Video editing application (app) CapCut, run by ByteDance Ltd. of China, is on the verge of surpassing 1 million users in Korea. While Adobe, which has monopolized the PC-based professional editing tool market, has seen growth slow due to entry barriers and subscription fees, CapCut is rapidly absorbing general users by touting its "intuitive" interface and being "free."
According to mobile app analytics platform Mobile Index on the 29th, CapCut's monthly active users (MAU) in Korea last month totaled 974,816. That is more than double the figure in Mar. 2021 (471,580). CapCut rose steeply to 890,000 in May and 920,000 in Oct. this year, and at the current pace it is likely to top 1 million within the year. It means a large share of domestic users editing videos on smartphones are effectively using CapCut as a "standard tool."
CapCut spread as a mobile app, but it is now rapidly expanding its presence on PCs as well. ByteDance Ltd. provides desktop versions for Windows and macOS, strengthening a user experience in which videos shot on mobile are moved to PC for editing, or results created on PC are continued on mobile. Smooth editing is possible on ordinary laptops without high-end equipment, which analysts say is pulling in users who produce YouTube vlogs or content for social media (SNS).
This CapCut phenomenon is not limited to Korea. In the global market, CapCut has already grown into a mass-market video editing platform that eclipses Adobe. According to market researcher Sensor Tower, CapCut's global mobile MAU topped 300 million last year. By contrast, Adobe's Creative Cloud paid subscribers are estimated at 30 million to 40 million worldwide. In revenue, Adobe, which dominates the B2B (business-to-business) and professional markets, still leads, but in terms of actual user numbers, CapCut has seized the mass market with a gap approaching 10 times.
Industry observers cite "low entry barriers" as the driving force behind CapCut's rapid growth. Adobe Premiere Pro requires a certain level of learning even for cut edits or adding captions, but CapCut can apply flashy effects with just a few taps on a smartphone. Features optimized for the short-form content trend were particularly effective. Automatic captioning that recognizes audio and template functions that instantly apply trending memes drew in users in their teens, 20s and 30s who enjoy TikTok and Instagram Reels. The fact that most features are available even in the free version also stood out as a strength compared with Adobe, which charges high subscription fees.
Rivals feeling the heat are mounting counterattacks. In Sept., Adobe released a free iPhone app, Adobe Premiere, to defend the mobile market. It offered AI features without watermarks and billed itself as a CapCut challenger, but many say it is insufficient to overturn the already entrenched market share in a short time. Meta, which runs Facebook and Instagram, also rolled out the AI video editing app Edits in Apr., judging that CapCut's footing could be shaken by TikTok regulatory issues in the United States, but CapCut survived on the App Store after legal battles and maintained its influence.
Adobe is facing a double whammy from the spread of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology. As AI tools that perform video editing and generation with text prompts continue to emerge, the need for traditional complex editing software is relatively decreasing. In fact, Adobe's share price has fallen more than 30% over the past year on concerns about intensifying AI-driven competition.
A platform industry official said, "In the past, the key competitive edge was the detail and completeness of a video, but in the short-form era, where content evaporates quickly, it has become important who reads the trend faster and puts out results immediately," adding, "Rather than spending long rendering times for high-quality work, it is a structure far more advantageous for views to quickly produce and upload timely content."