There are a ton of “free” video editing apps out there… and most of them are utter crap. You’ll either get slammed with watermarks, export limits, or all the good stuff locked behind a paywall. So in this video I break down my top picks for the best free video editing apps in 2026 that are genuinely free, have no watermarks on your exports, and are actually usable on iPhone and Android (with one iPhone-only option right now). And yep—no CapCut in this list, because the free version is way too restricted these days. I cover YouTube Create as YouTube’s answer to CapCut: simple to use, runs on iOS and Android, and it’s got some surprisingly pro AI tools like audio cleanup and background removal, plus direct access to the YouTube music and SFX libraries. Then I go through Adobe Premiere Mobile on iPhone, which feels fast, fluid and more precise for dialing in edits—plus it can export projects to desktop Premiere. And if you want the most control (export settings, keyframing, advanced audio) my go-to is VN Video Editor—it’s the best mix of easy + serious editing, just without the same level of AI features. I also throw in Instagram Edits as the honorable mention if you’re focused on Reels and portrait content.