InVideo AI Video Editor: Setup, Tools and Export Limits

InVideo AI's video editor is the invideo Editor, a browser-based multitrack timeline that invideo launched in September 2026, and the manual side of it is free. invideo says hand editing has no limit on projects or footage, and every export costs nothing: a 1080p MP4, audio, a still frame, or an editable project for Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve ^[1]. Credits come in only when you hand work to the assistant editor or a generative model. Our verdict: a capable free editor for people who already think in timelines, with one hard ceiling. Exports stop at 1080p.

Stage 1: Pick where the editor runs and sign in

The editor lives in the browser, so there is nothing to install on a desktop, laptop, tablet or phone. If you want a window of its own, invideo offers a desktop app for Macs on macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon or Intel, at no extra cost; Windows and Linux versions are listed as coming soon ^[2]. Projects sync because both use the same account. There are also iOS and Android apps named invideo: AI Video Editor on the same account, and the Google Play listing was updated in October 2026 with Agent Two, the timeline editor and 200+ models.

Be realistic about phones. The mobile apps open the same account, but invideo itself says it has no app built for phone editing and that CapCut is the better pick for that job. Everything is cloud-only, with no offline mode, so a weak connection limits where you can work. Sign-in uses Google, Apple or an emailed code rather than a password. The editing tools are the same on every plan, Free included: the timeline, color, audio and 3D tools, exports, invideo MCP and the invideo CLI. Working with other people is different, because inviting people needs seats: Plus and Max include guest seats, and Team and Enterprise add team features. No card is needed to start.

Stage 2: Bring in footage and projects from other editors

Uploading clips is the obvious route; the classic help docs list png, jpg, jpeg, webp, mp4, mov and webm as accepted files. Check your frame rate first. The timeline works in whole-number frame rates only, so 23.976 footage runs at 24, which matters to anyone conforming film or broadcast material. Plan around it before the first cut, not after the grade, because a rate change late in a project ripples through every sync point.

Moving a whole edit across is possible, with conditions. invideo imports a Premiere Pro timeline saved as Final Cut 7 XML, a Final Cut 7 .xml file, or a DaVinci Resolve .otio file. It does not open .prproj, .drp, .drt or .fcpxml files, so a Final Cut Pro X timeline must first be converted, through Resolve to .otio or with a converter to Final Cut 7 XML. An import always lands on a branch, never on main; each sequence becomes its own timeline, and the earlier branch state is saved as a checkpoint you can restore.

CapCut is a separate case. Only a rendered MP4 crosses in either direction, because CapCut does not import or export third-party project files. An invideo export bound for CapCut is a 1080p MP4 with captions, text and music burned into the picture, so changing a caption means editing in invideo and exporting again. After Effects and Motion templates (.aep, .mogrt) and CapCut template files do not open either; bring those in as rendered video.

Stage 3: Cut, grade and mix by hand, for free

The manual tools are where the editor earns the word professional. Work happens in Edit, Color and Audio rooms with Premiere-style shortcuts, linked selection, markers, crop, text and keyframes with custom Bezier easing. The edit catalog holds about 25 effects, such as chroma key, blur and glitch, and over 60 named transitions; when nothing fits, custom effects and transitions can be written in GLSL. None of these hand edits uses credits.

Color work goes beyond basic correction. The Color room has color wheels, tone curves, hue and saturation curves, a qualifier and masks, read against a waveform, RGB parade, vectorscope and histogram. You can import .cube and PNG LUTs and set their strength from 0 to 1, which makes log footage manageable. The Audio room has a track mixer with buses and faders, plus gain, pan, EQ, a compressor, limiter, de-esser, reverbs and a ducker. Captions and titles sit on the timeline, with word-by-word captions editable line by line.

