🎨 Art, music and story makers · 🎬 Video, animation, audio and streaming
CapCut
By ByteDance (Bytedance Pte. Ltd.). Visit CapCut
Desk research from the maker's own pages. Not yet tried by us. Checked 2026-10-24.
A video editor from the company behind TikTok, built for short social videos. Teens trim clips, add captions, music, stickers, effects and trending templates, then post to social apps. A growing share of tools are AI: auto captions, background removal, AI-made images and video, and AI credits on paid plans. It runs in a browser and as an app. It is made for teens and adults, not younger kids.
Our take: A strong free editor for teens 13+ with a parent's OK; families who care about data and ads, and anyone under 13, should pick iMovie or another tool.
| Ages it suits | 13+ (teens) |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | 13 or older only. Users 13 to 17 (or under the local age of majority) may use it only with a parent's or guardian's consent, and the parent should go over the terms with them. (terms) |
| Price | Free, with paid extras. Free plan with basic tools and free templates. Pro $19.99 a month or $179.99 a year; Ultra $79 a month or $900 a year (USD, Oct 2026). The site says prices shown are for reference only. Paid plans renew automatically. |
| Works on | Web, iPhone and iPad, Android, Windows, Mac |
| Account | The child's own account |
| Ads | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes |
| The AI in it | AI writes captions from speech, removes backgrounds, and generates images and video from prompts, some through outside AI services the terms name. |
What's good
- Very capable editing for free
- Auto captions help kids who are deaf or hard of hearing, and help viewers
- Works on phones, computers and the web
Watch for
- Terms grant ByteDance a broad, permanent license to your uploads
- Targeted ads and tracking; App Store lists advertising, messaging and user content
- Most AI features sit behind paid plans and credits
- Not allowed under 13
Data and privacy
Collects date of birth, phone, uploads, AI prompts and outputs, approximate location, and clipboard content for some features; it may use data to train machine learning models and share it for cross-context behavioral ads. It says it is not meant for children under 13 and does not mention COPPA by name. Read the privacy policy.
Does it work?
No independent studies of CapCut as a learning tool found; the maker makes no learning claims.
Alternatives to CapCut
Desk researchFree, with paid extrasNo ads
Animaker
Animaker · ages 18+ by its terms (teachers, older students with a parent)
A tool for teachers making lesson videos, not for kids; families wanting a kids' animation app should look at Stop Motion Studio or FlipaClip instead.
Desk researchFree, with paid extras
Art for Kids Hub
Art For Kids Hub (Rob and family) · ages about 4-12
A great free start for kids who want to learn to draw; use the paid membership if YouTube's ads and autoplay worry you.
Desk researchFreeNo ads
Audacity
Muse Group and contributors (open source) · ages about 10+
The standard free tool for a child recording a podcast or voice-over on a computer; tablet users should use GarageBand instead.
Desk researchFreeNo ads
Blender
Blender Foundation (open source) · ages about 12+
Ideal for a motivated teen who wants to learn real 3D; younger kids should start with Tinkercad.
Desk researchFree, with paid extras
FlipaClip
Visual Blasters LLC · ages about 10-17
Good for tweens and teens who want to animate drawings on a phone; parents of younger kids may prefer an ad-free paid app like Procreate Dreams.
Desk researchFreeNo ads
iMovie
Apple · ages about 6+
The easy first pick for families and schools with Apple devices; Windows, Android and Chromebook users need another editor.
Where these facts come from
- https://www.capcut.com/
- https://www.capcut.com/clause/terms-of-service
- https://www.capcut.com/clause/privacy
- https://www.capcut.com/pricing
- https://apps.apple.com/us/app/capcut-photo-video-editor/id1500855883
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.