Instagram Edits, Meta’s latest video editing app, has outperformed expectations by surpassing 7 million downloads in its first week, significantly outpacing the initial launch success of its primary competitor, ByteDance’s CapCut.
In the first two days following its release, Edits recorded approximately 702,900 downloads on iOS alone—a figure roughly 37 times greater than CapCut’s corresponding performance. By the end of its first week, Edits accumulated approximately 1.2 million downloads on iOS and an additional 5.9 million on Android, bringing the total installations to around 7.1 million. By contrast, CapCut managed just 83,500 downloads across both platforms after three days in its initial launch period—albeit available in fewer global markets.
The disparity is particularly striking in the U.S. market, where Edits had a notably robust debut, achieving 381,000 installs within three days versus CapCut’s modest 3,400 during its initial stateside launch. This represents a staggering 112-fold edge for Edits in direct comparison.
Meta’s vast ecosystem and promotional strengths undoubtedly contributed to the quick uptake, propelling Edits to the top spot on the U.S. iPhone App Store charts on April 22, its launch day. The app sustained strong rankings over subsequent days, settling at second place before eventually dropping slightly to third by the end of the week. In comparison, CapCut debuted at a modest 14th overall, peaking only at 10th among non-game apps during its initial launch period.
Despite Edits’ impressive launch momentum, CapCut still maintains a substantial lead in total global downloads. Launched in April 2020, the ByteDance-owned app is immensely popular among TikTok creators and has been downloaded an estimated 1.22 billion times worldwide outside of China.
Initial user feedback for Instagram Edits has been mixed but generally positive. Many creators appreciate the intuitive user experience, built-in analytics, absence of advertisements, support for high-definition 4K video, and watermark-free video exports. Still, several users note it lacks some of CapCut’s advanced features, including extensive transition effects and pre-set editing templates.
Given its strong start, Edits has potential to close gaps with CapCut in terms of features and user base size, possibly introducing monetization strategies such as paid subscriptions or in-app advertising in the future. Overall, the app’s impressive early downloads reflect the formidable network effects and marketing advantages enjoyed by Meta’s extensive platform.
