How to Edit on TikTok

Mastering TikTok’s built-in editor is one of the most powerful skills you can develop as a creator, turning simple clips into polished, native-feeling videos that people actually want to watch. This guide breaks down exactly how to edit on TikTok, from basic trimming and adding music to more advanced techniques like transitions and voiceovers. Whether you’re a complete beginner or looking to sharpen your skills, you’ll find all the steps you need right here.

Navigating the TikTok Editor: Your Starting Point

Your editing journey begins the moment you finish recording or uploading your clips. You can either film your content directly in the TikTok app using its camera features, or you can upload pre-recorded videos and photos from your phone’s camera roll. Once your media is ready, you’ll land on the main editing screen. Don’t be intimidated by all the icons, we’ll walk through the most important ones now.

1. Trimming, Splitting, and Adjusting Clips

The core of any video edit is arranging your clips in the right order and for the right length. This happens in the timeline view, which you can access by tapping “Edit” in the top right corner of the preview screen.

How to Trim Your Video

Trimming removes unwanted parts from the beginning or end of a clip. To do this, simply tap on a clip in the timeline. It will be highlighted with a white border. Press and drag the white handle at either end of the clip to shorten it. Play it back to see if you got the timing right. A clean trim - like cutting out the moment you reach to turn the camera on or off - is an instant sign of a more professional video.

How to Split a Clip

Splitting allows you to break one long clip into two or more smaller ones. It’s useful for cutting out mistakes in the middle of a take or for syncing different actions to different sounds in the music. To split a clip, drag the white playback marker (the vertical line) to the exact point you want to make a cut and tap the “Split” button. You now have two separate clips you can edit independently.

How to Reorder Your Story

Changing the sequence of your story is as easy as a drag-and-drop. In the timeline view, just long-press on any clip until it lifts slightly, then drag it to its new position in the timeline. This is fundamental for storytelling, allowing you to build suspense, create montages, or simply organize your shots logically.

2. Speed Control: Ramping and Slow-Mo

Controlling the speed of your clips can completely change the mood of your video. You can create hyper-fast montages for comedic effect or use dramatic slow-motion to emphasize a key moment.

To change a clip’s speed, tap on it in the timeline, then select the “Speed” icon (it looks like a speedometer). You can adjust it from a super slow 0.1x to a lightning-fast 10x. Feel free to split a single clip in the middle and speed one part up and slow the other down for stylistic results. Playing with speed is a great way to make your videos more dynamic and keep viewers engaged.

Bringing Your Video to Life: Sound, Text, and Effects

Once you’ve put your scenes in order, it’s time to add the layers that make a video uniquely “TikTok.” These are the elements that grab - and hold - your audience's attention.

Finding and Using Trending Audio

Sound is the backbone of TikTok. Using trending audio is one of the most effective ways to boost your video’s discoverability and participate in wider conversations.

• To add a sound: Tap “Add sound” at the top of the editing screen. You can browse through recommended lists, trending charts, or playlists tailored to your interests.
• Search for specific audio: Know what you’re looking for? Use the search bar to find a specific song, artist, or soundbite.
• Save sounds for later: When you hear a sound you like on another video, tap the spinning record icon in the bottom right corner and hit “Add to Favorites.” It will be waiting for you in your Favorites tab in the sound library.

After selecting a sound, tap the “Volume” tool. Here, you can adjust the volume of the original sound from your video and balance it with the music you just added. Getting this mix right is important, especially if your video includes spoken words.

Mastering Text and Captions

Adding eye-catching text is crucial for telling a story, providing context, or making a joke land. Go beyond the default text and learn to control its timing and style.

How to add and style text:

Tap the “Text” icon (Aa) in the side menu. Type your message, then customize it by choosing different fonts, colors, and adding a background or border for readability. You can also use the text-to-speech feature here to have an AI voice read your text aloud - a very popular trend.

How to set text duration:

Once you’ve added your text, tap on the text box. An option will appear to “Set duration.” This opens a timeline where you can drag the handles to control precisely when the text appears and disappears in your video. Staggering your text overlays is a great way to keep your viewers watching until the very end.

