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If you’re looking for the best editing apps for Instagram, you’ve come to the right place! There are so many apps out there right now that it can be hard to decide which are worthwhile. It’s also hard to know if you need expensive photo or video editing software to take your content to the next level. But the good news is, we’ve done the hard work and research for you!
We’ve rounded up our top 15 editing apps for photos, videos & stories to up your insta game without breaking the bank. As travel bloggers and content creators we use these all the time (pretty much daily!) and because they’re so good, we hardly do any of our content creation on our laptops anymore. We know they’ll help you on your creative journey, as well!
Best Photo Editing Apps for Instagram
Lightroom – our #1 photo editing app for Instagram!
There’s no denying that Lightroom is the premiere photo editing app out there. The amount of control it allows you to have over your photos is second to none, and it’s FREE! Whether we’re posting a quick iPhone photo to our stories or editing a Raw Image from our camera, we always edit in Lightroom. We used to predominately use the desktop version, which is a paid subscription service, but now we do more than 50% of all our edits in the mobile app. It’s AMAZING how easy it is and how quickly we can turn around content this way!
To make our edits even quicker and easier we designed our own Lightroom Presets (which are like custom photo filters). They’re made to work with the free Lightroom app and make your photos pop in 1-click. Then you can use the app to quickly make any adjustments to the edit so it’s perfect for that specific photo!
You can check out our Mobile Presets here and see our editing tutorials on our preset Instagram @lhto_presets!
TouchRetouch
The TouchRetouch app is a godsend when it comes to removing unwanted objects or people in your photos! I’m not sure why we were so late to the game on this, but until recently we had to use our laptops and Photoshop ($$$!) to edit people and objects out. Not the most fun process when you just want a quick edit!
A few days ago we edited people out on a patterned staircase as well as edited out a piece of furniture using TouchRetouch, and it was pretty darn impressive! It’s only $1.99 in the Apple app store, and worth every penny. (We also have tutorials showing this app on @lhto_presets)
Sliidr
Have you seen those carousel posts on IG where there’s one landscape image split across two photos (like photos 2 & 3 in the carousel below)? If so, it was likely done in the Sliidr app ($0.99 in the app store)! Because splitting landscape shots like this is its primary purpose, the app is super simple. However, if you want to play around with different types of posts it’s a nice one to use to add variety in your feed!
Lens Distortions
Lens Distortions is an awesome app for adding lens flares into your photos without using Photoshop! There are dozens of different lens flares to use and you can adjust them for the setting as you see fit.
Here is a tutorial on how we use it!
PicsArt
PicsArt has taken the place of Photoshop in my editing flow for quite a few things! It’s so great for adding things into your images (think fireworks, flowers, leaves, etc) since they have a huge stock image library. The app is also great for layering photos on top of each other to combine the two (like how in the above I added a different photo to the iPhone screen).
There’s actually so much you can do to get creative with this app – I definitely recommend playing around with it!
Tezza App
Tezza App is great for both editing photos and videos! It includes a small library of filters if you don’t want to use Lightroom, and allows you to adjust quite a few of the settings. The real reason we downloaded it, though, was for the “dust” effect and the yellow subtitles you see tons of creators using.
Best Video Editing Apps for Instagram
InShot – our #1 video editing app for Instagram!
If we’re being honest, learning video was the most daunting part of becoming travel bloggers. All the programs seemed super complex (& pricey!!) and we had no idea where to begin. And then we found this app – InShot (which is free in the app store)! GAME CHANGER!
You can make video montages, cut, slice, reverse, change the speed, etc. all in a super intuitive app! You can also change the aspect ratio of videos and add transitions, music, filters & text. Oh, and you can also use photos too if you want to make a slideshow of sorts.
Whether we’re stitching together a quick TikTok or IG video (below) …
Or editing a video for a client (like below), InShot is our go to.
One thing InShot is not the best at, in our opinion, is filters. We find that making adjustments/filters in the app causes a degradation of quality, so now we first edit the colors in Video LUT or Creator Hub (see below) and then import to InShot to put the whole video together!
Video LUT
Video LUT is like Lightroom but for videos! It gives you the same control over the colors in your videos and allows you to make individual adjustments (instead of just applying an overall filter). They also have built-in video presets to use, and some creators also offer Video LUT presets to purchase just like Lightroom.
