How to Edit a TikTok or Reels Video Online in Your Browser

You edit a TikTok or Reels video in the browser by opening the Timeline Editor, starting a 9:16 project, dragging in your clips, trimming and splitting them, adding music and text, optionally switching on auto-captions, and rendering. A project holds up to 30 clips and 180 seconds of output, the render costs a flat 10-credit fee, and auto-captions are charged per source minute on top when you turn them on.

Updated October 2026.

Start a project and pick 9:16

Open the editor and create a project. The first decision is the output canvas: 9:16 at 720 by 1280 for TikTok, Reels and Shorts, 16:9 at 1280 by 720 for landscape, or 1:1 at 960 by 960 for a square feed. Choose 9:16 for short-form social and decide before you add anything, because the framing of every clip depends on it.

A 9:16 canvas crops a horizontal source at the edges. If the source is already vertical, it fills the frame. If it is horizontal, the fit setting decides whether the image is cropped to fill or padded to fit. For talking footage, crop to fill and keep the face near the centre; for a wide product shot, padding may preserve more of the object.

Name the project so you can find it later. Projects save as you work and appear in the editor’s project list, which is useful when a render needs a change the next day.

Add clips, images and audio

Sources come from two places: your finished files in My Creations, or uploads from your device. The editor has one video track and two audio tracks.

• Video: up to 500 MB per upload.
• Images: up to 10 MB, shown for up to 30 seconds each with an optional slow zoom.
• Audio: up to 25 MB, accepting common audio formats including MP3.

Drag a clip onto the video track, then drag again to reorder. Images behave like clips with a fixed duration you set. Audio goes onto one of the two audio tracks, which is what lets you run a voice-over and a music bed at the same time.

The editor works best on a computer. The mobile layout supports adding clips, reordering, trimming, text, music and rendering, but the timeline is easier to control with a mouse.

Trim, reorder and split at the playhead

Move the playhead to the point you want to cut, then press S on a desktop keyboard or use the Split button. The clip divides into two, and each half can be trimmed or moved independently. Splitting is how you remove the middle of a take: split twice, delete the middle piece, and the two good ends join.

Trimming changes the kept window without deleting anything. Drag a clip’s edge inward to shorten it, or outward to bring back footage you cut earlier. A clip cannot be shorter than 0.5 seconds, so very fast cuts need a different approach.

Reordering is the edit that changes the most. Put the shot that makes sense without context first, then the shot that explains it, then the shot that closes. A clip that works as a middle beat can often carry the opening if it has the clearest action.

Transitions and up to three lines of text

Transitions sit between clips and run from 0.2 to 2.0 seconds. Cut is the default and the right choice for most edits. Crossfade, fades through black or white, dissolves and a set of directional wipes are there for the moments that need a visible change: a jump in time, a move to a new place, or the shift from a problem to a solution. Keep them short, and do not put one on every cut.

Text is a separate layer with up to 50 items per project. Each item holds up to three lines and 200 characters, and you choose one of five styles: Bold, Subtitle, Highlight, Neon or Minimal. Position is top, centre or bottom, and each item has a start and end time so it appears only while the relevant shot is on screen.

Three lines is a real constraint, and it is a useful one. A TikTok text overlay that fills the screen competes with the caption and the platform interface. Use the text layer for a title, a label or a single call to action, and let the spoken words carry the rest.

Turn on auto-captions and see the extra credits first

Auto-captions are optional. Turn them on in the editor and choose a caption style; the speech in the rendered video is transcribed and burned in during the render. The cost follows the same per-minute rule as AI Captions, and the editor quotes the extra credits before you confirm, so the total is visible alongside the flat render fee.

Captions are made from the video’s speech at render time, which means they are not shown in the preview. That is the main limitation: you cannot correct a word before rendering the way you can in the dedicated captions tool. If the transcript needs to be exact, render without auto-captions and put the clip through AI Captions instead, where the transcript is editable and three renders are included.

The caption style choices are the same presets used across the platform, from large word-by-word looks to a clean minimal line. Match the style to the pace of the video: a fast clip suits a bold look, a calm explainer suits a smaller one.

Render and download, and what mobile can and cannot do

When the sequence is right, open the render panel and confirm. The panel shows the live price, including any auto-caption charge, and the render begins. Output is an MP4 at the chosen canvas size, ready to upload to TikTok, Reels or Shorts. A failed render is refunded.

On a phone, the editor is a reduced version. You can add clips, reorder, trim, add text and music, and render. The full timeline with precise playhead control works best on a computer, and the editor says so in the mobile layout. Use the phone for quick assembly and the desktop for anything that needs frame-accurate cuts.

This is a trim, split, text, music and captions editor. It is not a full video editor: there are no masks, no colour grading and no effects library. For a comparison of what other editors offer, see CapCut alternatives and the AI video editors round-up.

Length limits and cost

A project can hold up to 30 clips and 180 seconds of output. That covers the standard short-form limit with room to spare, and it keeps renders fast. If your edit runs longer, split it into parts rather than compressing it under the cap.

Rendering costs a flat 10-credit fee, shown before you confirm. Auto-captions add a per-minute charge on top, also shown first. Nothing is charged for arranging the timeline, and a failed render is refunded. For the full walkthrough of the tool beyond a single social edit, see stitching AI clips in the Timeline Editor.

Credit packs are one-time purchases that never expire, so a pack bought for one campaign is still there for the next. Prices are on the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

What is the split shortcut?

Press S on a desktop keyboard with the playhead inside a clip, or use the Split button. The clip divides at the playhead.

Can I edit on my phone?

Yes, for adding clips, reordering, trimming, text, music and rendering. The full timeline works best on a computer.

Do auto-captions cost extra?

Yes. The flat render fee covers the render, and auto-captions add a per-minute charge shown in the editor before you confirm.

How long can the video be?

180 seconds of output, with up to 30 clips and a 0.5-second minimum per clip.

Can I fix a caption word before rendering?

Not in this editor, because captions are made from the speech during the render. Use AI Captions first if the transcript must be exact.

Open the Timeline Editor, start a 9:16 project and drop in your first clip. New accounts start with 10 free credits and no card required, which covers the 10-credit render fee, so you can assemble one vertical video and download it before buying anything.