for creators to showcase their events dynamically and engagingly. These templates come with pre-designed elements such as animations, backgrounds, and text styles that are perfect for highlighting the key moments and creating excitement among the audience. It’s an effective way to make the event more engaging and interactive for the audience.

2. Sports YouTube Shorts Video Template

Sports YouTube Shorts video templates are pre-designed, customizable video templates for creating short, engaging sports-related content for YouTube’s Shorts feature. These templates often include scoreboards, team logos, and highlights footage and can be easily customized with your text, images, and videos. They are ideal for sports teams, athletes, and content creators looking to quickly and easily create professional-looking videos.

3. Fashion YouTube Shorts Template

Fashion YouTube Shorts templates are pre-designed video templates that can be used to create visually appealing and engaging content for fashion-related YouTube Shorts. These templates often include elements such as fashion models, clothing and accessory displays, and trendy backgrounds and can be easily customized to suit the creator’s specific needs and aesthetic. They can be used to create various types of videos, including fashion lookbooks, product reviews, and styling tutorials.

4. Life Style Shorts Template

Lifestyle YouTube Shorts templates often include elements such as different lifestyle scenes, like traveling, cooking, home decor, and DIY projects, and can be easily customized to suit the creator’s specific needs and aesthetic. They can create various videos, including travel vlogs, recipe videos, and DIY tutorials.

Conclusion

YouTube Shorts are a great way to connect with your audience and promote your brand. Using a video editor like Filmora, you can easily create high-quality YouTube Shorts using templates. Filmora offers various video templates that can be used to create YouTube Shorts, including templates for events, sports, fashion, and lifestyle.

Filmora templates are fully customizable, meaning you can change the text, images, and colors to match your brand. These templates can be found in Filmora’s library, making it easy for users to find the perfect template for their YouTube Short. With the help of Filmora, you can easily create professional-looking YouTube Shorts that stand out and capture your audience’s attention.

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Step-by-Step Guide to Create YouTube Shorts With Templates Using Filmora for Desktop

Creating professional-looking YouTube Shorts can be time-consuming and daunting, especially if you have limited experience with video editing. However, using a video editor like Filmora, you can easily create high-quality YouTube Shorts using templates. This step-by-step guide will show you how to use Filmora’s video templates feature to create visually appealing YouTube Shorts on your desktop.

Step 1. Start Wondershare Filmora on your computer. On the “Templates” tab, you will find a variety of component templates to choose from.

Step 2. Select the template you want to use and place it on the timeline point.

Step 3. Add your videos, pictures, and audio files to the designated placeholders in the template to replace the sample ones.

Step 4. Trim, edit the clip or add other effects, texts and stickers as you like.

Step 5. Click the “Export“ button on the upper part to save your clip.

When creating YouTube Shorts, it is important to remember that these videos are vertical. You can easily find vertical video templates in Filmora’s template library. So select the one that best fits your needs and style.

Step-by-Step Guide to Use YouTube Shorts Video Templates With Filmora for Mobile

Creating professional-looking YouTube Shorts on mobile devices is now more accessible than ever. This step-by-step guide will show you how to use Filmora’s video templates feature to create visually appealing YouTube Shorts on your mobile device.

Step 1. Install the Filmora app on your device, then open it.

Step 2. Tap the “Template“ button on the screen’s bottom right.

Step 3. Select the template you wish to use.

Step 4. Press the “Make Video“ button to download the chosen template.

Step 5. Add the necessary footage to edit the template, then tap “Next.”

Step 6. You can preview the video and make any necessary changes.

Step 7. Tap the “Export“ button to save the completed video.

If you want to learn more about using Filmora’s video templates feature to create YouTube Shorts on your mobile device, we recommend watching this video tutorial:

YouTube Shorts Video Template Resources in Filmora

Filmora offers a wide variety of video templates that can be used to create YouTube Shorts. These templates include various themes such as an event, sports, fashion, lifestyle, and more. These templates can be found in Filmora’s library, making it easy for users to find the perfect template for their YouTube Short.

1. Event YouTube Shorts Template

Event YouTube Shorts Templates are an interactive way for creators to showcase their events dynamically and engagingly. These templates come with pre-designed elements such as animations, backgrounds, and text styles that are perfect for highlighting the key moments and creating excitement among the audience. It’s an effective way to make the event more engaging and interactive for the audience.

2. Sports YouTube Shorts Video Template

Sports YouTube Shorts video templates are pre-designed, customizable video templates for creating short, engaging sports-related content for YouTube’s Shorts feature. These templates often include scoreboards, team logos, and highlights footage and can be easily customized with your text, images, and videos. They are ideal for sports teams, athletes, and content creators looking to quickly and easily create professional-looking videos.

3. Fashion YouTube Shorts Template

Fashion YouTube Shorts templates are pre-designed video templates that can be used to create visually appealing and engaging content for fashion-related YouTube Shorts. These templates often include elements such as fashion models, clothing and accessory displays, and trendy backgrounds and can be easily customized to suit the creator’s specific needs and aesthetic. They can be used to create various types of videos, including fashion lookbooks, product reviews, and styling tutorials.

4. Life Style Shorts Template

Lifestyle YouTube Shorts templates often include elements such as different lifestyle scenes, like traveling, cooking, home decor, and DIY projects, and can be easily customized to suit the creator’s specific needs and aesthetic. They can create various videos, including travel vlogs, recipe videos, and DIY tutorials.

Conclusion

YouTube Shorts are a great way to connect with your audience and promote your brand. Using a video editor like Filmora, you can easily create high-quality YouTube Shorts using templates. Filmora offers various video templates that can be used to create YouTube Shorts, including templates for events, sports, fashion, and lifestyle.

