Adobe Express alternatives

Why people look for a Adobe Express alternative

Adobe Express is a design app with video tools added. People look for an alternative when they start filming real footage: it can trim and resize, but it isn't built for cutting takes together, tightening pauses or shaping a talking video.

CapCut: hands-on editing for TikTok and Reels

CapCut is a timeline editor for social videos, known for its templates, effects and one-tap AI tools. Pick it if you enjoy editing and want the biggest library of trending templates and effects.

Free plan: yes, with paid tools locked. Paid from $9.99 a month, on iPhone, Android, Mac, desktop and web. It's still a timeline: you choose every cut yourself, and the captions most creators want are listed under the $19.99 plan.

Clipchamp: a free, simple editor in the browser

Clipchamp is Microsoft's simple video editor that runs in a browser, with templates, stock media and a few free AI helpers. Pick it if you want a free, watermark-free editor in your browser, especially if you already pay for Microsoft 365.

Free plan: yes: 1080p, no watermark. Paid from $9.99 a month, with Microsoft 365, on Web and Windows. You still build the video yourself on a timeline, and silence removal only catches pauses longer than three seconds.

InShot: cheap, quick editing on a phone

InShot is a phone video and photo editor for quick social clips, with a cheap Pro upgrade and a pay-once option. Pick it if you edit on your phone and want the cheapest upgrade around: $19.99 a year or $49.99 once.

Free plan: yes, with some effects locked. Paid from $4.99 a month, or $19.99 a year, on iPhone, iPad and Android. Everything is done by hand on a small screen, and there's no desktop or web version.

Descript: podcasts and interviews, edited as text

Descript is a video and audio editor where you edit the transcript to edit the video, with an AI assistant called Underlord that takes plain-language instructions. Pick it if you make podcasts or interviews and like the idea of deleting words on a page to cut the video.

Free plan: yes: 720p with a watermark. Paid from $16 a month, billed yearly, on Web, Windows and Mac. You still work inside an editor and read through a transcript, and the AI help is rationed by monthly credits.

Krafto: describe the edit instead of making it

Krafto works differently from every editor on this page: you upload your clips and say what you want, and it cuts the retakes and pauses, adds captions and hands you a first cut. You change things by asking, and the timeline is still there if you want it. It costs $25 a month. There's no free plan, so it only makes sense if editing is the part you want off your plate.

Where it loses: no free plan or trial, no phone app, and no template library: you film, Krafto cuts, and you check the result in a browser.

Which Adobe Express alternative should you choose?

Choose CapCut if you enjoy editing and want the biggest library of trending templates and effects.

Choose Clipchamp if you want a free, watermark-free editor in your browser, especially if you already pay for Microsoft 365.

Choose InShot if you edit on your phone and want the cheapest upgrade around: $19.99 a year or $49.99 once.

Choose Descript if you make podcasts or interviews and like the idea of deleting words on a page to cut the video.

Choose Krafto if you film yourself talking, you'd rather describe the edit than make it, and $25 a month with no free plan is acceptable for not editing. No free plan or trial, no phone app, and no template library: you film, Krafto cuts, and you check the result in a browser.

Stay with Adobe Express if you make graphics and short promo videos from templates and want brand kits and stock in one place.

When Adobe Express is still the right choice

For social graphics, flyers, and short promo videos made from a template, Adobe Express is a good choice, and the free plan covers a lot. If you already pay for Creative Cloud Pro, Premium is included.