Instasize Video: How to Edit, Crop, and Resize for Any Platform

Last Updated: September 1, 2026

Are you looking for an Instasize video guide?

There are many advantages of video editing. Consumers consistently report they prefer getting information through video over reading it, and here are more social media coaching stats proving the importance of video marketing.

This guide contains detailed information and tutorials for Instasize video and the following Instasize video alternatives:

• Splice
• TikTok’s native editor
• Canva Video
• Vimeo

Before you begin using Instasize video, make sure you know your video’s purpose. For instance, if you want to use your video to sell, according to Copy Blogger‘s Brian Clark, you must make your video engaging before you can use your video to persuade people to buy from you.

Instasize video is easy to use and quick to make. Marketers know they need videos to drive sales, traffic, and boost their audience, and there are many video marketing solutions built around this reality.

Key Takeaways

• Instasize now reports over 100 million creators using the app, with AI features (Magic Fill, background removal, object removal) added since this guide first ran.
• Adobe’s Spark Video, one of this guide’s original alternatives, was rebranded to Adobe Express years ago; the underlying slide-based video tool still works the same way.
• IGTV, once one of the three places to post an Instasize video on Instagram, was shut down and folded into regular Instagram video and Reels.
• Reels replaced the square-video format Instasize pioneered as Instagram’s default video shape.
• Splice, TikTok’s native editor, and Canva Video remain active, verified alternatives if you want a second tool in your kit.

You can create videos on mobile with Instasize filters and editing tools, using advanced filters and editing tools to make dynamic, engaging videos that grow your social media audiences.

Instasize is a photo and video editing app used by over 100 million creators, according to its own current listing, making it one of the more established tools of its kind still standing from this guide’s original 2019 lineup.

In my original Instasize review, I realized after publication that I described how to use Instasize as a photo editor but not as an Instasize video editor. This article focuses on how to use Instasize to edit your existing videos, and also covers free video editing tools you can use alongside it.

Why You Need Video

By making a video, you boost your brand. First, people trust marketers they can see. Putting yourself in the video boosts your credibility for this reason.

Also, you can do demonstrations in videos, making your message much clearer. Since most people are visual learners, they will learn your information better if you show how in the video rather than explain in writing.

One question you might have is, “How long should my video be?” The answer varies depending on your purpose. For example, according to sources, many popular YouTube videos run several minutes, while short-form video on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts is typically under a minute.

Instagram Video Sizes

You can put your Instasize video in these places on Instagram today: your Instagram feed, your Instagram Story, and Reels. IGTV, which this guide originally listed as a third destination, no longer exists; Instagram retired it and folded its functionality into regular feed video and Reels.

Instagram video sizes:

In your Instagram feed – 1080 x 1080, a perfect square, or 1080 x 1350 for the taller format many feeds now favor

Instagram Story – Vertical, 1080 x 1920

Reels – Vertical, 1080 x 1920, the format that replaced the square-video era this guide originally described

What is Instasize Video?

The Instasize app is a popular image and video editor available from both the App Store and Google Play. Instasize now reports over 100 premium filters, beauty touchup features, collage capabilities, and AI tools like background removal and Magic Fill for extending an image or video frame.

The app was a trailblazer in the video-making industry since Instasize was among the first to offer square videos for Instagram. Instasize became available to the public in 2012.

How to Use Instasize Video

Step 1: First, make a video with your smartphone. This is important since the Instasize app is on your phone.

Step 2: Download and open the Instasize app. Click the plus sign for new and choose the video you want to edit from your photo library, where your videos are stored.

I decided to edit this video:

Step 3: Adjust the backgrounds and filters. I gave my video a gold background, and I turned the warmth up to +50. I also turned the sharpness up to +21.

Aesthetic Filters

Click Photo or Video, then choose the image that you want to edit. Click Filters.

You have many choices of aesthetic filters to add:

• Coast
• Tiki
• Oak
• Tokyo
• Bark
• Lincoln
• 1989
• Hiro
• Hula
• Radio

You can choose to edit the exposure, contrast, lux, brightness, sharpness, and saturation of your video, along with a range of pattern and print backgrounds. I chose the Glitter background since I was making a Happy New Year message.

If you make a mistake, tap the element you want to get rid of once and click Edit or Delete.

Step 4: Choose your text. When you click the S with the lines around it, you’ll see the text comes in premade templates already designed for you. To change the size of the font combination, just pinch the element. If you don’t want to use the premade font combination designs, click the T for Text.

