Some people believe when it comes to video editing, there is no such a thing as having GOOD and FREE at the same time, but that's not the case. We got 14 good candidates for you here and put together a 15-minute or so review of best free video editing software for anybody in need. Whether you'd like a quick editing or set your hands on professional film making, you'll find the answer.
MiniTool MovieMaker, a free, no ads, no bundle software, is the best free video editor for Windows 10. It offers cool movie templates, thus you can easily create outstanding videos with on click. Besides, the best free Windows 10 video editor offers other good features including video transitions, animation texts, and more. Best for: plenty of templates, easy-to-navigate interface for quick video editing and mixing. Supported OS: Windows Windows Movie Maker was the pre-build video mixer software of Windows.
This list is in no particular order of importance. We tried and tested each one from various aspects, and grouped them for different editing scenarios based on their highlighted features.
Our Picks for Top Free Video Editing Software Are:
Why should you trust us? Jump to the bottom to see how we picked the best free video editing software.
Best for: novices seeking a quick editing tool for occasional usage.
Supported OS: Windows 10
Windows Photos app has a hidden video editing feature, and can be utilized to quickly trim videos, change speed, or draw freely directly over the footage. Depending on your Windows 10 version, you might have additional options to add music to a video in windows 10 or create 3D effects. These additional features allow you to do a project-based editing, with storyboards, filters, animated text, camera motion effects and 3D effects such as rain, fire, and thunders, ready to lay over your footage.
Photos app is a good pal when all you need is quick and basic edits. Since all functions are self explanatory, you need zero editing experiences to get going. It works nicely if you want to quickly churn out a 5 minute video of traveling shots and recordings. Plus, you can take advantage of the apps integration with mobile media importing. This app allows you to directly import photos and videos from iPhone, iPad and other USB-enabled camera devices. If you are familiar with those auto-created memories videos on iPhone, you would love the automatic video with music option.
Chances of improvement:
You can use photos app as the media library to host and display your videos and photos, and the hidden editing feature might surprise you if you simply want to trim off unwanted parts, mix music and text with the footage. Those with a Microsoft Surface can also utilize the touch screen and the pen.
Read our full review of Windows Photos app >>
Best for: plenty of templates, easy-to-navigate interface for quick video editing and mixing.
Supported OS: Windows
Windows Movie Maker was the pre-build video mixer software of Windows. Though it has been phased out for years and was officially discontinued in 2017, it is still the set on for many who want to create simple videos with background music and subtitles. No learning curve or tutorials to watch, it offers beginners with the most straightforward timeline and menu to do all necessary edits like cutting, rotating, subtitling, stabilizing, speeding up, subtitling, filtering videos.
As is often the case when you do home video or slideshows editing, you want to correct the picture color, add transitions, create subtitles or captions, and then mix the video with background music. Windows Movie Maker makes the acquiring of all those features a snap, with 77 different transitions, 26 effects, 6 movie themes, stock audios, and rich caption templates come in handy.
Chances of improvement:
The loading of high-resolution video can take minutes. It still responses extremely slow when editing 4K or any types of high-resolution videos. Windows Movie Maker benefits little from the GPU acceleration. Anyway, that's not a surprise for an app abandoned by its developers. Besides, the resolution of the generated video can't go beyond 1920 x 1080pixels.
Best for: quick editing with plenty of theme templates and transitions.
Supported OS: macOS, iOS
Mac user? It might be a bit bold but I'll say: No one can come up with an easier iMovie alternative for Mac. It is accessible on any iOS devices so that you can do part of the editing on the iPhone, finish movie creating on Mac, and then share on social media instantly.
It covers basic (4K) video editing features, for instance, cut, crop, rotate, stabilize, overlay, subtitle, chroma key, speed controls, transition, etc. Thanks to the intuitive and clean interface, iMovie is the epitome of simple. You just plug in the footage and it can do the rest for mixing a variety of videos and audios. In addition, there are dozens of themes, animated titles, and credits, creative filters in various genres that you can access to spice up your videos without needing to set a plethora of parameters.
