You know what’s annoying? When you look up the best TikTok tools online, almost everything that comes up is about tools for brands. Resources for building your influencer and social media marketing or tools designed for brands to manage influencer collaborations don’t help the average creator much — or often at all.
So, let’s right (write?) a few wrongs with this list of the best TikTok tools for the creators. It’s time to take back a little power, huh?
Best TikTok Editing Tools for Creators
You can capture the best content in the world, but the editing makes it sing.
1. CapCut
Why is CapCut so great for TikTok? It might have something to do with the fact that ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, owns both. CapCut has many features for social media platforms (and even Minecraft, for some reason).
So, let’s focus in on the TikTok tools. CapCut is super duper in favor of AI. You get a litany of AI tools, including the ability to turn a script straight into a video or automatically generate short videos from a long one. You also get customizable templates and access to art, filters, text overlays, music, and more.
CapCut also makes adjusting things like frame rate simple (and fast). And because CapCut and TikTok are so friendly, you can share your video right to TikTok without ever leaving the CapCut platform.
CapCut is free to use and available for Android and iOS, plus there’s a desktop version. For a more advanced version, there’s CapCut Pro, with more AI features like the ability to remove background noise automatically.
2. Splice
Splice sounds like some sci-fi nonsense, but it’s also the name of a powerful mobile video editor that works on iOS and Android. Speed up or slow down videos, adjust things like exposure and contrast, remove backgrounds, and add masks, picture-in-picture, text overlays, and tons of other effects. Plus, Splice’s music library slaps.
The only downside? Splice is expensive. Downloading the app is free, but then you have to choose how you want to pay; plan options start at $9.99 per week. But the user interface is just so pretty! (It’s also functional, but definitely pretty!)
3. KineMaster
KineMaster is like a full-service video editing suite that fits into the palm of your hand. If audio is your biggest concern, you’ll love all the audio effects and soundtrack options in this app that works on iOS and Android. In addition to top-tier audio, you can cut and trim to your heart’s content, add text overlays and other effects, change colors, change your voice, add transitions, animate graphics, and much more.
You can edit your videos, remix someone else’s, or build off of a customizable template. Pricing starts at $8.99 per month.
4. YouCut
Don’t need any bells and whistles? Enter: YouCut. The app is about as straightforward as the name is. But don’t be fooled: The price may be small, but the effects are mighty. As the name implies, you can join, trim, and split clips. But you can also add neat effects, filters, overlays, transitions, background music, picture-in-picture, and other handy abilities that make your content stand out.
That’s all the good news. The bad news is that there are ads (booooooo!). But hey, they gotta make their money somehow since most of the features on this video editing app that works with Android and iOS are free. Still, if you want extra bells and whistles — like additional filters and effects — you just need to pay $7.99 per year or $19.99.
The biggest selling point for many users? No watermarks!
Best TikTok Production Tools for Creators
You can’t always fix it in post. You can create better content from the beginning with the right production tools.
1. RODE Lavalier GO
So far, we’ve only discussed the digital tools creators need. But how can you edit something you’ve filmed with low-quality physical tools? While editing suites like KineMaster have robust features that can help with crummy audio, the best thing to do is to have the right tools to keep your audio clear in the first place.
The RODE Lavalier GO is a professional-grade mic for professional-grade creators (like you!). It’s designed to be mounted on your clothes and features a filter that removes pesky plosives (you know, that annoying sound in the mic when you hit that “p” sound really hard). One thing to note is that it’s not wireless; it’s designed to fit into any device with a 3.5mm microphone input.
2. RODE Wireless GO II TX
I know what you’re thinking. It’s 2025, and whose phone still has a microphone jack? Even Android phones have made those headphone/microphone jacks go the way of the dodo (and I’m still bitter about it). If you’re using equipment that lacks a 3.5mm microphone input, you’ll likely want to get a Wireless GO microphone system to go along with the lavalier.
The RODE Wireless GO II TX is a sleek, small wireless transmitter with a seven-hour battery life and a capacity for over 40 hours of audio. You can plug the lavalier into the transmitter, which also has an omnidirectional microphone for wireless recording.
