Hey there fellow video creator! Do you spend hours shooting great video content only to find unusable background elements you wish you could remove? Or struggling to rework your existing 16:9 footage into vertical sizes for Instagram and TikTok?
If yes, I feel you. The right kind of video cropping makes all the difference between DIY-looking amateur output versus professional social media eye-candy!
Well, you’re in luck. With the latest cropper tools, elevating your videos is now easier than ever. These let you slice unwanted areas and retain the gold in no time.
As per Hubspot, edited and optimized videos generate 1200% higher shares. And good cropping lays the foundation for video that converts and compels.
But with so many apps and websites out there for cropping, which one to pick?
After testing numerous video cropper tools for my agency’s social media work, I’m sharing the 11 best ones that will be your new BFF! From lightweight browser apps to advanced desktop software, these provide all the control you need for stunning, share-worthy videos tailor-made for leading platforms.
Let’s explore them in detail…
Why Do You Need to Crop and Trim Videos?
With progress in camera and smartphone tech, shooting high quality footage is easier than ever. But raw videos directly off the device camera contain lots of editable clutter. Think unwanted backgrounds, skewed angles, excess sky/ground, random people walking across etc.
This is where cropping comes in clutch. Strategically slicing away distracting elements brings all attention to your key subject! Cropped videos exude a streamlined, professional mood that makes scrolling viewers stop and watch.
Benefits of video cropping include:
🔎 Remove boring backgrounds
🚫 Eliminate distractions like logos
🗜️ Highlight focal points using zooms
📏 Customize aspect ratios
✂️ Trim lengthy segments
⚡️ Improve pacing and impact
For my YouTube channel on mobile photography tricks, I create a lot of tutorial videos. Cropping helps emphasize app interfaces, gestures and camera lens movements for clearer guidance.
And cropping is crucial for social media too with different dimensions needed across platforms:
📱 Vertical for Instagram Reels and TikTok
💌 1:1 ratio for Instagram Stories and Facebook ads
⏺️ Widescreen 16:9 for YouTube and LinkedIn video posts
🖼️ Creative ratios for Pin shapes on Pinterest
With the pinpoint control modern cropper tools offer, I effortlessly repackage vertical shots into multiple formats to spread my videos far and wide into different channels!
Ready to lift your videos above the rest? Let’s look at the best cropping tools available today you’ll ever need!
11 Handpicked Video Cropper Tools for Flawless Edits
I’ve tested a vast range of dedicated video crop and trim tools from desktop to web to mobile. Based on parameters like features, usability, platform support and value, I shortlisted the top 11 best apps perfectly tailored to give your videos an express makeover!
I’ve categorized them across 3 sections:
A. Best Online Video Cropper Tools
Need quick trims without complex software downloads? Online browser-based tools make slicing distractions and changing dimensions easy using intuitive drag and drop interfaces. Ideal for urgent social media edits!
B. Best Desktop Video Cropper Software
For professional pixel-perfect control and high resolution exports, desktop editors utilize your powerful PC hardware for pro-quality cropping. Great for commercial and YouTube content.
C. Best Mobile Video Cropper Apps
On the move but need to crop some recent clips for your Instagram feed? Mobile apps help trim Shake-style footage instantly right off your phone!
Let’s explore my top picks across these categories in detail…
A. Best Online Video Cropper Tools
1. Kapwing 🏆
My favorite online video suite for quick-turnaround browser based editing!
With an easy drag and drop workflow, Kapwing makes cropping visual and intuitive. I love its well categorized templates for tailoring exports to leading social media sizes.
So I simply:
📼 Upload my raw footage
🖱️ Choose desired template like 1:1 Instagram story
😃 Drag crop area edges to highlight my preferred focus
🎞️ Preview to ensure my subject is cleanly framed
⚡ Export and directly share to Instagram stories!
I also utilize Kapwing’s additional overlays like text, stickers and emoji to create engaging social videos that convert into DMs and link clicks!
Their free plan meets most everyday video editing needs like:
✅ 20 exports per month
✅ 2GB max file size
✅ 480p SD resolution
2. VEED
VEED is another versatile browser-based editing app I rely on for quick video tile creation across multiple sizes.