Chances of improvement:
iMovie is very limited. It enables the editing and export of 4K 60FPS videos if only the initial clip we put to timeline is 4K 60FPS clip. You are not allowed to create any videos with 1:1 aspect ratio. Sadly, Facebook, Instagram, and many social media still love square videos.
Read our full review of iMovie >>
Best for: high compatibility and easy stabilization for sports videos.
Supported OS: Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD
Shotcut is cross-platform open-source free video editing software developed by Dan Dennedy based on the MLT multimedia framework. It provides both 32-bit and 64-bit version for Windows 7 to 10. macOS needs to be 10.10 or above. Shotcut is popular for numerous input/export options, low hardware requirements, good developer support, vibrant forum community, and surely multiple video editing features for quick editing. As a rule of thumb, it takes a total noob ten tries to get the hang of it.
As to sports video editing, video files recorded by drone/GoPro in 4K HDR and high frame rate like 120fps are well accepted. Necessary filters like lens correction and video stabilization are available. And thanks to FFmpeg, you are allowed to have a good control over the export settings. Based on our testing, Shotcut seems to be comparatively more stable than other free video editing tools. It does crash occasionally, but at the very least, the failure recovery sounds fantastic.
Chances of improvement:
Still remember the developer's name? Dan Dennedy, he is one of the two reasons why a lot of users choose to stay with Shotcut, despite various free options out there, while another is the existence of a school-like forum community. But is Shotcut really qualified for creating amazing outputs besides sports video?
Read our full review of Shotcut >>
Best for Easy for ip video surveillance software. : editing ultra-high resolution videos and applying fish-eye correction for sports videos.
Supported OS: Windows
VSDC Free Video Editor is the free version of VSDC Video Editor. Though being a cut down version, it is still a well thought out video mixing software developed by Flash-Integro LLC, and allows you to do most of everything its big brother can with a buffet of awesome features. Adjustable filters, chroma keys, masks, picture-in-picture, animated text, and many advanced tools can get accessed by clicking the well-designed visual icons. Therefore, even a beginner can take advantage of VSDC Free Video Editor to create stunning videos while keeping things incredibly simple.
Thanks to its capability to edit and export 4K UHD videos in high-compressed H.265/HEVC codec, adrenaline junkies can use VSDC Free Video Editor to process 4K UHD recordings from DJI Drone, DSLR, and action camera without comprising much to the picture quality. Besides, it cheers you up with countless effects, for instance, crop, split, rotate, speed, play backward, lens distortion, etc.
Chances of improvement:
Hardware acceleration, video stabilization, motion tracking are 3 most often used toolkits for the post-production of large sport videos. Sadly, they are available on the paid VSDC Video Editor only. The masking tool and chrome key of VSDC Free Video Editor are less flexible than the pro version neither.
Read our full review of VSDC Free Video Editor >>
Best for: quickly producing sports video with eye-catching effects
Supported OS: Windows, Mac, Linux
PowerDirector is the flagship product presented by Cyberlinks. This intuitive and elegant piece of software offers you a streamlined experience, no matter you are in storyboard mode, time-line based free editing, slideshow or auto mode. If you priority is to quickly cut and edit videos to share with friends and families, while investing less effort in learning how to use an NLE, then PowerDirector perfectly fits the bill. Technical newbie or moderately experienced hands, you can quickly pick up PowerDirector to trim videos, add effects, and apply transitions and music.
PowerDirector can spice up your sports videos and showcase those exciting moment. On the plus side, motion tracker in Cyberlinks helps you to track designated objects, so that you can add text, graphic and other elements along with that object in motion. It is nice because the tracking is done automatically, instead of created manually frame-by-frame. You can also make use of time shift to create slow motion out of a section of your footage, thus allowing viewers to savor that highlighted moment during a slowed-down flow of time.
Chances of improvement:
Besides Speed Multiplier that allows you to speed up or slow down a part of the video, PowerDirector also helps you to reverse speed, creating a rewind effects that everything moves backwards in terms of time flow. Instead of showcasing the cliff diving moment, you can reverse the footage into the diver rising back onto the cliff from the sea. Ready to explore more ?