Filmora templates are fully customizable, meaning you can change the text, images, and colors to match your brand. These templates can be found in Filmora’s library, making it easy for users to find the perfect template for their YouTube Short. With the help of Filmora, you can easily create professional-looking YouTube Shorts that stand out and capture your audience’s attention.

The Ultimate List of Free, User-Friendly Editing Apps

9 Best Free and Easy Editing Apps You Should Know

Richard Bennett

Dec 14, 2023• Proven solutions

0

Have you ever made a video 100% on your phone using a mobile video editing app?

If you’ve just started off on YouTube, there’s a good chance your main camera is the one in your phone. Actually, there’s a good chance of that even if you’ve been making YouTube videos for a while now.

Since you’re shooting videos on your phone, why shouldn’t you edit them there too? Here are 9 free video editing apps you can use for YouTube.

Note: This is not a ranked list. The apps will appear in alphabetical order.

1. Adobe Premiere Clip (Android or iOS)
2. Cameo (iOS)
3. Clips (iOS)
4. Filmora (Android or iOS)
5. Funimate (Android or iOS)
6. iMovie (iOS)
7. Movie Maker Filmmaker by Alive (Android or iOS)
8. PowerDirector (Android)
9. Vlogit (Android or iOS)

Adobe Premiere Clip (Android or iOS )

Key Points:

1. Automatic using clips. Times them to music
2. Guides you with pop-up tips
3. No text/title overlays
4. Exports directly to YouTube

Adobe Premiere Pro is a professional-grade desktop editor, and Adobe Premiere Clip lives up to the quality standards set by its big-brother software. It is missing some features you might want for YouTube videos, like title effects, but it does have some bells and whistles. There’s a good selection of filters.

Making changes to your picture, like adjusting the exposure or the prevalence of highlights or shadows, is just a matter of sliding bars. The tools for splitting and duplicating clips are easy to find too. You just toggle between the two icons right above your video – the one that looks like a shutter and the one that looks like adjustment bars – to switch between the picture tools and the other tools.

You cannot add what you might normally think of as a title effect in Adobe Premiere Clip, so it’ll be hard to fully complete your video. You can add text cards to put in-between your video clips, but you can’t overlay the title on top of a clip.

You can share your video directly to YouTube when you export.

Cameo (iOS)

Key Points:

1. Easy-to-apply themes
2. Customizable titles
3. Limited features
4. Exports to 4K (if your clips are 4K)

Vimeo is a video sharing site with more of a ‘filmmaker’ focus than YouTube, so it isn’t a surprise that their mobile editing app Cameo can export high-quality 4K videos.

Like some of the other apps on this list, Cameo does not have a huge variety of functions. You can reorder your clips, trim them, add titles, and apply themes (essentially filter and title combos).

There are three icons on the main interface: Scissors, a Music Note, and Filters.

The Scissors will take you to the trimming screen, where you can make your clip shorter or longer.

You can also add a title in the trimming screen, but you will not be able to change the font style or color until you are in the Filter screen.

In the Filter screen (tap the overlapping filters icon on the main interface) you will be able to adjust the color of your text by tapping on the circle with the A in it. Tapping where it says ‘Font’ will change your font style.

You can also tap on Themes and choose a premade style.

Here’s what ‘Crush’ looks like applied:

My font was changed, and there’s also a filter now. In order to apply a filter, you must start with a theme.

Clips (iOS)

Key Points:

1. Great selection of stickers
2. Lacks some basic tools
3. Simple interface

Clips is an intuitive app with a lot of options for decorating your videos. It is lacking in some of the more basic editings features you might expect (i.e. you cannot split clips or do any color correction), but it has a lot of fun features like stickers and emojis that could make up for that depending on your needs.

There are also more traditional effects, like filters and titles. There are a wide range of title options in styles that are popular on YouTube, and a fairly standard filter selection.

While you cannot split clips in this app, but trimming and reordering them is easy. For trimming, you just select the clip and then Trim to open a screen where you can drag the start and end points of the clip.

To rearrange your clips, just tap the clip you want to move and hold down. You’ll be able to drag it to a new location.

It’d be hard to rely on Clips exclusively as your YouTube video editor, but it’s well suited for Instagram or for making quick ‘on-the-go’ videos.

Filmora (Android or iOS)

Key Points:

1. Export directly to YouTube
2. 16:9 or 1:1 for Instagram
3. Includes effects like transitions, filters, and overlays
4. End-roll logo

You can make a complete video easily just by tapping and dragging in Filmora, and there are even effects like filters, transitions, and overlays you can add to make your video more polished.

After importing your media into Filmora (you can import videos and photos saved on your phone, or media which has been uploaded to a social media account like Facebook or Instagram) you can change the order of your clips by tapping one, pressing down for a moment, and then dragging your clips where you want them.

Trimming a clip is as simple as tapping on it and then Duration. You’ll get this screen where you can adjust the length easily by dragging the markers to beginning or endpoints.

Cropping and zooming are simple too.

Filmora comes with pre-made themes you can apply which include titles, filters, and other effects. These might not be ideal if you already have branding you like to use for YouTube, but in some situations, they can make video creation a lot faster.

Filmora comes loaded with music, or you can even import your own music from your phone.

Once you’re done, tap ‘save’ in the top right corner of your screen to export your video. From the save screen, you’ll be able to export your video directly to YouTube.

One potential drawback is that Filmora will add its own logo to the end of your exported video. This logo will not distract from your video content since it is added at the end and never overlaps any of your clips, but it still might not be ideal for all creators.

Funimate (Android or iOS )

Key Points:

1. Easily add text and shapes
2. Rainbow doodling
3. Shake effects
4. Small ‘Funimate’ watermark in videos from the free version

Funimate is lives up to the ‘fun’ promise in its name. It’s designed mostly for music videos/Musical.ly and while it is missing a lot of more typical editing options, there are a few free tools in Funimate that other apps just don’t have.

