With platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram driving the demand for engaging and creative videos, the consumption of such content is at an all time high. One app that has gained immense popularity in the realm of creating and editing videos is CapCut, with over 500 million downloads per platform. However, building similar software is no small feat, as it involves navigating the complexities of video editing, integrating advanced features, and ensuring seamless user experience. In this article, we will show you how to speed up building a video editing app like CapCut by using a video editing SDK.
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TL;DR:
- CapCut is popular because it's backed by TikTok, free, user-friendly, and has many useful features;
- Developing a similar app from scratch is possible, but will likely take a lot of time and effort;
- Using a video editing SDK will shorten the time-to-market and decrease the necessary budget.
Why is CapCut successful?
TikTok wasn’t the first platform to promote short videos (remember Vine?). However, it popularized the format and made it the leading content form. CapCut is owned by the same company and plays into the same concepts. It has all the tools one needs to create short viral videos and share them easily.
One of the key reasons for its popularity is its accessibility - CapCut is free to download and use, making it a great option for both beginners and experienced editors alike. Additionally, the app offers a variety of templates and presets that make it easy to create professional-looking videos in just a few simple steps.
Key features of CapCut include:
- Intuitive editing tools such as trim, cut, merge, and speed adjustment
- A wide range of filters, effects, and transitions to enhance your videos
- Customizable text and stickers to add a personal touch to your creations
- Music library with a diverse selection of songs to add to your videos
- Easy sharing options to post your videos on social media platforms or save them to your device
Overall, CapCut's popularity can be attributed to its combination of powerful editing tools, creative features, and ease of use, making it a go-to choice for anyone looking to create high-quality videos on their mobile device.
How to copy it
If you want to build a similar app or integrate such features into a different one (a social and travel app, for example), you have two main options: creating everything from scratch or integrating a video editor SDK.
DIY
Choosing this approach means developing similar functionality from the ground up. This is possible either through your in-house IT team or by hiring a software development company.
Pros:
- More control. You get to choose the priorities, features for the minimum viable product, technologies, etc.
- Complete ownership. Software that your team has built (or that you paid someone to build) is your intellectual property. It has its own value and can increase the valuation of your company, should you decide to take it public.
- Unique features. You can decide to include something that no SDK has and make this plan a reality.
- Development risks. What if the offshore development company that you’ve hired to build an app like CapCut goes bankrupt? What if your most experienced in-house developer leaves? There are plenty of ways things can go wrong, and all the risks are on you to manage.
Cons:
- Higher initial investment. Software development costs money. Depending on the team you use and the scope of work, making an app like CapCut could cost over $250.000. You will have to bankroll the development efforts with no guarantee of success.
- Longer time-to-market. Creating a video editor could take months. In this time, your competitors could already get listed and start receiving user feedback and cash flow.
- Responsibility. You will have to spend money on maintaining your CapCut-like app. The tech world is moving forward, and you’ll need to keep up to engage users and ensure that your software works as intended.
In general, this approach is more suited for a larger companies with appropriately large budgets and experienced development teams.
Use an SDK
A software development kit (SDK) is a ready-made module with the necessary functionalities that you can quickly integrate into your project. Imagine that you are making a car. Instead of designing and producing an engine, you just buy one from a reliable manufacturer and install it. The idea is the same.
Pros:
- Lower initial costs. A yearly SDK license is a small fraction of the development cost for a CapCut-like app. This means that you can spend your budget on other things (e.g. user acquisition) and risk losing less, if the idea doesn’t gain enough traction.
- Quicker release. Integrating a well-packaged software development kit takes less that a working day. You’ll be able to test everything and launch your app before your competitors.
- More features. Releasing an entirely new product necessitates a limited feature set. A commercial SDK that has been available for a few years will have way more functionalities.
- Support and updates. The company that developed the SDK is responsible for maintaining it in working condition.
Cons:
- Limited customization. SDKs are one-size-fits-all by necessity. If you want something entirely different and unique, you’ll have to build it yourself.
However, there are options. For example, Banuba Video Editor SDK has an API version that has fewer features out-of-the-box, but offers more space for customization. - Similarity to other projects. Other companies will be using the SDK you’ve chosen. This means your product’s interface will look similar to others. This can hurt your brand recognition somewhat.
SDKs are a better way forward for small and medium businesses, as well as companies that don’t specialize in software development or want to limit their risk exposure.
Integrating an SDK
In this case, we will be using Banuba Video Editor SDK, as it fits the purpose the best.
About Banuba Video Editor SDK
Banuba Video Editor SDK is a full-fledged suite for creating and editing short-form audiovisual content. It comes prepackaged with many impressive features:
- Trimming/merging
- Drafts
- Audio editing
- Background replacement
- Color filters
- 3D masks
- Rapid/slo-mo
- Picture-in-picture (duets)
- AI-generated captions
- Etc.
It is compatible with native Android and iOS, as well as React Native and Flutter. So it will fit no matter what you use for your project.
Video Editor SDK is designed to be easy to implement. The entire process takes a few hours, and in some cases – about 15 minutes.
It also fulfills all the privacy requirements (e.g. GDPR) by design, as this product doesn’t collect user data and processes almost everything on the user’s device – AI-generated subtitles are the only exception.
Integration
The first step is to request the SDK archive and the trial token. This way you’ll be able to test this product for 14 days, no credit card required. Simply send us a message through a contact form below.
The second step is to merge the SDK with your project. It is distributed as CocoaPods or Maven packages (depending on the platform) to speed up integration. See the detailed updated instructions below (links to GitHub):
Conclusion
CapCut is popular thanks to its user-friendly interface and a wide range of useful features. Replicating them from scratch is possible if you have an in-house development team and/or a large enough budget. To limit expenses and risks, as well as launch the app earlier, choosing a video editor SDK, especially the one from Banuba, is the optimal solution.