Read full review of PowerDirector >>
Best for: visual effects dabblers and YouTubers; create VFX-intensive videos for fun.
Supported OS: Windows 10/8, macOS (High Sierra and later)
Presented by FXhome, HitFilm Express is a decent desktop editor with powerful VFX tools to produce films, gaming videos and other great content for free. It combines editing, VFX and 3D tools in one place, so that you won't need to hoop from one app for editing, to another app for compositing. It has all the basic editing functions you would expect from mainstream NLEs, and relatively large amount of effects and features that you wouldn't expect in other free editors.
HitFilm Express is mostly noted for its VFX capacity that helps to turn your footage into impressive filmic productions. Gunfire and Star War lightsaber effects, bold and flashy animation titles are all at your disposal to spice up the video. HitFilm even helps you to create animate 3D particles based on audio waveforms! Nicely enough, this app adopts a dual-timeline approach, with all the basic editing done in the editing timeline, and VFX done in the composite shot timeline. In this way, it keeps the main editing timeline from getting cluttered up, so that you can easily assemble the clips order. While in the composite shot timeline, you can let your creative juice flow and play around with graphics, effects and visual elements.
Chances of improvement:
Thinking about a horror movie? How about the scene of ghost cropping out of your mobile phone? With HitFilm Express, you can utilize the tracking feature. While the character is walking with a mobile phone at his hand, you can use the tracking tool to follow the same trajectory. Then you shall be able to replace the mobile screen, with a clip of ghost popping out. There is more for HitFilm to re-create what's in your mind.
Read our full review of HitFilm Express >>
Best for: movie industry experts and content marketers.
Supported OS: Windows, Mac, Linux.
Lightworks as a professional video editing software has been around for more than 25 years, as long as Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere start their business in the industry. It offers a free version for serious enthusiasts to try out most of the commonly used features. If you are looking for a free editing program with ready-to-use templates for titles, animation graphics and stickers, Lightworks is definitely not the best choice. This tool is designed with professional editors, with requirements and workflow logic that are feature-film-specific, and may be difficult for people without a movie editing background.
For that reason, a certain feature may be highly praised by professional editors, while at the same time complained by beginners or people accustomed to other paradigms of more popular NLEs. For instance, the unique Flexible layout allows experts to experiment with ideas and compare various edits easily, while beginners would be confused. No razor tool in Lightworks is another head scratcher for people coming from other programs, while the supplementing mark-and-park method is loved by loyal users.
Chances of improvement:
Beginners and seasoned editors may fail to access the full power of Lightworks, due to lack of decent tutorials and 'muscle memory' from other NLEs. For instance, when you get accustomed to mark-and-park and pressing x at the cursor point, instead of thinking in terms of razor cut, you would find Lightworks efficient. Want more tricks?
Read full review of Lightworks >>
Best for: breathtaking color correction in HD/UHD landscape video editing.
Supported OS: Windows, macOS, Linux
DaVinci Resolve is a non-linear video editing and mixing system developed by Blackmagic Design, making a name for itself as a top-notch color corrector originally, and having been awarded for Engineering Excellence by the Hollywood Professional Association. The learning curve would be steep to be familiar closely with such a professional free video editing tool. But to get started quickly, crash courses are everywhere.
Color correction is key to creating awe-inspiring landscape videos and cinematic looks, which happens to be what makes DaVinci Resolve critically acclaimed. In DaVinci Resolve 16, you can have a full control of image in precision with node-based color grading tools. And both the editing and rendering of landscape video in RAW formats like CinemaDNG and ARRIRAW can be fast, even on an old computer, for its proxy mode and optimized media support. Two bonus features for advanced users - Fairlight for audio adjusting and Fusion for VFX. Remember there is only 64-bit version for Windows 10, and Mac should be 10.10 or later.
Chances of improvement:
For your information, DaVinci Resolve was used for the color grading in famous movies and TV shows like Avatar, Deadpool 2, La La Land, The Walking Dead and Westworld, to name a few. You won't want to miss the chance to embrace such a great tool for free. To check how mighty the color grading could be:
Read our full review of DaVinci Resolve 16 >>
Best for: tutorial videos with 2D titles, screen/sound capture.