Optimized for social media use, it provides handy crop presets for vertical Instagram stories, 1:1 Facebook covers, 16:9 YouTube thumbnails and more. I simply adjust the crop area corners to neatly frame my subject.
VEED also allows slicing longer footage into shorter clips using its intuitive timeline editor. I love sprinkling the cropped sections further with its filters, text captions and transitions!
The free plan allows:
✅ Unlimited exports
✅ 1 GB max size
✅ 720p HD resolution
3. ClipChamp
ClipChamp provides one of the simplest video cropper web apps tailored for beginners. If you’re just starting with editing, its straightforward workflow helps trim unwanted areas in minutes!
Just drag and drop your video onto ClipChamp’s canvas, adjust the crop overlay handles to taste and export crisp social-ready clips or widescreen YouTube shorts sans the junk elements!
Plus with its generous free plan of unlimited exports, ClipChamp is my go-to recommendation for hobbyists getting creative with video cropping.
B. Best Desktop Video Cropper Software
For professional editing projects where lossless quality and precision control matter, I leverage the power of desktop software. The ability to tap into the hardware horsepower of my PC enables flawless 4K exports!
4. Movavi Video Editor Plus
My favorite premium Windows/Mac editing software for cleanly eliminating unwanted footage areas while retaining select visuals I wish to accentuate!
With Movavi Video Editor Plus, I execute advanced crop adjustments like:
🔬 Zooming into focus areas using keyframes
🖌️ Softening or blurring new edges post crop
🎨 Overlaying custom graphical backgrounds behind subjects
This refines my travel vlogs, commercial product videos and YouTube channel explainers for greater clarity and visual polish!
Movavi also helps create split screens where I can composite two clips and apply custom crops to tell engaging before/after stories. This keeps my tech review videos fun and impactful.
And leveraging GPU acceleration, Movavi renders buttery smooth 4K or HD exports lightning fast!
While the platform feels premium, I found their pricing reasonable starting at $39.95. If you’re on Windows, I can’t recommend Movavi enough!
🔗 Download My Favorite Movavi Video Editor Plus
5. Adobe Premiere Pro
If you need the industry’s best crop editing fidelity, look no further than Premiere Pro! I often rely on Premiere’s precision cropping capabilities for commercial client projects.
It gives me pro-grade control to hand tune Boundary overlays across X and Y axes down to the last pixel for absolutely perfect framing. This helps cleanly overlay two visuals for striking split screens.
Premiere also makes panning and scanning adjustments easier for ending unwarranted areas smoothly. And I leverage its Motion tracking to fixate crop areas on fast moving subjects like vehicles and athletes smartly!
These intricate features do have learning curves but are a cinematographer’s delight for refined results!
While Premiere Pro seems pricey at $20.99/month, think of the exponential production value it adds making your video content shine brighter in crowded feeds!
As they say, when your clips look extraordinary, your audience can’t help but watch and engage more. Premiere Pro guarantees showstopping reactions you’ll love!
C. Best Mobile Video Cropper Apps
Shooting spontaneous video on my phone has become second nature these days with events unfolding unexpectedly. But I often capture gold nuggets like my toddler’s first dance steps amidst a mundane background.
That‘s where my trusty cropper apps help save the magic in seconds by cutting away unwanted footage before the moment passes!
6. InShot
My go-to iOS and Android app for quickly tailoring mobile clips into social media ready sizes like cropped vertical shorts for TikTok and Instagram Reels.
Its well categorized crop presets makes selection easy. I simply choose the desired template like 9:16 vertical, drag handles to frame my subject and export cute shareable moments for my followers to fawn over!
InShot’s handy toolkit featuring text captions, emojis and trending music helps spice up my cropped clips further. And its live preview enables iterate till I nail that perfect crop for engaging social videos in minutes minus the jarring background eyesores!
7. Videoleap by Lightricks
If you’re an iPhone user creating lots of vertical video for Instagram and TikTok, Videoleap is a must-try dedicated editing app tailored for social media mastery!
I love its intelligent autocrop suggestions based on shot content. This instantly identifies and recommends ideal focus areas to highlight in my clips. I simply review and tweak to optimize framing ahead of sharing online.