For example, there are shake and distortion effects available through Funimate that you usually only find in desktop software.

You can also draw rainbow designs on your video with your finger – no other app on this list can do that.

The text tool in Funimate is easy to use, and there are cool looking glow effects you can apply in the color selection screen. Those options are also available when you’re adding shapes, likes stars and sparkles.

Funimate is not built for typical editing, which is both its strength and its weakness. Trimming your clips is its own stage which you must complete before you start adding effects, and you cannot split clips or add multiple clips.

The free version of Funimate does add a small watermark to your videos in the bottom-right corner, but it is subtle enough that I almost missed it completely while reviewing the app.

iMovie (iOS)

Key Points:

1. Trailer templates
2. Themes
3. Limited tools and resources

iMovie’s mobile app is designed for ease and includes things like ‘trailer templates’ and themes that allow you to make a video quickly and with minimal effort.

This streamlined app is limited in its features. Other apps on this list have left out color correction tools or clip splitting tools and instead loaded up on decorative features like stickers, emojis, and overlays. iMovie has left out these tools and does not have an abundance of decorative features either.

There are filters, themes, and titles, however.

The titles are simple but polished, and you’ll find all the standard types of filters.

The themes include a variety of graphics and are applied to your entire video, not individual clips. You can also apply one filter to your entire video.

iMovie also includes a decent selection of transitions, which you can apply easily by tapping the area between two clips.

Movie Maker Filmmaker by Alive (Android or iOS )

Key Points:

1. Good title tool
2. Stickers
3. Change clip duration
4. 16:9 or 1:1

Movie Maker Filmmaker (the app will be labeled ‘Alive’ in on your phone) has a lot of features that will help you put together a fun YouTube video. There’s a great selection of stickers, filters, and overlays and they’re all easy to apply. You just click on what you want and resize/reposition it in the player.

This app is missing a lot of basic editing features, however. You cannot adjust things like brightness or saturation. This won’t be a problem if you’re happy with your clips as-is, but it’s a bit odd to not have those options.

There is a text tool and while it is fairly basic, it is also flexible. There is a good selection of fonts to choose from, and you can also choose whether or not you want a colored background, and if your text should have a shadow.

Once you’ve decided on the look of your text you can drag it, resize it, and tilt it however you want in the preview screen.

A slightly odd feature of this app is that it doesn’t save your video to your phone or export it directly to YouTube. Instead, it saves it – and shares it – within the app and gives you the option of sharing it with YouTube after.

Power Director (Android)

Key Points:

1. A timeline like desktop software
2. All the basic editing features
3. Lots of transitions
4. Videos from the free version will be watermarked

The first thing you’ll notice when you open up Power Director is that the interface looks a lot like the interface of a lot of desktop editors with a very classic timeline. This familiarity could make it easy to jump into if you’re used to editing on your laptop.

However, Power Director is a bit less intuitive than most of the other apps on this list. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s difficult to use – it isn’t, it’s much easier than a lot of desktop software – but among mobile apps designed for streamlined efficiency it does stand out as being a bit harder to dive into.

That is partly because there’s a lot you can do with it. It has the tools you would expect in an editor. You can split and trim clips, and you have all the standard color tools including some that most mobile apps leave out.

A lot of apps have Brightness, Contrast, and Saturation, but PowerDirector also has Color Temperature and Tint.

In addition to editing tools, PowerDirector has bells and whistles like filters –

- and a ton of great transitions.

One drawback of PowerDirector is that the free version will watermark your videos. This watermark is not intrusive, but it isn’t as subtle as the Funimate one either.

You can export videos from PowerDirector directly to YouTube.

Vlogit (Android or iOS )

Key Points:

1. Easy thumbnail maker
2. Export directly to YouTube
3. Animated stickers

Vlogit is also an app from the creators of the Filmora Video Editor. It isn’t quite as intuitive as Filmora, but the major benefit of Vlogit for YouTube creators is that it was designed with you in mind. It has features like animated stickers, emojis, and a thumbnail maker which were included specifically because YouTubers and vloggers need them.

All the usual adjustments you might want to make, like saturation or sharpness, are easy in Vlogit. So are adjustments to the length or crop of clips.

After you save your video you’ll have the option of creating a thumbnail using a screenshot from your video. You can add a colored border, text, emojis, and more!

Once you’re done, you can export directly to YouTube. Like Filmora, Vlogit does have a post-video logo roll.

Have you ever used a free mobile app to edit one of your YouTube videos? What did you use, and were you happy with the results?

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Dec 14, 2023• Proven solutions

0

Have you ever made a video 100% on your phone using a mobile video editing app?

If you’ve just started off on YouTube, there’s a good chance your main camera is the one in your phone. Actually, there’s a good chance of that even if you’ve been making YouTube videos for a while now.

Since you’re shooting videos on your phone, why shouldn’t you edit them there too? Here are 9 free video editing apps you can use for YouTube.

Note: This is not a ranked list. The apps will appear in alphabetical order.

1. Adobe Premiere Clip (Android or iOS)
2. Cameo (iOS)
3. Clips (iOS)
4. Filmora (Android or iOS)
5. Funimate (Android or iOS)
6. iMovie (iOS)
7. Movie Maker Filmmaker by Alive (Android or iOS)
8. PowerDirector (Android)
9. Vlogit (Android or iOS)

Adobe Premiere Clip (Android or iOS )

Key Points:

1. Automatic using clips. Times them to music
2. Guides you with pop-up tips
3. No text/title overlays
4. Exports directly to YouTube

Adobe Premiere Pro is a professional-grade desktop editor, and Adobe Premiere Clip lives up to the quality standards set by its big-brother software. It is missing some features you might want for YouTube videos, like title effects, but it does have some bells and whistles. There’s a good selection of filters.

