As a content writer and HTML programmer, the best free video editing software makes it easy to edit videos for platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Vimeo, and YouTube.
Introduction
As a content creator, you know that professional-looking videos are more engaging than static images and can increase your conversion rate.
Here is a list of the top 15 free video editing programs from around the web. Every videographer has their own needs, so this post includes some of the most useful features for each video editor along with the pros and cons of the tools.
1. HitFilm
Best overall free video editing software
Available for Mac and Windows.
Price: Free ($12.99/month for HitFilm Pro with annual billing).
Watermark? No.
If you don’t have much experience with video editing software, HitFilm might seem a bit advanced at first. It’s used to produce Hollywood-style films, but it’s worth learning as it’s the best comprehensive free video editor. (HitFilm asks you to share a social media status update when downloading the software, but that’s a small price to pay.)
HitFilm includes animation tools for creating and editing audio and visual transitions without needing to assemble composite shots, saving a lot of time. It also features stunning 3D effects for movies, music videos, and even YouTube videos – plus features you usually find in paid video editing software, like 360-degree editing and a library of special effects.
HitFilm features:
- Motion tracking, color selection tools, and trimming tools
- Composite shot feature
- Automatic stabilizer for smoothing shaky footage
- Adaptive trimmer for re-cutting footage after adding it to the timeline
- Smart copy and paste attributes
- Audio mixer for precision sound output adjustments
- Various transitions options including push, zoom, and fade
Pros of HitFilm:
- Create unlimited videos and audio tracks
- Create professional-looking videos using motion tracking and stabilization
- Composite footage enhancements allow you to harmonize clips
- With smart copying, select a group of attributes and apply them to multiple clips or the entire project
Cons of HitFilm:
- HitFilm has advanced tools and features, so there may be a learning curve for beginners
2. Lightworks
Best free video editing software for powerful features
Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Price: Free ($23.99/month for Lightworks Pro).
Watermark? No.
Lightworks features a simple and user-friendly interface, making it easy to learn and use. It also offers a range of detailed tutorial videos, making it one of the more accessible video editing software options on this list.
Lightworks works with Linux and has a range of native clips and licensed music tracks for use. Overall, it’s a straightforward yet powerful program that can add a polished touch to any marketing video.
Lightworks features:
- Simple trim function for precise video editing
- Speed optimization that allows you to edit video while importing content
- Multi-camera editing for syncing videos from multiple cameras
- Share projects in real-time with your team
Pros of Lightworks:
- Supports a wide range of video formats, so no need to convert clips before uploading
- Easily share video with Lightworks. You can export clips to YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and Instagram
- Share your project with other editors by granting direct access
Cons of Lightworks:
- The free version does not support 4K. If you’re producing videos for large screens, you’ll need to upgrade
3. iMovie
Best free video editing software for Mac users
Available for Mac and iOS.
Price: Free.
Watermark? No.
The popular Apple iMovie comes with macOS. Like many native Apple applications, iMovie is simple and uses an easy drag-and-drop interface to transfer files from your drive to your workstation. It’s an easy way to create powerful videos that can boost your marketing efforts on YouTube.
Feature
The big advantage of iMovie is that files are saved on Apple’s cloud, which means you can work on a project interchangeably across iPhone, iPad, or Mac. iMovie is continuously updated, so you can expect new features and enhancements.
iMovie Features:
- 4K resolution
- Cloud storage
- Studio quality and animated titles and credits
- Video filters for specific genres
- Built-in library for music and sound effects
- Voiceover recording to keep audio and video in sync
- Speed controls for action scenes and slow-motion footage
Advantages of iMovie:
- Start your project on Mac, then finish it via iPhone using iCloud
- iMovie filters are a fun way to add genre classifications to your project, like Western or sci-fi look
- The voiceover recording feature keeps audio and video in sync
Disadvantages of iMovie:
- As Apple’s native video editing software, iMovie is designed specifically for Mac users
4. VideoPad
The best free video editing software for beginners
Available on Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS.
Price: Free.
Watermark? No.
VideoPad is a great option for anyone looking to create high-quality videos without having to spend money. With VideoPad, you’ll find all sorts of simple and easy-to-use features – such as 3D video editing and a library for sound effects – to try out different video compositions and styles.