3. DJI’s Mic 2
If you’re looking for another wireless recording option, DJI’s Mic 2 is a good bet. It features noise-canceling abilities and internal recording for up to 14 hours. It also boosts an impressive 250-meter (820 feet for all you Americans out there) range.
With a handy carrying case that keeps all the little bits and pieces together and charges your mic to its full 18-hour battery life, you can easily take your Mic 2 on the go anywhere and score the best content no matter where you are.
4. NEEWER RP18B Pro Ring Light Kit
Tbh, a couple of ring lights are going around on TikTok, with influencers claiming they are a MUST for TikTok creators. We’re not naming names, but these ring lights cost nearly $300; most creators don’t need that.
The NEEWER RP18B Pro Ring Light Kit is still an investment but not nearly as expensive. It’s a super-thin ring light with soft lighting and great color rendering, brightening you up without washing you out. You can set it to the brightness and color you want and add features through the NEEWER app, like adding effect lighting or syncing your lighting to music. It comes with both a light stand and a phone mount.
Best TikTok Automation Tools for Creators
A tireless assistant that works for free sounds great — and also extremely exploitative — but modern technology gives us exactly that in the form of automation!
1. Manychat
We’re biased but also proud, so we’re here to talk about our TikTok automation offerings. Automation changed the game for other social media apps like Instagram, and now it’s coming to take over TikTok. Our suite of tools ensures you don’t miss out on valuable opportunities. As you blow up (in a good way) on TikTok, you’ll end up with an inbox full of people who want a piece of you, but how do you navigate through the noise to find the conversations worth getting into?
TikTok keyword automations let you tell your followers what they need to say to get a promo, freebie, or whatever kind of engagement you’re offering, and the robots handle the rest. You can also set up automatic message triggers to start conversations whenever someone messages you.
Keep an eye out for future TikTok automation features and other news!
2. Planable
Personally, this writer will never stop praising Planable. This social media scheduler is a particularly great option for teams that support them. It supports real-time collaboration, but even if you’re a one-person team, Planable is a great resource.
It’s more than a scheduler. It’s a one-stop shop for video editing, scheduling, and analytics. Just pop in your video and use the video editor to trim clips and add filters and other effects. Planable AI can also help you generate the perfect TikTok caption.
If you have clients you work with regularly, you can even give them the ability to approve your content before it gets published, which ensures you’re staying true to all the guidelines you agreed on for your collaboration. When they approve, you can add it to the scheduler and auto-publisher, which includes the visual content calendar, where you can see all your upcoming posts for TikTok and eight (!) other social media apps and marketing platforms. Once a post goes live, Planable lets you track your analytics to see just how much everyone loved it.
3. Later
Later is a social media scheduler that includes other handy TikTok automation tools. It allows you to plan content on the go, schedule it, and auto-publish — plus, it tells you when your personal best time to post is.
Later allows you to manage your conversations, including mass-deleting messages and liking comments. It also provides users with a Link-in-Bio page and analytics, giving audiences more opportunities to engage and users more opportunities to track engagement.
4. Mention
If you’re already a big creator, you need to protect your brand, which is why social listening and monitoring are key. But if you’re getting tagged a bajillion (approximately) times a day, you’re likely to miss out on many conversations about you online.
Mention makes it easy to track who’s talking about you and how they’re talking about you. It pulls from over 1 billion sources to give you real-time monitoring. Then, it measures things like sentiment analysis (a fancy way of saying, “Is what they’re talking about good or bad?”) and share of voice (a fancy way of saying, “How much are they talking about me compared to my competitors?”).
These analytics let you know what’s brewing. Did you get dragged into some brand’s PR issue? Did a lot of people just discover you? Or did your arch-rival just throw shade your way? You’ll know what’s happening as soon as it happens.
The Tools That Make It Easy for TikTok Creators to Thrive
From a full-service editing suite to a way to engage your followers automatically, these tools ensure that you’re staying ahead of the pack. The best TikTok tools for creators are ones that take away a lot of that icky manual labor.
I mean, who likes working more than they have to?
Are you already growing on TikTok and feeling overwhelmed? Check out our guide to protecting your accounts and yourself before the superfans arrive.