Making changes to your picture, like adjusting the exposure or the prevalence of highlights or shadows, is just a matter of sliding bars. The tools for splitting and duplicating clips are easy to find too. You just toggle between the two icons right above your video – the one that looks like a shutter and the one that looks like adjustment bars – to switch between the picture tools and the other tools.

You cannot add what you might normally think of as a title effect in Adobe Premiere Clip, so it’ll be hard to fully complete your video. You can add text cards to put in-between your video clips, but you can’t overlay the title on top of a clip.

You can share your video directly to YouTube when you export.

Cameo (iOS)

Key Points:

1. Easy-to-apply themes
2. Customizable titles
3. Limited features
4. Exports to 4K (if your clips are 4K)

Vimeo is a video sharing site with more of a ‘filmmaker’ focus than YouTube, so it isn’t a surprise that their mobile editing app Cameo can export high-quality 4K videos.

Like some of the other apps on this list, Cameo does not have a huge variety of functions. You can reorder your clips, trim them, add titles, and apply themes (essentially filter and title combos).

There are three icons on the main interface: Scissors, a Music Note, and Filters.

The Scissors will take you to the trimming screen, where you can make your clip shorter or longer.

You can also add a title in the trimming screen, but you will not be able to change the font style or color until you are in the Filter screen.

In the Filter screen (tap the overlapping filters icon on the main interface) you will be able to adjust the color of your text by tapping on the circle with the A in it. Tapping where it says ‘Font’ will change your font style.

You can also tap on Themes and choose a premade style.

Here’s what ‘Crush’ looks like applied:

My font was changed, and there’s also a filter now. In order to apply a filter, you must start with a theme.

Clips (iOS)

Key Points:

1. Great selection of stickers
2. Lacks some basic tools
3. Simple interface

Clips is an intuitive app with a lot of options for decorating your videos. It is lacking in some of the more basic editings features you might expect (i.e. you cannot split clips or do any color correction), but it has a lot of fun features like stickers and emojis that could make up for that depending on your needs.

There are also more traditional effects, like filters and titles. There are a wide range of title options in styles that are popular on YouTube, and a fairly standard filter selection.

While you cannot split clips in this app, but trimming and reordering them is easy. For trimming, you just select the clip and then Trim to open a screen where you can drag the start and end points of the clip.

To rearrange your clips, just tap the clip you want to move and hold down. You’ll be able to drag it to a new location.

It’d be hard to rely on Clips exclusively as your YouTube video editor, but it’s well suited for Instagram or for making quick ‘on-the-go’ videos.

Filmora (Android or iOS)

Key Points:

1. Export directly to YouTube
2. 16:9 or 1:1 for Instagram
3. Includes effects like transitions, filters, and overlays
4. End-roll logo

You can make a complete video easily just by tapping and dragging in Filmora, and there are even effects like filters, transitions, and overlays you can add to make your video more polished.

After importing your media into Filmora (you can import videos and photos saved on your phone, or media which has been uploaded to a social media account like Facebook or Instagram) you can change the order of your clips by tapping one, pressing down for a moment, and then dragging your clips where you want them.

Trimming a clip is as simple as tapping on it and then Duration. You’ll get this screen where you can adjust the length easily by dragging the markers to beginning or endpoints.

Cropping and zooming are simple too.

Filmora comes with pre-made themes you can apply which include titles, filters, and other effects. These might not be ideal if you already have branding you like to use for YouTube, but in some situations, they can make video creation a lot faster.

Filmora comes loaded with music, or you can even import your own music from your phone.

Once you’re done, tap ‘save’ in the top right corner of your screen to export your video. From the save screen, you’ll be able to export your video directly to YouTube.

One potential drawback is that Filmora will add its own logo to the end of your exported video. This logo will not distract from your video content since it is added at the end and never overlaps any of your clips, but it still might not be ideal for all creators.

Funimate (Android or iOS )

Key Points:

1. Easily add text and shapes
2. Rainbow doodling
3. Shake effects
4. Small ‘Funimate’ watermark in videos from the free version

Funimate is lives up to the ‘fun’ promise in its name. It’s designed mostly for music videos/Musical.ly and while it is missing a lot of more typical editing options, there are a few free tools in Funimate that other apps just don’t have.

For example, there are shake and distortion effects available through Funimate that you usually only find in desktop software.

You can also draw rainbow designs on your video with your finger – no other app on this list can do that.

The text tool in Funimate is easy to use, and there are cool looking glow effects you can apply in the color selection screen. Those options are also available when you’re adding shapes, likes stars and sparkles.

Funimate is not built for typical editing, which is both its strength and its weakness. Trimming your clips is its own stage which you must complete before you start adding effects, and you cannot split clips or add multiple clips.

The free version of Funimate does add a small watermark to your videos in the bottom-right corner, but it is subtle enough that I almost missed it completely while reviewing the app.

iMovie (iOS)

Key Points:

1. Trailer templates
2. Themes
3. Limited tools and resources

iMovie’s mobile app is designed for ease and includes things like ‘trailer templates’ and themes that allow you to make a video quickly and with minimal effort.

This streamlined app is limited in its features. Other apps on this list have left out color correction tools or clip splitting tools and instead loaded up on decorative features like stickers, emojis, and overlays. iMovie has left out these tools and does not have an abundance of decorative features either.

There are filters, themes, and titles, however.

The titles are simple but polished, and you’ll find all the standard types of filters.

The themes include a variety of graphics and are applied to your entire video, not individual clips. You can also apply one filter to your entire video.

iMovie also includes a decent selection of transitions, which you can apply easily by tapping the area between two clips.

