Video Editing App Development: Key Features and Cost Estimation

• Mobile
• September 9, 2020

by Sumeet Thakkar

Smartphones have eased many things for us, which presently incorporates photography and video editing. The rise of some amazing video editing apps available for both iOS and Android smartphones has made video editing seamless.

This is why now there is no requirement for file transferring to another laptop or computer or device. Video editing has not been so simpler before.

We cannot refuse that video content plays an integral part in our life. According to Cisco’s prediction, the video traffic’s share will be 79% of the worldwide internet traffic by the end of 2020. And video editing apps play a pivotal role in making and promoting video content.

In this blog, we will discuss how to develop a video editing app, what to consider while developing, types of video editing apps, what challenges you may face at the time of development, and how much it costs to develop a video editing app, etc. Let’s get started!

Statistics and Trends of the Video Editing App Market

Since the smartphones arrived with the video playback feature, the online video watching found excessive development in the market. As per the PointsGroup research, beginning from 2012 to 2014, a 400% extension in the mobile video views was registered.

As per eMarketer forecast, in 2023, around 2.72 million people will watch video on their mobile phone. Hence, it has made sufficient space for the video editing app industry, as maximum people like to edit their videos using a mobile app actively.

Types of Video Recording & Editing Apps

The app market is full of many types of video editing apps. These applications can be classified into 5 key categories:

• Video editing apps
• Video recording apps
• Screen recording apps
• Apps having both video editing and recording functionality
• Apps having both screen recording and editing functionality

Scopes in Developing a Video Editing App

It is predicted that the mobile video market will cross $25 billion by 2021. Moreover, your video editing app can have a good share in case you do not wait till it’s very late to develop your app.

In a video editing application, you can add several features like a choice for making and publishing stories, making filter-based and theme-based videos, and more for mobile users across the world.

As per the current user demands, we can say that the mobile video market will undoubtedly benefit from these video editing apps. You just require understanding that the market needs innovation and you will need to make a robust app to move ahead and get noticed in the game.

What to Consider While Developing a Video Editing App

Many video editing apps are available in the app market, which have obtained huge success with their unique and robust features. This app development is a critical and lengthy procedure that needs to take many decisions.

To reduce risks and provide an amazingly great product, you must polish your ideal appropriately. You should assess your competitors, decide your target audience, and define your competitors’ weaknesses and strengths.

Here are some general aspects to take into account while developing a video editing app:

1. Establish Your Idea

When you are at the phase of app ideation, more challenges are around validating your app idea and creating the product. Detailed study and research can help arrive with an exclusive method that can identify the market requirements efficiently.

The idea should be achievable and the idea’s possibility can be accomplished by conducting the market study, a competitive assessment, and streamlining definite targets within a decided tenure.

2. Decide Your Target Audience

You must understand who will be utilizing your app and for whom you develop it. You must find out the average users’ issues that they need to fix and their interests.

Since it is regarding video editing app development, your target audience will possibly be more into video blogging, active hobbies, travels, sports, and more.

Based on this, you can assume that the app will come ready for people who need to capture their special moments and share thoughts on social platforms with their loved ones.

Here are some criteria to define your target audience:

• Location
• Age
• Income level
• Interests

This approach will help you assess more accurately and define your target audience better. Alongside this, you can use different question-answer sites like Quora for asking real individuals regarding their encounter of using video editing mobile apps and find their outlook on things to make their user experience better.

Also, you can ask your family and friends why they utilize video editing apps, what issues they fix using them, what features they prefer, and what features they want to have.

3. Make a List of User-Friendly Features

While creating an application, you should keep the interface spontaneous as nobody prefers experiencing lots of guides or steps for availing a feature. And a similar thing goes for application functionality.

Hence you should start with the MVP (Minimal Viable Product) version, where you can let users get acquainted with the app first.

Once they get familiar with the app, ponder their feedback and inputs. This is how you can obtain a better understanding of the features your target audience likes, and this will enhance the whole success of your application.

A few examples of the robust features that you can apply to your video editing app are:

• Incorporating many files into videos or images or both.
• Adding tracks or audio effects.
• Maximized edits (shades, tints, temperature, contrast, saturation, exposition, etc.).
• Adding frames or trimming down the video.
• Social media share features
• Editing during recording using textures, filters, and special effects.
• Saving video in many formats.

The aforesaid features can help you allure and increase user base while causing higher user retention and acquisition.

4. Select a Monetization Model

The next step is to decide your monetization model. You can better select a monetization model in the previous steps to abstain from redeveloping a specific part of the logic of the application. In case you are unsure of which one is more favorable, you can A/B test various tactics.

Here are 4 monetization models regularly utilized in well-known video editing apps:

• Freemium Model – This tactic is a little different. The application can be downloaded for free, but some features need in-app purchases. For instance, inShot eliminates watermarks and ads from the video for a one-time purchase of $2.99.
• In-App Advertising – This technique speaks for itself. The app is free to download, but users can see advertises. VivaVideo is a great example of a free video editing app that has ads.
• Paymium – It’s not a common monetization model but often it may be discovered among video editing apps. Apps are paid for downloading and require in-app purchases simultaneously. LumaFusion for iOS is the most popular app with this monetization model.
• Subscription Model – This is the most popular monetization model among video editing apps. You can make your app free, but with a choice to purchase a subscription. For example, Kinemaster incorporates watermarks to every video, so users must purchase a subscription for $4.99 for removing them.