Step 5: Crop your video. With the premium version, you can choose from Original, Square, 3:2, 5:3, and 4:3 size dimensions. Thanks to the different sizes, you can repurpose your video: tall for Instagram Story or Reels, a square video for your feed post, and a horizontal video for YouTube.

Note: I am using the Premium version for my Instasize video. You will find comparable, although fewer, filter choices with the free version.

If you run into trouble, there are Instasize video tutorials to help you, like this one that gives you tips on font editing:

Pricing: Instasize is a free app available for both iPhone and Android users, with core editing, resizing, and cropping still free. The premium plan unlocks the full filter library and AI tools; check current pricing in the app since it has changed over the years.

How to Add a White Border

White borders come in and out of style, and remain easy to add with a third-party app.

Can you tell there is a white border behind my image?

My image was vertical, so to make it into a square for placement on Instagram, I added a white border. Using the Instasize app, I added the image from my photo library and then clicked “Square.” My image is now perfectly shaped in a square.

How to Add Music to Instagram Story

Go to the Instasize app. Click the plus sign and choose your image from your image library. Click Story. Use the Instasize app to modify your story as desired.

If you choose a video from your library that already has music, it will come into your Instagram Story with music.

If you don’t, continue following these steps:

Download your finished product. Go to Instagram and start a story. Bring in your image for your IG Story. At the top of the screen, click the Face icon, which brings in Stickers. Click Music. Choose a song. All the choices are free of copyright restrictions. Preview the music, then click Done.

Blur Filter Instagram

Instasize’s blur filter lets you add a touch of mystery to your Instagram Stories, your grid, and your videos. It’s useful for blurring out a distracting background, adding a dreamy effect, or creating a sense of depth with just a few taps.

Instasize also integrates with other platforms beyond Instagram, including Facebook, X, and Snapchat, so you can maintain a consistent look across your profiles.

Rather than pay to use Instasize for this specific effect, I chose to use Instagram’s own blur filter for free.

How to Blur on Instagram Story

Open the Instagram app and start a new Story. Access the camera. At the bottom of the screen, you see the Instagram filter choices. The very last choice lets you search for Instagram filters. Click Browse. Use the search bar on the right, and search for BlurredBackground (one word). Take the photo by clicking the circle at the bottom of the screen.

You can spruce up your Instagram story by adding Instagram stickers, GIFs, and more Instagram Story enhancements.

The Tutorial Nerd YouTube Channel has a helpful tutorial showing how to blur an Instagram Story.

Instasize Video Alternatives

TikTok’s Native Editor

TikTok has an excellent built-in video editor. You can splice video clips together inside the app, and the filters remain some of the most distinctive in short-form video.

Here is an example of a video with a TikTok filter:

@janicewald #LearnSomethingNew #chihuahuastiktok #dogdress #doglife #dogmom #followformorevideo #fyp #dogfashionclothes

♬ A Snowfall At Christmas – Robert Good

@janicewald

#LearnSomethingNew #chihuahuastiktok #dogdress #doglife #dogmom #followformorevideo #fyp #dogfashionclothes

♬ A Snowfall At Christmas – Robert Good

I have only scratched the surface of all the TikTok video editor can do.

Important note: TikTok rewards you by staying natively inside the app instead of using Instasize video or another video maker to make your video, since TikTok’s algorithm favors content edited and posted directly through it.

Vimeo

If you don’t pay to upgrade, you can’t download your video. However, you can share to YouTube, which is how I was able to share here. Vimeo has templates you can easily fill, and I still recommend Vimeo as an Instasize video alternative.

Canva Video

Reels are taking social media by storm. I used Canva to make this Instagram Reel:

View this post on InstagramA post shared by Janice Wald 💻 Blogging (@janicewald)

Using Canva’s templates was quick, easy, and free, and Canva remains one of the strongest all-in-one design and video tools available for bloggers today.

Spark Video (Now Adobe Express)

Adobe rebranded Spark Video as Adobe Express years ago, folding in AI features while keeping the same slide-based, template-driven approach.

How the tool works: pick a template, choose a format (Fullscreen, Split Screen, Caption, or Title and Text), record narration describing the relevance of your video, add photos or clips, choose music, then save and export. Since you can choose either a wide or square format, you can upload to Instagram, YouTube, or another social media site and repurpose the same project across platforms.

Here is my first attempt at making a video with the tool for YouTube:

I also made a version to promote my post about becoming an Instagram influencer:

The tool syncs projects across devices and lets you resize between widescreen and square formats, choose from royalty-free music or your own library, and preview before uploading. One limitation carried over from the original Spark Video: you still cannot fully omit background music from a project, so choose a quiet track if your own narration needs to carry the video.