Movie Maker Filmmaker by Alive (Android or iOS )

Key Points:

1. Good title tool
2. Stickers
3. Change clip duration
4. 16:9 or 1:1

Movie Maker Filmmaker (the app will be labeled ‘Alive’ in on your phone) has a lot of features that will help you put together a fun YouTube video. There’s a great selection of stickers, filters, and overlays and they’re all easy to apply. You just click on what you want and resize/reposition it in the player.

This app is missing a lot of basic editing features, however. You cannot adjust things like brightness or saturation. This won’t be a problem if you’re happy with your clips as-is, but it’s a bit odd to not have those options.

There is a text tool and while it is fairly basic, it is also flexible. There is a good selection of fonts to choose from, and you can also choose whether or not you want a colored background, and if your text should have a shadow.

Once you’ve decided on the look of your text you can drag it, resize it, and tilt it however you want in the preview screen.

A slightly odd feature of this app is that it doesn’t save your video to your phone or export it directly to YouTube. Instead, it saves it – and shares it – within the app and gives you the option of sharing it with YouTube after.

Power Director (Android)

Key Points:

1. A timeline like desktop software
2. All the basic editing features
3. Lots of transitions
4. Videos from the free version will be watermarked

The first thing you’ll notice when you open up Power Director is that the interface looks a lot like the interface of a lot of desktop editors with a very classic timeline. This familiarity could make it easy to jump into if you’re used to editing on your laptop.

However, Power Director is a bit less intuitive than most of the other apps on this list. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s difficult to use – it isn’t, it’s much easier than a lot of desktop software – but among mobile apps designed for streamlined efficiency it does stand out as being a bit harder to dive into.

That is partly because there’s a lot you can do with it. It has the tools you would expect in an editor. You can split and trim clips, and you have all the standard color tools including some that most mobile apps leave out.

A lot of apps have Brightness, Contrast, and Saturation, but PowerDirector also has Color Temperature and Tint.

In addition to editing tools, PowerDirector has bells and whistles like filters –

- and a ton of great transitions.

One drawback of PowerDirector is that the free version will watermark your videos. This watermark is not intrusive, but it isn’t as subtle as the Funimate one either.

You can export videos from PowerDirector directly to YouTube.

Vlogit (Android or iOS )

Key Points:

1. Easy thumbnail maker
2. Export directly to YouTube
3. Animated stickers

Vlogit is also an app from the creators of the Filmora Video Editor. It isn’t quite as intuitive as Filmora, but the major benefit of Vlogit for YouTube creators is that it was designed with you in mind. It has features like animated stickers, emojis, and a thumbnail maker which were included specifically because YouTubers and vloggers need them.

All the usual adjustments you might want to make, like saturation or sharpness, are easy in Vlogit. So are adjustments to the length or crop of clips.

After you save your video you’ll have the option of creating a thumbnail using a screenshot from your video. You can add a colored border, text, emojis, and more!

Once you’re done, you can export directly to YouTube. Like Filmora, Vlogit does have a post-video logo roll.

Have you ever used a free mobile app to edit one of your YouTube videos? What did you use, and were you happy with the results?

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Dec 14, 2023• Proven solutions

0

Have you ever made a video 100% on your phone using a mobile video editing app?

If you’ve just started off on YouTube, there’s a good chance your main camera is the one in your phone. Actually, there’s a good chance of that even if you’ve been making YouTube videos for a while now.

Since you’re shooting videos on your phone, why shouldn’t you edit them there too? Here are 9 free video editing apps you can use for YouTube.

Note: This is not a ranked list. The apps will appear in alphabetical order.

1. Adobe Premiere Clip (Android or iOS)
2. Cameo (iOS)
3. Clips (iOS)
4. Filmora (Android or iOS)
5. Funimate (Android or iOS)
6. iMovie (iOS)
7. Movie Maker Filmmaker by Alive (Android or iOS)
8. PowerDirector (Android)
9. Vlogit (Android or iOS)

Adobe Premiere Clip (Android or iOS )

Key Points:

1. Automatic using clips. Times them to music
2. Guides you with pop-up tips
3. No text/title overlays
4. Exports directly to YouTube

Adobe Premiere Pro is a professional-grade desktop editor, and Adobe Premiere Clip lives up to the quality standards set by its big-brother software. It is missing some features you might want for YouTube videos, like title effects, but it does have some bells and whistles. There’s a good selection of filters.

Making changes to your picture, like adjusting the exposure or the prevalence of highlights or shadows, is just a matter of sliding bars. The tools for splitting and duplicating clips are easy to find too. You just toggle between the two icons right above your video – the one that looks like a shutter and the one that looks like adjustment bars – to switch between the picture tools and the other tools.

You cannot add what you might normally think of as a title effect in Adobe Premiere Clip, so it’ll be hard to fully complete your video. You can add text cards to put in-between your video clips, but you can’t overlay the title on top of a clip.

You can share your video directly to YouTube when you export.

Cameo (iOS)

Key Points:

1. Easy-to-apply themes
2. Customizable titles
3. Limited features
4. Exports to 4K (if your clips are 4K)

Vimeo is a video sharing site with more of a ‘filmmaker’ focus than YouTube, so it isn’t a surprise that their mobile editing app Cameo can export high-quality 4K videos.

Like some of the other apps on this list, Cameo does not have a huge variety of functions. You can reorder your clips, trim them, add titles, and apply themes (essentially filter and title combos).

There are three icons on the main interface: Scissors, a Music Note, and Filters.

The Scissors will take you to the trimming screen, where you can make your clip shorter or longer.

You can also add a title in the trimming screen, but you will not be able to change the font style or color until you are in the Filter screen.

In the Filter screen (tap the overlapping filters icon on the main interface) you will be able to adjust the color of your text by tapping on the circle with the A in it. Tapping where it says ‘Font’ will change your font style.