Supported OS: Windows, Mac, FreeBSD, Linux, Ubuntu
Kdenlive is one of the most involved and complex open-source video editors. It offers all you need to create simple videos. It's wide range of advanced functionalities like multiple tracks, transitions, keyframe, rotoscoping, video/audio scope, and chroma key, just to name a few, even rival some commercial video editing software. However, those nifty features come with the sacrifice of a nitty interface. The major update it received recently, somehow, further separates it away from beginners.
One essential feature for making easy-approached tutorials is the screen capture tool. Kdenlive is well designed on this facility. It can record your computer screen or webcam with sound coming from the microphone. The latest version allows you to add audio track on the timeline. This is a useful capability for instruction video creators as it lets them record sound while previewing the video simultaneously. Subtitle is another terrific feature of Kdenlive, with which you are on your own to create plain or animated text and decide when and where the subtitles showed up, for how long, and in what kind of format.
Chances of improvement:
Kdenlive now combines audio and video in one track, and you aren't enabled to opt 'auto separate audio and video' anymore. This controversial update is in fact another sacrifices made by Kdenlive to gain a buggy free performance.
Under the render tab, there are only WebM, Mpeg-2 and few other codecs. Beginners have to learn FFmpeg command to understand those video jargons.
Read our full review of Kdenlive >>
Best for: quick editing for small business video.
Supported OS: Windows, macOS, Linux
OpenShot is another open-source free video editing software, started by Jonathan Thomas for Linux originally, compatible with various pla1tforms now including Windows, macOS and FreeBSD. Different from Shotcut based on MLT framework, OpenShot uses C++ libopenshot project library. Note that OpenShot is only available in 64-bit for Linux, Windows 7 to 10, and OS X 10.9 or later.
Due to the ease of use and unique 3D animation features 'borrowed' from Blender, OpenShot is pretty good for novices to make decent small business videos. All OpenShot updates try to keep up with the latest Blender for new 3D features, so that stunning 3D animation titles can be used to attract your customers in the presentation. Various presets in transitions, filters, curve-based time-mapping and hardware acceleration in the latest 2.5.0 could be pluses.
Chances of improvement:
Download OpenShot 2.5.0 or later and you should see hardware encoder options like NVENC and VA-API in the Export panel. But since it is still experimental, errors happen a lot. Most Windows 10 users find it can't detect GPU correctly, leading to 'No acceleration' problems. To check detailed information:
Read our full review of Shotcut >>
Best for: personalizing videos of outdoor activities.
Supported OS: Windows, macOS
GoPro Studio was the standalone official video editing software of GoPro for both PC and Mac, which however was wrapped up into the Quik Desktop suite and then removed forever. An educated guess is that GoPro thinks people prefer auto edits for instant sharing than sitting down for mind-numbing post production.
The best part of GoPro Studio for outdoor activity video editing should go to its Edit Templates with background music and slow-motion effect. Creating an awesome GoPro-style video could be as easy as this: import media, mark in and out the highlights, convert to CineForam for smoother editing, choose a template, drag your highlights onto one separate clip, export your video until all cuts have been replaced by your own footages. You still have necessary functions for sports video editing like fisheye lens correction and color adjusting.
Chances of improvement:
Camera on macbook pro 2017. Although it is discontinued, you still have ways to free download GoPro Studio 2.5.9. 2658. But if you have installed Quik already, GoPro Studio won't be installed or installed correctly, unless you uninstall Quik. Even if you have both installed on your computer, choose Open In Studio will only lead GoPro Studio to shut down.
Read our GoPro Studio download tutorial >>
Antivirus software for apple macbook pro. Best for: fast creating mini clips full of outdoor activity highlights.
Supported OS: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Quik is a free video editing app developed by GoPro running on both desktop computer and mobile phone. Well, according to our test, Quik for mobile is much more brilliant than Quik for desktop, while the iOS version has more features than Android. Before you download it, check its system requirements: Windows 10 (64-bit only), Mac OS X 10.10 or above, iOS 10 and up, Android 5.0 and up.