Beyond cropping, Videoleap provides a rich toolset of audio, animated text, graphics and effects to not just beautify my videos but also make them #fyp worthy!
While pricing starts from $9.99, Videoleap is my go-to weapon for virality-focused cropping. After all, strategic editing is the key to unlocking millions of eyeballs on social media today!
🔗 Download Gamechanging Videoleap iOS App
Key Aspects to Consider When Choosing a Video Cropper
With video croppers coming in all shapes and sizes, here are 5 key criteria I evaluate to determine the best match:
1. Supported Input Formats
The tool should support all commonly used media files like MOV, MP4, AVI, MKV etc. This ensures wide compatibility with footage from different devices.
2. Output Quality
See what export resolutions you get – 480p, 720p HD, 1080p Full HD, 4K. This governs the viewing crispness across platforms.
3. Aspect Ratio Presets
Tailored templates for vertical, square, widescreen and other dimensions needed for popular social networks and YouTube save enormous trial and error.
4. Overlay Capabilities
I love apps that allow adding text, emoji, stickers etc. This further beautifies my cropped footage for extra viral potential!
5. Platform Availability
Web apps allow instant use from any device while desktop editors provide editing muscle and mobile apps facilitate on-the-go convenience. Choose as per your workflow.
Prioritize features fitting your filming subject, target platforms, skill level and quality expectations.
MyScenario → Recommended Tool
🎥 Hollywood production → Adobe Premiere Pro
🏀 Sports highlight clips → Movavi Video Editor
👶🏻 Kid’s birthday video → Kapwing
🎮 Gaming stream edits → VEED
📸 Instagram story selfies → InShot
Customize selections to your specific video content needs for awesome crop editing results!
Cropping Tips for Common Video Subjects
Depending on your typical video subject, utilize these pro cropping techniques for share-worthy edits:
Portraits
⏹️ Crop from below the chest up to around top of head
🔍 Leave some space to allow subjects to gaze into
🦵 Avoid decapitating hands or limbs at edges
Landscapes
↕️ Think rule of thirds; don’t center subjects
🔂 Include some foreground and background elements
🏞️ Avoid large swathes of empty skies or water
Products
💈 Get closeups of product features and textures
⚖️ Balance surroundings to not divert attention from product
📐 Consider interesting angles like 45° top shots
Food
😋 Focus on the delicious components up close
🌿 Include some nice table decor context
🥣 Use overhead shots to showcase plating
…And so on. Master shots for your niche with strategic cropping in mind to share striking footage worth watching!
Exporting Cropped Videos for Different Platforms
Got a nice cropped clip ready? Optimize exports for each platform as per recommended specifications.
🔳 YouTube – Up to 7680×4320 8K but minimum 1920×1080 1080p
🔳 Facebook – 1280×720 720p HD suggested
🔳 Instagram Feed – 1080×1080 px works best
🔳 Instagram Stories – Minimum 600×1067 px for vertical
🔳 TikTok – Recommended 1080×1920 px vertical
Refer to each network’s latest 2021 video dimensions guide for the most up-to-date specs.
Finally, use the right hashtags, captions and calls-to-action to further amplify your visually stunning cropped videos for winning more eyeballs!
Wrapping Up on the Best Video Cropper Tools
Phew, that was quite the epic journey across 11 awesome video croppers perfect for giving your footage an instant facelift!
Whether you’re a social media manager needing to repurpose vertical shots into multiple sizes, filmmaker seeking advanced editing or smartphone vlogger shooting spontaneous clips…you now have the right cropping weapon to eliminate junk and highlight moments that make audiences watch, wow and engage more!
As you skill up your video editing prowess, remember the 80:20 principle:
💡 80% impact comes from strategic cropping
💡 20% from fancy effects and flourishes
So focus first on clean framing through diligent slicing to hero your subjects and nail the foundation. Then layer on the spice judiciously!
Here’s raising a toast 🥂 to professional-grade video cropping lifting your content above the scroll with these handpicked tools! Go show ‘em who’s boss!
I’d love to see your before/after cropped video edits and tips. Share them with me @video_cropping_guide. Happy slicing!