You can also tap on Themes and choose a premade style.

Here’s what ‘Crush’ looks like applied:

My font was changed, and there’s also a filter now. In order to apply a filter, you must start with a theme.

Clips (iOS)

Key Points:

1. Great selection of stickers
2. Lacks some basic tools
3. Simple interface

Clips is an intuitive app with a lot of options for decorating your videos. It is lacking in some of the more basic editings features you might expect (i.e. you cannot split clips or do any color correction), but it has a lot of fun features like stickers and emojis that could make up for that depending on your needs.

There are also more traditional effects, like filters and titles. There are a wide range of title options in styles that are popular on YouTube, and a fairly standard filter selection.

While you cannot split clips in this app, but trimming and reordering them is easy. For trimming, you just select the clip and then Trim to open a screen where you can drag the start and end points of the clip.

To rearrange your clips, just tap the clip you want to move and hold down. You’ll be able to drag it to a new location.

It’d be hard to rely on Clips exclusively as your YouTube video editor, but it’s well suited for Instagram or for making quick ‘on-the-go’ videos.

Filmora (Android or iOS)

Key Points:

1. Export directly to YouTube
2. 16:9 or 1:1 for Instagram
3. Includes effects like transitions, filters, and overlays
4. End-roll logo

You can make a complete video easily just by tapping and dragging in Filmora, and there are even effects like filters, transitions, and overlays you can add to make your video more polished.

After importing your media into Filmora (you can import videos and photos saved on your phone, or media which has been uploaded to a social media account like Facebook or Instagram) you can change the order of your clips by tapping one, pressing down for a moment, and then dragging your clips where you want them.

Trimming a clip is as simple as tapping on it and then Duration. You’ll get this screen where you can adjust the length easily by dragging the markers to beginning or endpoints.

Cropping and zooming are simple too.

Filmora comes with pre-made themes you can apply which include titles, filters, and other effects. These might not be ideal if you already have branding you like to use for YouTube, but in some situations, they can make video creation a lot faster.

Filmora comes loaded with music, or you can even import your own music from your phone.

Once you’re done, tap ‘save’ in the top right corner of your screen to export your video. From the save screen, you’ll be able to export your video directly to YouTube.

One potential drawback is that Filmora will add its own logo to the end of your exported video. This logo will not distract from your video content since it is added at the end and never overlaps any of your clips, but it still might not be ideal for all creators.

Funimate (Android or iOS )

Key Points:

1. Easily add text and shapes
2. Rainbow doodling
3. Shake effects
4. Small ‘Funimate’ watermark in videos from the free version

Funimate is lives up to the ‘fun’ promise in its name. It’s designed mostly for music videos/Musical.ly and while it is missing a lot of more typical editing options, there are a few free tools in Funimate that other apps just don’t have.

For example, there are shake and distortion effects available through Funimate that you usually only find in desktop software.

You can also draw rainbow designs on your video with your finger – no other app on this list can do that.

The text tool in Funimate is easy to use, and there are cool looking glow effects you can apply in the color selection screen. Those options are also available when you’re adding shapes, likes stars and sparkles.

Funimate is not built for typical editing, which is both its strength and its weakness. Trimming your clips is its own stage which you must complete before you start adding effects, and you cannot split clips or add multiple clips.

The free version of Funimate does add a small watermark to your videos in the bottom-right corner, but it is subtle enough that I almost missed it completely while reviewing the app.

iMovie (iOS)

Key Points:

1. Trailer templates
2. Themes
3. Limited tools and resources

iMovie’s mobile app is designed for ease and includes things like ‘trailer templates’ and themes that allow you to make a video quickly and with minimal effort.

This streamlined app is limited in its features. Other apps on this list have left out color correction tools or clip splitting tools and instead loaded up on decorative features like stickers, emojis, and overlays. iMovie has left out these tools and does not have an abundance of decorative features either.

There are filters, themes, and titles, however.

The titles are simple but polished, and you’ll find all the standard types of filters.

The themes include a variety of graphics and are applied to your entire video, not individual clips. You can also apply one filter to your entire video.

iMovie also includes a decent selection of transitions, which you can apply easily by tapping the area between two clips.

Movie Maker Filmmaker by Alive (Android or iOS )

Key Points:

1. Good title tool
2. Stickers
3. Change clip duration
4. 16:9 or 1:1

Movie Maker Filmmaker (the app will be labeled ‘Alive’ in on your phone) has a lot of features that will help you put together a fun YouTube video. There’s a great selection of stickers, filters, and overlays and they’re all easy to apply. You just click on what you want and resize/reposition it in the player.

This app is missing a lot of basic editing features, however. You cannot adjust things like brightness or saturation. This won’t be a problem if you’re happy with your clips as-is, but it’s a bit odd to not have those options.

There is a text tool and while it is fairly basic, it is also flexible. There is a good selection of fonts to choose from, and you can also choose whether or not you want a colored background, and if your text should have a shadow.

Once you’ve decided on the look of your text you can drag it, resize it, and tilt it however you want in the preview screen.

A slightly odd feature of this app is that it doesn’t save your video to your phone or export it directly to YouTube. Instead, it saves it – and shares it – within the app and gives you the option of sharing it with YouTube after.

Power Director (Android)

Key Points:

1. A timeline like desktop software
2. All the basic editing features
3. Lots of transitions
4. Videos from the free version will be watermarked

The first thing you’ll notice when you open up Power Director is that the interface looks a lot like the interface of a lot of desktop editors with a very classic timeline. This familiarity could make it easy to jump into if you’re used to editing on your laptop.

However, Power Director is a bit less intuitive than most of the other apps on this list. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s difficult to use – it isn’t, it’s much easier than a lot of desktop software – but among mobile apps designed for streamlined efficiency it does stand out as being a bit harder to dive into.