Stage 4: Hand chores to the assistant editor, and watch the credits

The assistant editor is the paid half. Give it raw footage, with or without a script, and it builds a first draft, removes flubs, pauses and filler words, and flags script lines that were never shot. For multicam, you supply a folder per camera and name the one with the cleanest sound as the anchor; it frame-matches the angles and switches on whoever is speaking. It also searches footage, pulls stock or generates B-roll, places chapter markers and exports a transcript.

Three agent features arrived after launch. Agentic Sound Design (September 2026) analyzes the video and builds a layered, editable sound bed. Agentic Effects (September 2026) builds adjustable effects on existing footage. Agentic Extend (October 2026) continues a shot by up to 30 seconds before, after or inside it, with picture, dialogue, music and effects on separate layers. Each one runs on credits. Each result stays an ordinary clip on the timeline.

Credit cost depends on the model, the length and the resolution; video models charge per second, a transcript is charged once per file, and an estimate can end higher. Your plan decides what is available: Starter costs $20 a seat a month billed monthly, with 400 credits a seat a month, Agent Two Lite only, and Seedance 2.0 Fast and Mini only (no Seedance 2.5 or full Seedance 2.0). A model missing from your model list means your plan does not include it, so check the list before planning a shot around one.

Two money rules matter before you subscribe. Plan credits reset monthly and do not roll over (only Enterprise lists volume rollover credits). Fees are non-refundable; invideo's Terms allow a refund request within 24 hours of a first purchase or renewal only if no credits or premium features were used, and credits, including extra credits, are never refunded. Our InVideo AI pricing guide covers the plans and the November 2026 annual offer in full.

Stage 5: Keep versions safe and bring reviewers in

Versioning is built into every timeline: branches, checkpoints, tags and history. Any AI edit can be undone or restored from a checkpoint, so letting the assistant try a cut puts little at risk. One limit applies. Branches do not merge, so a change made on one branch has to be repeated by hand on another. That shapes how you split work: one branch per platform version or per review round, never parallel edits you hope to combine later.

Workspace members can edit live together on one timeline, with visible cursors. For outside review, a shareable link collects frame-accurate, timecoded comments, and a Preview only role keeps viewers from changing the cut. Reviewers need an invideo account to comment; a public review link lets anyone watch but never edit ^[3]. Session replay plays back how an edit was made, agent and manual steps alike. The agent reads review comments and acts when you ask. It never changes the cut alone.

Stage 6: Export, or finish in Premiere, Resolve or Final Cut

Exports are free on every plan but need export permission on the project. The Export window gives an H.264 MP4 at up to 1080p, audio alone as WAV, AAC or Opus, a PNG still, or an editable project. Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro receive a Final Cut 7 XML project file, DaVinci Resolve receives OpenTimelineIO, and the media comes in a folder or a zip ^[4]. invideo says exports from the invideo Editor are free and carry no watermark on every plan, Free included.

The round trip has limits. Transitions, custom effects, text, captions, color grades, audio levels and keyframed moves may look different in the other application, so check them there before delivery. There is no 4K export from the timeline. A 4K, HDR, ProRes or DNxHR master comes from a paid upscale or HDR model, or from finishing in Premiere or Resolve; our InVideo AI for filmmakers guide covers that finishing route. The timeline also cannot export transparent video, GIF, HLS or an image sequence.

Subtitles need one extra step. The Editor docs list no SRT export button; the agent can write an SRT or VTT file from the caption track instead, and SCC files are not supported. If a client needs broadcast captions, plan for a finishing pass elsewhere. Burned-in subtitle models also exist, but their words cannot be edited on the timeline afterward, so keep the editable caption track for anything that may change.

The bottom line

The invideo Editor is a real timeline editor that costs nothing for hand editing and export, which makes it easy to judge before paying. It suits editors who grade, mix and pass projects to Premiere, Resolve or Final Cut, and teams that want an assistant to rough out first drafts on credits. Skip it if you need 4K delivery from one tool, offline work or a phone-first editor. Start on Free, push one real project through import, grade and export, then decide whether the assistant is worth a plan; agent work beyond the editor is covered in our Agent Two guide.