We’re admittedly pretty new to the Video LUT train, but it’s the one of the only video color editing apps we’ve found that doesn’t seem to degrade the quality. Plus, if you want to post both photos and videos in your Instagram feed and keep the colors looking consistent, this is a great tool!
A couple downsides of Video LUT, though, are that it’s $4.99 to buy and can be a little tricky to ramp up on. So before buying it we’d suggest really thinking about how much you’ll use it and how much time you’re willing to spend learning the app features.
VSCO
VSCO is an editing app that’s been around a long time but their video editing keeps getting better and better! There are SO many presets and effects to choose from and the app is super intuitive (a lot easier to use than Video LUT above). It also allows you to have a really good amount of control over the adjustments after applying a preset (including the HSL tab!). Overall, if you’re looking for an easy video color grading app, VSCO would get my vote.
VSCO is a subscription-based app and it’s $19.99 for the whole year. Given the fact that is has hundreds of pre-loaded video and photo presets and many other fun ways to create, it’s definitely worth it.
Tezza App
Like I mentioned above, the Tezza App can be used for editing both videos and photos. For me, I love the video presets and the effects you can add to videos! You can add dust, subtitles, frames, and other effects that make videos super fun and vintage. Plus you can turn a normal video into a stop motion video in the app!
IMGplay
If you want to create your own GIF (like the one in the carousel below), IMGplay is going to be your best friend. This app makes it sooo simple to make a GIF from your photos. All you have to do is take a series of photos and them import them into the app. Then you can change the speed of the GIF, canvas size, etc.
When you’re done you’re given the option to save it in a video or GIF format (highly recommend video for IG posting!), choose how many times it loops, and determine what quality you’d like. It’s so simple and can really add a lot of fun to your content! Plus, it’s FREE in the app store!
Best Instagram Story Editing Apps
Unfold
In our opinion Unfold is the OG Insta-story app. We used it for a long time before we became bloggers, and we still use it to this day! You can import both videos and photos and it allows you to make fun collages and storylines for your Instagram stories. Plus, it’s super simple to use.
Some templates in the app come free, others you pay per design pack (usually around $2), and then recently they released “exclusive” designs for people with a monthly membership. We just use the free ones and a couple packs we purchased (RP1 and FF1) and that’s ample for us.
Mojo
Mojo is a super fun app to make stories that have movement! I’m sure you’ve seen the stories where the photos float in and then the text writes beautifully over it. There are quite a few templates to choose from but once you click into one you can just start playing around and make it your own – that’s what we do!
We use this app a lot to promote blogs in our stories, answer Q&A or show editing before and afters. It’s free in the app store and then you have the option to upgrade to “Pro” (which we haven’t done).
Canva
Canva is the Holy Grail for Instagrammers and bloggers wanting to do any sort of graphic design. It’s free in the app store and you can also use it on your laptop and the designs will sync!
We predominately love using Canva to make all of our blog’s Pinterest graphics, but there is so much more you can do with it! It has templates for Instagram stories, logos, social media posts, Pinterest covers, media kits – you name it. Whether you want to design unique stories to launch a new product or make your own cute story game templates (“this or that” anyone??) for your audience to participate in, Canva has a design for it.
TBH we’re looking at the app right now and we’ve already taken screenshots of 10 fun insta story templates we want to try.. So if you’re following us on IG apologies in advance for the templated game overload in our stories hehe.
Mache
Mache is relatively new and super similar to Unfold, but it has a few other templates that are super cute! Just like Unfold, you get a pack or two of templates for free and then you pay per pack after that. We really like their Classic Collection and their Film & Photography pack.
Mosaic
Mosaic is a new IG stories app by @katerinandyinon and it’s so much fun! It’s a great app for creating engaging stories with still photos. It seamlessly allows you to put together a multi-slide story to unveil a photo and tell a story (I’m sure you’ve seen creators using this recently!).
Well, there we have it – our Top 15 Editing Apps for Instagram! Did we miss any of your favs? Have you tried any of these? Comment below & let’s connect!
Want to learn more about photography?
If you’re interested in learning more about our photography tips, check out our Photography Course! Also check out our Photography Gear that we use for all of our photos and videos!
XO,
Kylie & Scott