That is partly because there’s a lot you can do with it. It has the tools you would expect in an editor. You can split and trim clips, and you have all the standard color tools including some that most mobile apps leave out.

A lot of apps have Brightness, Contrast, and Saturation, but PowerDirector also has Color Temperature and Tint.

In addition to editing tools, PowerDirector has bells and whistles like filters –

- and a ton of great transitions.

One drawback of PowerDirector is that the free version will watermark your videos. This watermark is not intrusive, but it isn’t as subtle as the Funimate one either.

You can export videos from PowerDirector directly to YouTube.

Vlogit (Android or iOS )

Key Points:

1. Easy thumbnail maker
2. Export directly to YouTube
3. Animated stickers

Vlogit is also an app from the creators of the Filmora Video Editor. It isn’t quite as intuitive as Filmora, but the major benefit of Vlogit for YouTube creators is that it was designed with you in mind. It has features like animated stickers, emojis, and a thumbnail maker which were included specifically because YouTubers and vloggers need them.

All the usual adjustments you might want to make, like saturation or sharpness, are easy in Vlogit. So are adjustments to the length or crop of clips.

After you save your video you’ll have the option of creating a thumbnail using a screenshot from your video. You can add a colored border, text, emojis, and more!

Once you’re done, you can export directly to YouTube. Like Filmora, Vlogit does have a post-video logo roll.

Have you ever used a free mobile app to edit one of your YouTube videos? What did you use, and were you happy with the results?

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Dec 14, 2023• Proven solutions

0

Have you ever made a video 100% on your phone using a mobile video editing app?

If you’ve just started off on YouTube, there’s a good chance your main camera is the one in your phone. Actually, there’s a good chance of that even if you’ve been making YouTube videos for a while now.

Since you’re shooting videos on your phone, why shouldn’t you edit them there too? Here are 9 free video editing apps you can use for YouTube.

Note: This is not a ranked list. The apps will appear in alphabetical order.

1. Adobe Premiere Clip (Android or iOS)
2. Cameo (iOS)
3. Clips (iOS)
4. Filmora (Android or iOS)
5. Funimate (Android or iOS)
6. iMovie (iOS)
7. Movie Maker Filmmaker by Alive (Android or iOS)
8. PowerDirector (Android)
9. Vlogit (Android or iOS)

Adobe Premiere Clip (Android or iOS )

Key Points:

1. Automatic using clips. Times them to music
2. Guides you with pop-up tips
3. No text/title overlays
4. Exports directly to YouTube

Adobe Premiere Pro is a professional-grade desktop editor, and Adobe Premiere Clip lives up to the quality standards set by its big-brother software. It is missing some features you might want for YouTube videos, like title effects, but it does have some bells and whistles. There’s a good selection of filters.

Making changes to your picture, like adjusting the exposure or the prevalence of highlights or shadows, is just a matter of sliding bars. The tools for splitting and duplicating clips are easy to find too. You just toggle between the two icons right above your video – the one that looks like a shutter and the one that looks like adjustment bars – to switch between the picture tools and the other tools.

You cannot add what you might normally think of as a title effect in Adobe Premiere Clip, so it’ll be hard to fully complete your video. You can add text cards to put in-between your video clips, but you can’t overlay the title on top of a clip.

You can share your video directly to YouTube when you export.

Cameo (iOS)

Key Points:

1. Easy-to-apply themes
2. Customizable titles
3. Limited features
4. Exports to 4K (if your clips are 4K)

Vimeo is a video sharing site with more of a ‘filmmaker’ focus than YouTube, so it isn’t a surprise that their mobile editing app Cameo can export high-quality 4K videos.

Like some of the other apps on this list, Cameo does not have a huge variety of functions. You can reorder your clips, trim them, add titles, and apply themes (essentially filter and title combos).

There are three icons on the main interface: Scissors, a Music Note, and Filters.

The Scissors will take you to the trimming screen, where you can make your clip shorter or longer.

You can also add a title in the trimming screen, but you will not be able to change the font style or color until you are in the Filter screen.

In the Filter screen (tap the overlapping filters icon on the main interface) you will be able to adjust the color of your text by tapping on the circle with the A in it. Tapping where it says ‘Font’ will change your font style.

You can also tap on Themes and choose a premade style.

Here’s what ‘Crush’ looks like applied:

My font was changed, and there’s also a filter now. In order to apply a filter, you must start with a theme.

Clips (iOS)

Key Points:

1. Great selection of stickers
2. Lacks some basic tools
3. Simple interface

Clips is an intuitive app with a lot of options for decorating your videos. It is lacking in some of the more basic editings features you might expect (i.e. you cannot split clips or do any color correction), but it has a lot of fun features like stickers and emojis that could make up for that depending on your needs.

There are also more traditional effects, like filters and titles. There are a wide range of title options in styles that are popular on YouTube, and a fairly standard filter selection.

While you cannot split clips in this app, but trimming and reordering them is easy. For trimming, you just select the clip and then Trim to open a screen where you can drag the start and end points of the clip.

To rearrange your clips, just tap the clip you want to move and hold down. You’ll be able to drag it to a new location.

It’d be hard to rely on Clips exclusively as your YouTube video editor, but it’s well suited for Instagram or for making quick ‘on-the-go’ videos.

Filmora (Android or iOS)

Key Points:

1. Export directly to YouTube
2. 16:9 or 1:1 for Instagram
3. Includes effects like transitions, filters, and overlays
4. End-roll logo

You can make a complete video easily just by tapping and dragging in Filmora, and there are even effects like filters, transitions, and overlays you can add to make your video more polished.

