An iMovie alternative for Mac with multi-track editing and AI

iMovie is where many Mac users learn to edit. It is free, it is already installed, and it handles a simple family video well. Then you start making videos for YouTube, TikTok or a client, and you need more tracks, captions, generated media and faster publishing. That is the point where people look for an iMovie alternative.

DepCut was built for that moment. It keeps the simple feel of a consumer editor and adds the tools creators reach for every day.

What to look for in an iMovie alternative

Before you switch, check that a new editor gives you:

• A real multi-track timeline, so you can stack video, overlays, titles, music and sound effects.
• Captions and subtitles that are quick to generate and easy to fix.
• Vertical and square formats for Shorts, Reels and TikTok.
• AI help for the slow jobs: finding dead air, writing a voiceover, making a missing shot.
• A price that starts at free, so you can try it on a real project.

How DepCut compares

Free editor. The DepCut editor is free to use. Trimming, titles, effects, transitions and export cost nothing. You only pay when you generate AI media such as images, video clips, voiceovers or music.

Multi-track editing. Lay clips on the main track and stack more video, titles, shapes, stickers and audio above it. You can add background music, add titles and set their timing, and trim by dragging edges on the timeline.

Subtitles in many languages. Generate subtitles from the speech in your cut, then translate them. See how to add captions without opening the timeline.

An AI assistant inside the editor. Ask it to cut silences, add captions, balance music under speech or build a narrated scene. It can watch your footage and listen to the audio before it edits. Read what it can and cannot do.

Any aspect ratio. Switch between landscape, vertical and square. Our guide to editing vertical video walks through it.

Works in the browser, faster with the Mac app. You can edit at depcut.com with nothing installed. The free DepCut Mac app adds local project storage, exports through your Mac's own encoder, screen recording and on-device dictation. See what the Mac app adds.

Moving your first project over

1. Export your iMovie project, or gather the original clips from your Photos library or a folder.
2. Open DepCut and create a new project.
3. Pick an aspect ratio before you start.
4. Drag your clips in, cut them on the timeline, and add titles and music.
5. Generate subtitles last, once the cut is final.
6. Export, and post from the same place.

Who should switch

Stay with iMovie if you edit a few home videos a year. Try DepCut if you post regularly, need captions on every video, work in vertical formats, or want an AI assistant to handle the repetitive parts of editing.

Try it free

Open DepCut in your browser and rebuild one of your iMovie projects. The editor is free, so the only thing you spend is the time to try it.