Is iMovie Free? Price, Requirements, and Limits in 2026

Yes, iMovie is free. Apple lists it at no cost on the Mac App Store and on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, with no subscription, no in-app purchases listed, and no watermark on your exports. The real limits are that it only runs on Apple devices, needs a fairly recent operating system, and lacks the advanced tools of paid editors.

Disclosure: We make BlitzCut, a video editor for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Android. Prices and versions below come from Apple's App Store listings, checked in November 2026.

Is iMovie free on Mac, iPhone, and iPad?

If iMovie isn't on your device, search for it in the App Store and tap Get. If it's already installed but out of date, update it from the App Store's Updates section.

Apple used to charge for iMovie as part of iLife, and older articles still mention that. It's been free for years, and nothing in Apple's current listings suggests that's changing. Apple's paid editor is Final Cut Pro, which is a separate app.

What you get in free iMovie

For a free app, iMovie covers a lot of everyday editing:

• Basic editing: trim, split, rearrange, and delete clips on a timeline; adjust speed; freeze frames.
• Titles and text: animated title styles, lower thirds, and credits. See how to add subtitles in iMovie for using titles as captions.
• Music and sound: built-in soundtracks and sound effects, plus your own audio files. Read royalty free music for iMovie before using the built-in music commercially.
• Effects: green screen, picture-in-picture, split screen, cutaways, filters, color correction, and the Ken Burns effect on photos.
• Templates: themes, and Hollywood-style trailers with fill-in storyboards.
• On iPhone and iPad: Magic Movie, which builds an edit from your clips automatically, and Storyboards, which guide you through a video type shot by shot.
• Export: up to 4K, depending on your source footage and device, and sharing to Photos, Files, Mail, and other apps.

Projects autosave, too, so there's no save step to forget. More on that in does iMovie autosave?

Is iMovie really free? The catches

There's no trial that expires, no locked "pro" features, and no watermark. The costs show up elsewhere:

• You need an Apple device. iMovie runs only on Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
• You need a recent OS. The current iPhone and iPad version needs iOS 27 or iPadOS 27. On an older device, the App Store may offer the last version that's compatible with it if you've downloaded iMovie before, but you won't get new features.
• Storage. The Mac app is about 3.6 GB, and projects with 4K footage grow quickly. Your iMovie Library can take tens of gigabytes.
• Music licensing. Apple's iMovie for Mac license limits the built-in audio to personal, non-commercial use. For monetized or client videos, you'll need other music.
• Time. iMovie has no automatic silence removal, no automatic captions, and no transcript editing. On talking videos, that's where the hours go.

iMovie system requirements

Apple's App Store listings are the source to check, because the minimum moves up with each major update:

• iPhone: iOS 27 or later for iMovie 3.0.6.
• iPad: iPadOS 27 or later for iMovie 3.0.6.
• Mac: a recent version of macOS. The current listing for 10.4.5 shows the minimum; it needs about 3.5 GB of free disk space for the app itself.

Your camera footage needs to be in a format iMovie supports. Apple keeps a list of compatible cameras in its iMovie support pages.

iMovie limitations compared with paid editors

None of these matter for a holiday video or a school project. They start to matter when you post every week or edit for clients.

Is iMovie free on Windows or Android?

iMovie isn't available on Windows or Android at all, free or paid. Apple only makes it for Mac, iPhone, and iPad.

Be careful with sites offering "iMovie for Windows" downloads. They aren't from Apple, and at best they install a different editor. At worst, they bundle malware.

Free alternatives that do exist:

• Windows: Microsoft Clipchamp. Microsoft says Clipchamp is preinstalled on Windows 11, and its free plan exports up to 1080p without a watermark. 4K export is a paid feature. On Windows 10, it's in the Microsoft Store.
• Windows, Mac, and Linux: DaVinci Resolve. The free version is a full professional editor, with a learning curve to match. See BlitzCut vs DaVinci Resolve.
• Android: BlitzCut. If you film yourself talking, BlitzCut for Android removes silences, adds word-by-word captions, and lets you edit by deleting words from the transcript. It's free to download from Google Play, with paid plans for full access.

When should you upgrade from iMovie?

Stay with iMovie if you edit occasionally, mostly cut clips together, and post to friends, family, or a personal channel. It's free and polished.

Look at something else when one of these applies:

• You want a full pro timeline on Mac: Final Cut Pro costs $299.99 once, or $12.99 a month through Apple Creator Studio, with a free trial. iMovie for Mac can send a project to Final Cut Pro (File → Send Movie to Final Cut Pro), so you don't start over.
• You want pro tools without paying: DaVinci Resolve's free version.
• Your videos are mostly you talking to the camera: this is where iMovie is slowest, because every pause and retake is a manual cut. BlitzCut cuts silences automatically, adds animated captions, and lets you fix the edit by editing the transcript, on Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Android. After a 3-day free trial, US App Store plans are $6.99/week, $69.99/year, or $129.99 lifetime, and prices vary by region. For a direct comparison, see BlitzCut vs iMovie.

Many people use both: iMovie for family videos, and a faster tool for anything they post regularly.

How to get iMovie for free

On Mac:

1. Open the App Store.
2. Search for iMovie.
3. Click Get, then Install. If you see a cloud icon, you've downloaded it before; click it to install again.

On iPhone and iPad:

1. Open the App Store.
2. Search for iMovie.
3. Tap Get (or the cloud icon) and confirm with Face ID, Touch ID, or your password.

You'll be asked to sign in with your Apple Account. No payment method is charged for a free app.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is iMovie completely free?

Yes. iMovie is free on Mac, iPhone, and iPad, with no subscription, no listed in-app purchases, and no watermark on exports.

Is iMovie free on MacBook Air and MacBook Pro?

Yes. iMovie is free on every Mac that meets its macOS requirement, including MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. It's often preinstalled; if not, download it from the Mac App Store.

Is iMovie free on iPhone?

Yes. Download it free from the App Store. The current version needs iOS 27 or later.

Does iMovie add a watermark?

No. iMovie doesn't add a watermark to exported videos.

Is iMovie available for Windows?

No. iMovie only runs on Apple devices. On Windows 11, Microsoft Clipchamp is the preinstalled free editor, and DaVinci Resolve has a free version for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Is iMovie music free to use?

You can use iMovie's built-in soundtracks in your own projects without paying. On Mac, Apple's license limits that audio to personal, non-commercial use, so check the license before using it on a monetized channel.

Is iMovie good enough for YouTube?

For simple videos, yes. It exports up to 4K without a watermark. For talking-head channels, the lack of automatic silence removal and captions makes editing slow, which is where tools like BlitzCut save time.

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