iMovie review

iMovie is the gentlest start in video editing for anyone in the Apple world. Pick an album and Magic Movies builds a finished video with titles, transitions and music, no editing required. Storyboards walk you through 20 popular video types with placeholder clips to fill, which works well for kids making a school project, and the trailer templates, 14 on iPhone and iPad and 29 on Mac, turn a weekend trip into a mock Hollywood trailer with credits. When you want more control, iMovie offers 8 themes, 13 video filters, green screen, picture in picture, split screen and more than 130 soundtracks that fit the length of your movie. It exports up to 4K at 60 frames per second on iPhone and iPad and can hand projects to Final Cut Pro on a Mac. The limits are the Apple-only platform and a smaller toolset than CapCut or Premiere mobile, with no auto captions among its listed features.

Who it is for

Families with iPhones, iPads or Macs who want to make home movies with no cost and almost no learning.

Price

Free on iPhone, iPad and Mac, with no in-app purchases listed.

iMovie Turn videos into movie magic Free
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 8, 2026.

Key features

• Magic Movies build a finished video from an album with titles, transitions and music
• 20 Storyboards for popular video types
• 14 trailer templates with original scores on iPhone and iPad
• Green screen, picture in picture and split screen effects
• Exports up to 4K at 60 frames per second

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Free, with no subscription
• Strength: Magic Movies need no editing at all
• Strength: Projects move from iPhone or iPad to a Mac or into Final Cut Pro
• Weakness: Apple devices only, with no Windows or Android version
• Weakness: Fewer tracks and effects than CapCut or Premiere mobile
• Weakness: No auto captions listed among its features

Key facts

• Developer: Apple
• Platforms: iPhone, iPad and Mac
• Price: Free
• Trailer templates: 14 on iPhone and iPad, 29 on Mac
• Max export: 4K at 60fps on iPhone and iPad

Where it ranks

iMovie is No. 4 in our Best Video Editing Software verdict.