Is the New Instagram Edits Better Than CapCut?
Is Instagram Edits Worth Downloading?
Short answer: Yes. Would I recommend it for every creator? Not necessarily.
When CapCut first got banned along with TikTok, I tested every alternative I could find to see if they could handle everything I needed from an editing app — things like voiceovers, auto-captions, and background audio removal. In my last blog post where I compared different apps, I created a set of criteria to evaluate them all. I found that InShot and Splice were the closest alternatives. But even then, both required users to pay for premium versions just to access basic features like removing watermarks and using auto-captions.
I've updated my evaluation criteria (below) and tested Edits by using it to edit a video for a campaign. I wanted to see if it could meet all my editing app requirements: importing, working with images, adding audio, inserting text, and exporting. It satisfied most, but not all. (Strikeouts mean that Edits can do it)
Error in auto captions even though the voiceover audio is there
1. Importing
Select videos through both gallery & albums
Labels videos you’ve already uploaded
2. Image
Background remover/ Green screen effect
Overlay with picture in front
Trim clips
(Note: playhead can be cumbersome at times when it snaps to it to trim)
3. Audio
Batch mute audio from original videos
Insert background music from in-house library
(Note: no copyright free music from in house library)
Record voiceovers
(Note: cannot record voiceover longer than total video duration)
Scrub out background noise
(Note: the only option is to add voice effects)
Bonus: Can insert trending music
4. Text
Generate auto captions
(Note: not many animation styles to choose from)
(Note: doesn’t always pick up audio to turn into auto captions)
Text library of options
5. Exporting
Can at least export at 1080P at 30 fps
Export without watermark
Importing a trending audio from the Instagram Music Library
Who is the main target audience for Edits?
Creators who want a free app for basic editing — ones who don’t need voiceovers with auto-captions but do need access to trending audio from Instagram.
In short, Edits couldn’t replicate what CapCut could do when I was editing a campaign video. The project required a voiceover, but trimming and moving clips in Edits felt too cumbersome. The audio timing was slightly off: where the clips said the audio started and where it actually started didn’t match up, making it hard to trim accurately — especially with a lot of gaps.
Plus, the "snap" feature when trimming was way too harsh and only became usable when zooming in closely on the timeline. In CapCut, I could trim voiceover clips almost without even listening because it was that precise. Also, Edits has no background noise scrubber, meaning any voiceover you do in the app needs to sound clean already. I was hoping for some type of post-editing cleanup of the audio, but no luck. And if you’ve ever made voiceovers, you know there needs to be some type of background audio, like a chill lofi tune, to tie it all together. Especially with larger brands, that audio needs to be copyright free. Edits, unfortunately, didn’t have their own library I could choose from to make that easy.
Despite my first failed attempt with Edits, I gave it another shot — this time using trending audio with no voiceover — and the process was chef’s kiss. Having access to Instagram’s full music library, including trending tracks, made importing and editing so much easier. And when I posted straight from Edits to Instagram, the trending audio stayed attached. Pro tip: when posting from Edits, tag @creators and use #madewithedits in your caption! They might repost your reel to their story (they did with mine, and my video jumped from 10K to 100K views!).
Trending audio video after being shared by Instagram Creators
Access to Instagram’s music library is the biggest feature CapCut doesn’t offer. With CapCut, I often had to screen-record trending audio, manually import it, edit to the beat, export, and then hunt for the original Instagram audio again before posting. Edits can completely remove that hassle — and honestly, it might be a game changer.
How Can Instagram Edits Compete with CapCut?
The fact that you can edit to the beat of trending audio — for free — already puts Edits in a strong position. Most small businesses I work with aren’t doing voiceovers anyway; they just want a quick 10–15 second Reel with a snappy trending track.
However, for creators who rely on more advanced voiceover features (like more options for auto-caption animations, background noise scrubbers, precision trimming, or access to copyright-free music), Edits fall short. I’ve been paying CapCut Premium for these advanced features for a few years now. But if Edits could rival that and still remain free, I might just switch teams.