After importing your media into Filmora (you can import videos and photos saved on your phone, or media which has been uploaded to a social media account like Facebook or Instagram) you can change the order of your clips by tapping one, pressing down for a moment, and then dragging your clips where you want them.

Trimming a clip is as simple as tapping on it and then Duration. You’ll get this screen where you can adjust the length easily by dragging the markers to beginning or endpoints.

Cropping and zooming are simple too.

Filmora comes with pre-made themes you can apply which include titles, filters, and other effects. These might not be ideal if you already have branding you like to use for YouTube, but in some situations, they can make video creation a lot faster.

Filmora comes loaded with music, or you can even import your own music from your phone.

Once you’re done, tap ‘save’ in the top right corner of your screen to export your video. From the save screen, you’ll be able to export your video directly to YouTube.

One potential drawback is that Filmora will add its own logo to the end of your exported video. This logo will not distract from your video content since it is added at the end and never overlaps any of your clips, but it still might not be ideal for all creators.

Funimate (Android or iOS )

Key Points:

1. Easily add text and shapes
2. Rainbow doodling
3. Shake effects
4. Small ‘Funimate’ watermark in videos from the free version

Funimate is lives up to the ‘fun’ promise in its name. It’s designed mostly for music videos/Musical.ly and while it is missing a lot of more typical editing options, there are a few free tools in Funimate that other apps just don’t have.

For example, there are shake and distortion effects available through Funimate that you usually only find in desktop software.

You can also draw rainbow designs on your video with your finger – no other app on this list can do that.

The text tool in Funimate is easy to use, and there are cool looking glow effects you can apply in the color selection screen. Those options are also available when you’re adding shapes, likes stars and sparkles.

Funimate is not built for typical editing, which is both its strength and its weakness. Trimming your clips is its own stage which you must complete before you start adding effects, and you cannot split clips or add multiple clips.

The free version of Funimate does add a small watermark to your videos in the bottom-right corner, but it is subtle enough that I almost missed it completely while reviewing the app.

iMovie (iOS)

Key Points:

1. Trailer templates
2. Themes
3. Limited tools and resources

iMovie’s mobile app is designed for ease and includes things like ‘trailer templates’ and themes that allow you to make a video quickly and with minimal effort.

This streamlined app is limited in its features. Other apps on this list have left out color correction tools or clip splitting tools and instead loaded up on decorative features like stickers, emojis, and overlays. iMovie has left out these tools and does not have an abundance of decorative features either.

There are filters, themes, and titles, however.

The titles are simple but polished, and you’ll find all the standard types of filters.

The themes include a variety of graphics and are applied to your entire video, not individual clips. You can also apply one filter to your entire video.

iMovie also includes a decent selection of transitions, which you can apply easily by tapping the area between two clips.

Movie Maker Filmmaker by Alive (Android or iOS )

Key Points:

1. Good title tool
2. Stickers
3. Change clip duration
4. 16:9 or 1:1

Movie Maker Filmmaker (the app will be labeled ‘Alive’ in on your phone) has a lot of features that will help you put together a fun YouTube video. There’s a great selection of stickers, filters, and overlays and they’re all easy to apply. You just click on what you want and resize/reposition it in the player.

This app is missing a lot of basic editing features, however. You cannot adjust things like brightness or saturation. This won’t be a problem if you’re happy with your clips as-is, but it’s a bit odd to not have those options.

There is a text tool and while it is fairly basic, it is also flexible. There is a good selection of fonts to choose from, and you can also choose whether or not you want a colored background, and if your text should have a shadow.

Once you’ve decided on the look of your text you can drag it, resize it, and tilt it however you want in the preview screen.

A slightly odd feature of this app is that it doesn’t save your video to your phone or export it directly to YouTube. Instead, it saves it – and shares it – within the app and gives you the option of sharing it with YouTube after.

Power Director (Android)

Key Points:

1. A timeline like desktop software
2. All the basic editing features
3. Lots of transitions
4. Videos from the free version will be watermarked

The first thing you’ll notice when you open up Power Director is that the interface looks a lot like the interface of a lot of desktop editors with a very classic timeline. This familiarity could make it easy to jump into if you’re used to editing on your laptop.

However, Power Director is a bit less intuitive than most of the other apps on this list. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s difficult to use – it isn’t, it’s much easier than a lot of desktop software – but among mobile apps designed for streamlined efficiency it does stand out as being a bit harder to dive into.

That is partly because there’s a lot you can do with it. It has the tools you would expect in an editor. You can split and trim clips, and you have all the standard color tools including some that most mobile apps leave out.

A lot of apps have Brightness, Contrast, and Saturation, but PowerDirector also has Color Temperature and Tint.

In addition to editing tools, PowerDirector has bells and whistles like filters –

- and a ton of great transitions.

One drawback of PowerDirector is that the free version will watermark your videos. This watermark is not intrusive, but it isn’t as subtle as the Funimate one either.

You can export videos from PowerDirector directly to YouTube.

Vlogit (Android or iOS )

Key Points:

1. Easy thumbnail maker
2. Export directly to YouTube
3. Animated stickers

Vlogit is also an app from the creators of the Filmora Video Editor. It isn’t quite as intuitive as Filmora, but the major benefit of Vlogit for YouTube creators is that it was designed with you in mind. It has features like animated stickers, emojis, and a thumbnail maker which were included specifically because YouTubers and vloggers need them.

All the usual adjustments you might want to make, like saturation or sharpness, are easy in Vlogit. So are adjustments to the length or crop of clips.

After you save your video you’ll have the option of creating a thumbnail using a screenshot from your video. You can add a colored border, text, emojis, and more!

Once you’re done, you can export directly to YouTube. Like Filmora, Vlogit does have a post-video logo roll.

Have you ever used a free mobile app to edit one of your YouTube videos? What did you use, and were you happy with the results?

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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