More Best Video Apps

InShot Video Editor

InShot remains a go-to tool for many creators, known for being user-friendly. Like the Instasize Video Editor, you can add music and sound effects, which are among its best features.

Whitagram

Whitagram for videos enhances your Instagram photos for use in the video. In addition to Instasize Video, Whitagram is one of the best video apps and lets you expand your options for taking and sharing Instagram photos. Whitagram for videos remains an Apple Store-only tool for iPhone.

Lumen5

Lumen5 nicely serves as an Instasize video alternative. With Lumen5, you get a royalty-free video picture if you don’t want to upload your own; this thumbnail shows a picture pulled from your video. Lumen5 draws from your RSS feed and can make a video each time you publish, and it will crop your video to fit Instagram if you manually select that option from its many format choices.

I used the Instasize Video app to make a Facebook Jail Meme for my post about how to get out of Facebook Jail. I used the Oak filter, which made me look darker; the result was my dog looking pale, which felt fitting for a meme about a trip to Facebook Jail.

Resizing and Cropping Tools

If you want to post your video in your Instagram feed, your video traditionally needed to be perfectly square, though feed tolerances have loosened somewhat over the years.

Here are 3rd-party apps that help you make your videos larger or smaller:

• Nocrop
• Plann
• Squaready

Use these, and you can still post your full image or full video without an awkward crop. Squaready is a tool that makes your still images square; after using it for years for images, I recommend the tool for that purpose. I’ve never used it for video, but Instasize video makes your videos square natively, so there is no need for an additional tool there.

Scheduling and Desktop Posting

Since Instasize is a mobile app, there’s no built-in way to post an Instasize video from your desktop. If you email yourself the finished video, you can use a desktop publisher like Combin or Inssist to post from your desktop. Here is a Combin tutorial. Inssist has historically limited videos to short lengths and includes a cutter tool to trim your Instasize video down. Here is an Inssist Chrome tutorial. Combin is an app, while Inssist is a browser extension.

How to Use Splice

Splice combines videos and photos to make a video to share on Instagram Stories, and remains free to use.

Allow Splice to access your photo library. At the bottom of the screen, you’ll see your choices from your video and photo library populating. If you hold one down, you’ll see the trash can so you can remove it; holding down also lets you drag and drop where you want each selection. Try to keep your Instagram Story video under 1 minute.

When you’ve finished arranging your selections, click Add. You can rearrange by holding down an image and dragging it into place.

Step 2: Select the music to accompany your video. Splice offers around 15 genres of music alongside your own iTunes library.

Step 3: Choose your format. I chose Portrait orientation for an Instagram Story and kept the default transitions. Click Done. Splice prepares your video in seconds.

From there, you can add text, effects, cropping, and narration. Click the small microphone icon in the bottom right corner to narrate. To edit a saved project, find it in your list of projects, tap the photo or video, and click Edit. Sound effects are also available, ranging from motorcycles to monsters. When you’re finished, you can share to Facebook, share to Instagram, or save to your photo library.

Audio note: I let a movie theme play while also narrating by pushing the red record dot. If you don’t see a red dot, pull the white line to the right to enable recording; you’ll get a 3-2-1 countdown before it starts.

Look at my finished projects:

This Splice video was put together with photos from my photo library and music from the Splice app.

Here is another Splice video, combining two clips, music, text, and a background color for the text.

Over

The Over app offers free video templates. You can add text and images from your photo library.

How to AirDrop Your Videos from Your iPhone to Your PC

There might be times when you make your video using these easy apps just to find you need to move it from your iPhone to your PC or Mac.

1. Plug the phone into your PC using the cable it came with. I use software to transfer my media to my computer.
2. You could also go to the App Store and get the VLC for Mobile App, then open your Photos app and select the video you want to transfer.

Instasize Video and Instasize Video Alternatives

There are many ways to enter the video world. These smartphone apps are free or largely free, and quick and easy to use.

You’ll engage your readers and social media followers when you promote using videos. Most people learn visually, so video content boosts your readers’ experience, improves your bounce rate by keeping viewers on your page longer, and can improve subscriber retention.

Your readers are less likely to get bored with your content when you vary your format.

FAQs

Readers, please share so other content creators learn how to use them as well.

I look forward to your views in the comments section: What do you believe is the best video app?

Related Reading

Once you put your Instasize video on YouTube, see this Mostly Blogging article if you are not getting views on YouTube.

18 Ways the Renderforest Free Online Video Maker Will Make You a Better Content Creator

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