Kapwing is not only the best free video maker available, it is also a game-changer for novice video makers (like myself).
The mission
With an impressive list of growing tools, Kapwing should be charging users hundreds of dollars for their platform. But they aren’t. And they never will.
They live out their mission to enable digital storytelling by providing a simple, accessible (ahem, free), fast, and collaborative product.
They are so confident in the product they don’t even require a username or password.
You heard me right.
You can upload, edit, and download a final product for free, without ever having to give them any information.
But trust me, you will definitely want to create an account so that you can keep coming back to edit your video projects over and over.
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Re-discovering Kapwing
:insert angels singing here:
I stumbled upon Kapwing years ago as a teacher, loved it, but never really thought much of it.
As a new blogger, I found myself needing a new video editing tool.
I had forgotten all about Kapwing. So I used my computer’s Windows Photo Editor to start.
It took me a week. Not kidding. A whole week. Just to put together a sub-par video in Windows Photo Editor.
Every time I needed a feature (like converting video formats, editing playback speed, adding audio tracks, etc.) I had to use a different online tool.
This was a hassle.
Not to mention, each of these ‘free online tools’ added their own watermarks to my video, or were so spammy that I couldn’t figure out how to export my product.
One of these ‘free video editors’ even distorted the audio track of my project so much that it was completely off-sync.
Feeling defeated, I remember using something in the past to edit videos and wondered if I could find it again. I Googled “easy free video editor.”
Enter Kapwing.
I instantly recognized the name and knew that I had previously used it.
I got to work right away on creating parts 2 and 3 of my video series in their video studio.
Basic features (free)
To my surprise, Kapwing has grown since I used it years ago. They now have to alphabetize their tools because there are so many (I counted over 50 free tools).
Everything that I wanted to do in my video previously was available in the Kapwing video editor studio and with many other features.
They offer traditional video editing tools like splitting and trimming video, adding an audio track, image and text overlays, and video transitions. These are features that I would expect a free editing platform to have.
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Out-of-this-world-amazing-features (also free)
- Captions (and subtitles). If you are a digital content creator, you know how important captions are. Most people do not listen to videos with the audio on.
- Cropping and resizing. Crop and resize your video to fit any digital platform. You can take one video and make it work with the aspect rations for YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and more.
- Background remover. Remove the background from your images and videos.
Pro-Tip: This is seriously amazing. I looked into green screen editing a few weeks ago, and it looked like I was going to need to pay the big bucks and learn how to use Adobe Premiere Pro to accomplish this. Even something simple like removing the background from your images is something that other free content editors like Canva charge premium fees for… Because it is hard to do!! Who has time to learn how to use Photoshop!?
- Remove sound. Detach the audio from your video and remove all or some of it. This was amazing for me, as like I said, my audio got distorted, and I needed to re-record. This brings me to the next amazing feature…
- Record audio. Not just upload an audio file… Actually, record a voice-over.
- Video speed editor. HELLO Tik Tok! Are you struggling to get your content into a 60-second clip? This is the key. Speed your video up! Or, slow your video down.
- Watermark. Add your own watermark, logo, waveform, or progress bar to your video for a professional finish. This is actually bananas! Not only can you download your video from Kapwing for free without their watermark, but they also let you add your own. Mind blown.
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So easy an elementary student can use it
Seriously. They advertise this. They aren’t lying.
Kapwing is, plain-and-simple, easy to use.
I am a mom, a crafter, and a teacher. I am not a professional video editor. I am not a digital content guru. But Kapwing allows me to make the content as if I were both of these things.
Pro Tip: Want another free tool for creating Pinterest Pins for your blog in minutes? Check out my review of Tailwind Create.
The catch
I have told you about all of the reasons why Kapwing is the best free video editor.
I have listed all of my favorite tools, and I have shown you the results of using their product.
The whole time I have raved about how the product is free. And not just free, but free-free. No sign-ups or accounts are required.
So what’s the catch?
Ok. There is a catch. But as far as catches go, Kapwing might be the least painful one I have ever seen.
Free users can only upload up to 250MB at a time to the library. They can only export videos that are 7 minutes or shorter. They can only export 3 hours of video per month. They can only store and edit video content for 2 days.
That’s it!
There aren’t any off-limit tools that you have to pay to use. They don’t lure you in with promises and then make you pay at the last minute (… after spending hours painstakingly editing your content) like other shady ‘free’ online video editors.
Of all of the restrictions, the only one that was problematic for me was only being able to store and edit content for 2 days.
So, if you don’t finish your product and download it in 2 days, you have to start over.
Be mindful of this, and use it as I did as a deadline to actually get my work done!
Kapwing Pro? Or no?
Kapwing does have a premium membership for individuals and teams.
All of the tools are available to everyone. Free and pro.
So why upgrade?
Upgrade to Pro if:
- You don’t want to learn complicated software. Kapwing Pro is definitely the best alternative to Adobe Premiere Pro.
- You want to be able to go back and edit older videos. After 2 days, you can no longer edit or download your free content. With a Pro account, you can store and edit your videos with no time constraint.
- You need to create longer videos. You will certainly feel the upload and download restrictions of the free account.
Pro-Tip: Chances are, if you are editing longer videos, you are creating a lot of digital content, and you need a premium tool like Adobe Premiere Pro or Kapwing Pro.
If you’re not making videos, you are behind.
Even predominantly text and image-based social media platforms like Pinterest are switching to video content with video pins and story pins.
So, mommies, makers, teachers, and creators… What are you waiting for?
Easily create content using Kapwing’s free video editing platform to promote your brand:
- Pinterest story pins
- Tik Tok videos
- Instagram stories or reels
- Jumpropes
- YouTube videos
Or whatever else your heart desires… Because Kapwing can make it all happen.