Quik seems like a hint of Quick. Together with its support of stock music, various templates in different themes, smart Auto modes, instant uploading options, and the unique built-in Wi-Fi connection between editing system and camera, Quik is quite handy for personalizing videos of vacations, trips, family gatherings, etc in a very short time for sharing on the go. Basic editing features like cutting, rotating, and text adding surely are accessible as well.
Chances of improvement:
You probably know that GoPro Studio has been replaced by Quik for a long time. But why are there so many people still struggling to find a safe GoPro Studio download file? Which one of them is more full-featured and better for video editing? To get a detailed analysis:
Read our full comparison of GoPro Studio and Quik >>
Best for: 3D modeling and animation
Supported OS: Windows, Mac, Linux
Born in 1988 as NeoGeo's in-house 3D toolset in Netherlands, what was known as Blender today undergone re-writing in 1995 and went open-source in 2002. It is the Swiss army knife of 3D modeling and sculpting, animation, video editing and VFX. With the incorporation of video sequencer, Blender grows into a powerful all-in-one tool, especially after the release of 2.80. Small studios and freelancers use it extensively and bigger studios resort to it in a few work stages, for instance, object modeling and texturing. The game industry also witnesses its popularity in recent years.
Whatever other high-end 3D modeling and animation programs can achieve, Blender helps you do almost the same without spending a dime, provided that you have the technical know-how and a skilled hand. You can utilize the powerful tools to focus on some aspects in 3D pipeline: be it modeling, animation, rigging, compositing, simulation or editing. In terms of video editing, Blenders offers you a complete editing system sequencer and compositer. Therefore, if you are daunted by 3D features, you can still learn this tool simply for editing clips (termed as strips in Blender), after all, it is free.
Chances of improvement:
Blender helps you do basic video editing in a timeline-based manner, just as many other NLEs. You have the tracks to cut footage, add layovers, transitions, as well as audios and texts, though you have to acquaint yourself with numerous keyboard shortcuts to give it a spin. As you become more skilled, you will appreciate the range of 3D graphics tools and options in Blender. Aspiring to read more on 3D modeling and animation in plain language?
Read more in our Blender review for beginners >>
One person's meat is another's poison. There is no absolute one best video editor that caters for all, given your budget, hardware, operating system, and the comfort level. Casual hobbyists may be adequately served by no-brainer tools, while professionals and serious learners go for highly customizable NLEs.
1. What is the best video editing software for beginners?
If you have zero experience in video editing, and are merely seeking tools for quick trimming, add text and background music, use Windows Photos app or iMovie on Mac.
If you are a serious beginner, and are willing to invest in time and effort to become a master, use popular editors. You can quickly hone your skills with YouTube tutorials, and seek help in active forums. In this regard, Shotcut, Kdenlive and DaVinci Resolve may fit the bill.
2. What is the best professional video editing software? The game sugar smash.
Hollywood mainly uses Avid Media Composer, and those outside Hollywood use Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro, Edius etc. These NLEs only offer trial versions, and are thus out of the scope of this article. https://ameblo.jp/5propinsermagy/entry-12649881452.html.
3. Which software is best for slow motion video?
Shotcut and Kdenlive allow you to cut up a section and slow it down, say 1/4 speed of the real time. If you prefer speed ramping to harsh cuts, you can use HitFilm or DaVinci Resolve for gradual speed control, and there is a learning curve.
4. What is the best video editing software for low spec computers?
Timeline-based video editing is a computing intensive process that occupies enormous resources on your machine. Want to edit high res files, hard-to-decode format, or add lots of visual effects and animations? It's more about upgrading hardware than picking an editor, though you do have the choice to optimize video clips for smooth editing, in iMovie, Shotcut, and DaVinci Resolve.
It took us half a month to round up 14 best free video editors out of numerous programms on the market.The result is where all the following efforts come together:
Factors Considered During the Test
Test Environment
General System Requirements for Video Editing
Advance Notice
Don't walk away. Our R&D engineers are beavering away on a brand new video editing software – a fully-fledged NLE – and it will be COMPLETELY FREE! You are cordially invited to share this post to social networks, or leave a comment to let us know your most concerned features.
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