5. Integrate With Social Media

Integrating with social platforms is the most vital component of every video editing app. Once all users have made interesting content, they would like to share it immediately on social media platforms for maximizing its visibility.

It’s a great idea to include as many social media channels in your video editing app for helping them share videos automatically across different platforms.

Basic Features to Include in Video Editing App

Once you have considered all of the aforementioned aspects, it’s time to have a closer look at the app features!

The Panels in the App

There will be 2 panels in the case of basic features:

1. Admin Panel

• Admin login
• coupons and subscriptions Management
• Manage all users
• Manage editing styles and themes
• User-friendly dashboard

2. User Panel

• Log in or Sign up
• Verification of email
• Make a movie or video
• Different editing styles and themes
• Automatic selection of videos or images
• Settings
• Upload customized music
• Video post
• User actions
• Variety channels
• Save post in a private album
• My album
• My movies
• Coupons
• My account
• Subscription

Advanced Features to Include in Video Editing App

1. Integrating Payment Gateway

Now making payments has become easier with the integration of the payment gateway. Users can pay safely for their subscriptions and in-app purchases.

For making the transaction procedure easier for users, you should integrate not only 1 or 2 but many payment gateways in your app.

2. Real-Time Reports & Analytics

With some APIs, real-time data can be gathered from the data servers and a report can be made for knowing the users count with a paid or free subscription, how users make their videos, the number of users that shared the videos, the count of downloads, etc.

3. Add Sound Effects

Users must be permitted for adding music or sound effects, whether it’s a soundtrack or their voice, and the app must also provide audio filters like rain, storm, etc.

4. Edit Current Videos

Make sure that the application your build features the functionality of loading the current videos for editing as it’s not every time the case that the user needs to edit a new video.

5. Combine Fragments into a Single File

This feature makes the video making task hassle-free. Users can make videos from tours, vacations or they can make video presentations for work purposes.

6. Stickers and Filters

In case you compare your application with other applications that are present in the market, you will understand the necessity of the existence of filters and stickers within every video editing app.

7. Artificial Intelligence

AR (Artificial Intelligence) can help a video editing app do an excellent job. It adds features like auto choosing images and videos for making a movie.

When you find the excellence of AI in an app, it can choose videos and photos from your gallery to edit. It’s a simple approach to allure users towards the app and makes them engaged in it also.

Although I have enlisted a lot of features above, creativity is the one feature to make you stand out. Don’t restrict it by any means and utilize it as much as you can.

Technical Challenges of Building a Video Editing App

The process of developing a video editing app is not very simple. Both android app development and iOS app development are different. Developers should fix many tech challenges that you must know about being a product owner.

Let’s have a look at iOS and Android tech challenges and find the most necessitous of them in detail!

Android Development Difficulties

The most critical pitfalls that even an Android app development company might encounter are related to video rendering speed and developing features not available in pre-existing solutions.

1. Handling Redo/Undo Actions

In building such functionality, developers should know which actions can be canceled. The primary job is to gather all functions into one mechanism that will merge all user actions and implement them into the video.

2. Video Rendering Functionality

There are 2 special tools to process videos on Android: Transcoder and FFmpeg. FFmpeg has many scopes, but a low processing speed. Simultaneously, Transcoder has a high processing speed, but not great functionalities. Moreover, it’s a critical tool to work with.

In case you require adding some features that are not present in Transcoder (watermarks), the app development time necessarily increases.

3. Filters (Negative, Sepia, and More)

Pre-made solutions are the best options to apply various filters in the video editing app. However, there is a possibility of experiencing an issue when the required filters are absent in the library or OpenGL is utilized. The latter is a strong tool that helps developers do nearly everything but takes much time.

iOS Development Difficulties

In case Android development suffers from absent features and continuous work with executing functionality, iOS development needs accurate creation of the editing procedure.

1. Accurate Video Merging with Images

While merging video with watermarks or photos, to check the precise aspect ratios, developers should work with pixels very precisely. Else, while editing a video, watermarks or images will not be highly imposed, as it needs to be and it will appear odd.

2. The Orientation of Images and Videos

It can be tough to handle the images and videos orientation. They can transfer, particularly in case the development goes with an Android version at the same time.

3. Precise Adding of Audio Tracks

Adding audios to the videos can be difficult. Handling scalable audio volume levels is the primary pitfall in iOS video editing app development.

Cost Estimate to Build a Video Editing App

The rough estimate of the cost to develop a video editing app will be defined by many things. Here are some factors to consider making a rough estimate of the app cost engaged in the procedure:

• Preferred platform (Android, iOS, or both)
• The region or country
• Manpower distributed and the number of hours
• Features and complexities in the app

If you decide to add more features, the more expertise and time it will need from the app developers. So, undoubtedly, it will increase the cost of developing a video editing app. Moreover, an app that doesn’t score higher on the quality and number of features can be built at a lower rate.

Knowing the factors involved in the costs of developing a video editing app, let’s give you a rough estimate. Building an app with minimum features for one platform would cost you around $12000 to $30000. However, in case you need to develop for both platforms, the price may increase up to $50000.

Final Note

Video editing and shaping them into engaging content have always been the basic object. While editing videos on systems demand accurate specifications, necessary storage capacity, huge RAM, and tech understanding, the recreation of all these on mobile devices like tablets and smartphones through video editing applications is an achievement.

Using some amazing video editing apps, businesses can make exclusive video content for their target audience. So, do check these apps out, recognize the best one for you.

FAQs About Video Editing App Development