Stickers, GIFs, and Polls

You can add even more personality and engagement to your videos with interactive elements. Tap the "Stickers" icon and you’ll find a library of options:

• Polls & Q&As: Directly ask your audience questions to boost engagement in the comments.
• GIFs: Search GIPHY’s library to add a humorous or relevant animation.
• Mention & Hashtag stickers: Tag other users or highlight a key hashtag in a more visual way than just putting it in the caption.

Like text, each of these elements can have its duration set, so you can make them pop in and out at just the right moment.

Advanced Techniques to Make Your TikToks Stand Out

With the basics under your belt, it’s time to move on to the features that will give your videos that extra layer of creative polish and make them genuinely memorable.

Creating Seamless Transitions

Great transitions make a video flow smoothly from one scene to the next, and they can be a key part of storytelling. TikTok offers plenty of built-in transitions that you can apply between clips.

To add a transition, go to the timeline editor and tap the small square icon that appears between two clips. This will open a menu of options like Blur, Spin, Countdown, and Slide. Select one to see a preview. Try to match the transition to the energy of your video. A quick cut often works best for a simple change of scenery, while a flashy glitch effect might suit a high-energy dance video.

Another popular tool for creating effects is the "Overlay" feature. This allows you to add a second video or photo on top of your main clip, creating a picture-in-picture effect. This is perfect for reaction videos, tutorials where you need to show examples, or B-roll shots that add context to your story.

Using Voiceovers and Auto-Captions

Recording a Voiceover

Sometimes the story needs your voice, even if you weren’t speaking during filming. The Voiceover tool lets you record audio directly over your edited video.

Find the “Voiceover” option in the editing menu on the right. Tap the record button and speak as your video plays. You can even choose to keep or replace the original audio with your new voiceover. This is perfect for “what I eat in a day” videos, storytimes, and product tutorials.

Generating Auto-Captions

To make your content more accessible and easier to follow (especially for people watching without sound), always use auto-captions. Tapping the “Captions” button will automatically analyze the audio in your video - both the original sound and your voiceover - and generate timed text for you. Always review the generated captions and edit any mistakes for accuracy before posting.

The Magic of Filters and Effects

Filters and effects are a powerful duo for setting the aesthetic of your content.

• Filters: In the right-hand menu, you'll find the "Filters" option. These are color grading presets that change the overall look and feel of your video, much like an Instagram filter. They can make your colors pop, or give everything a moody, vintage vibe.
• Effects: "Effects," found at the bottom left, are more dynamic and interactive. These include AR masks, trendy visual tweaks like kaleidoscope lenses, and the famous Green Screen effect. The Green Screen allows you to replace your background with any photo or video from your camera roll, opening up endless creative possibilities.

When to Edit Outside of TikTok (And Why It's Worth It)

While TikTok’s internal tools are impressive, there are times you might need a bit more control. For pixel-perfect edits, multi-layer timelines, or advanced effects like keyframing, a third-party app like CapCut (also owned by TikTok's parent company, Bytedance) is a game-changer.

Editing in an app like CapCut gives you capabilities that TikTok doesn’t offer natively, such as advanced audio noise reduction, intricate text animations, and smoother color grading tools. Since it’s designed to work with TikTok, it has a direct “Export to TikTok” option that makes the process seamless.

A pro workflow many creators use is to do the detailed, structural edit in CapCut and then upload the final video to TikTok. Once it's in TikTok, they add the final touches: a trending sound, some native text or poll stickers. This strategy gives you the best of both worlds: a finely-tuned, polished video combined with the algorithmically-favored native elements of the TikTok platform.

Final Thoughts

Editing on TikTok is a blend of technical steps and creative intuition. The best way to get better is by jumping in and experimenting with the different tools, trying out new features, seeing what works for you, and not being afraid to try again. With practice, you'll soon be cutting, styling, and layering your clips into compelling stories that stop the scroll.

Of course, once you’ve perfected your editing process, consistency is the next big challenge. We built Postbase because we found ourselves wrestling with tools that weren't built for the fast-paced world of short-form video. The visual calendar lets me map out our content strategy and schedule TikToks, Reels, and Shorts for weeks in advance, all from one clean dashboard. It’s reliable, video-first, and saves me hours, so I can spend more time creating and less time managing.