You can edit videos with special effects, overlays, texts, and transitions, as well as adjusting audio and color levels. When finished, you can quickly and easily export completed videos to YouTube, Facebook, or Google Drive.
The main drawback of VideoPad is that it is too basic for advanced video editing. It doesn’t come with as many features as the other top free video editing software on this list – but with options to add light effects and adjust colors and text, there’s enough here to make it worth the free download.
VideoPad Features:
- Dual-screen display to see selected clips and the full timeline in one view
- Export presets for Facebook and YouTube and other platforms
- A large library of customizable transitions and visual effects
- Video enhancement tools, including stabilization
Advantages of VideoPad:
- Try the dual-screen feature to see selected clips and the full timeline in one view
- Social publishing tools are great for those times you need to edit and share videos quickly
Disadvantages of VideoPad:
- VideoPad lacks the advanced editing tools found in other software on this list
- If you’re a Mac user, you may find that most of VideoPad’s features are already available in iMovie
5. DaVinci Resolve
The best free video editing software for advanced editors
Available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Price: Free ($295 for the full Studio version).
Watermark? No.
DaVinci Resolve combines professional 8K video editing, color correction, visual effects, and audio post-production into a single production tool, which is why it’s the software of choice for many professional editors of films, TV shows, and commercials.
DaVinci allows both offline and online editing, and provides a high-performance playback engine to save time when cutting clips – even with resource-intensive file formats like H.264 and RAW. The complex features of DaVinci Resolve may be overkill for some users, but the free version is perfectly suitable for medium-sized projects.
DaVinci Resolve Features:
- Dual timeline for quick navigation and cuts
- Custom cut interface
- Smart auto-editing for syncing audio and video
- Picture-in-picture, stabilization, and dynamic zoom
- Face detection and auto-sorting people tools
- Speed change and frame rate conversion
Advantages of DaVinci Resolve:
- The custom cut interface gives you the ability to edit with precision
- Face recognition detects faces in your video and creates containers for each person that appears
Disadvantages
DaVinci Resolve:
- DaVinci offers complex features for video editing programs that may be excessive for simpler uses
6. VSDC Free Video Editor
The best free video editing software without a watermark
Available for Windows.
Price: Free ($59.98 for the professional version).
Watermark? No.
The VSDC desktop video editor is available in both free and paid versions. Although the free version has limited features, it still comes with a full set of editing tools from VSDC – including a blurring tool and a chroma key function for green screen video effects. VSDC is a popular free video editing software used for GoPro clips.
If you have the funds to purchase the full version, the toolset expands to include video stabilization, powerful post-production effects, 3D presentation/presentation capabilities, 3D graphic templates, and direct social media publishing.
VSDC Features:
- Color correction
- A full library of transition effects
- Blur tools to obscure, haze, or highlight parts of the video
- HEVC / H.265 support (advanced video compression standard)
VSDC Advantages:
- Share videos directly on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Vimeo
- User-friendly photo filters, similar to those in Instagram
- HEVC / H.265 maintains quality at the lowest file size; essential for processing 4K
VSDC Disadvantages:
- The free version is only available for Windows and has limited features
7. OpenShot
The best free video editing software for intermediate editors
Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Price: Free.
Watermark? No.
OpenShot’s user-friendly interface makes it a great video editing program for beginner and intermediate editors. While complex tools may offer more editing components, OpenShot’s simple design is ideal for basic editing functions.
OpenShot is an effective option for small businesses needing to create ads and social media posts. It excels at resizing clips, zooming, capturing, and rotating footage. It also provides credit roll, frame stepping, time mapping, audio editing, and real-time previews.
OpenShot Features:
- Unlimited layers for backgrounds and audio tracks
- Customizable title card templates
- Digital video effects including green screen
- Keyframe animation for animated videos
OpenShot Advantages:
- Drag-and-drop functionality to add video, audio, and image files
- Adjust brightness, contrast, hue, grayscale, and perform green screen for special effects
OpenShot Disadvantages:
- OpenShot lacks advanced editing tools
- OpenShot works better for trimming and merging clips rather than adding effects
8. Shotcut
The best open-source video editing software for audio editing
Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Price: Free.
Watermark? No.
Shotcut is a cross-platform open-source video editor with a vast array of educational videos. It also supports a wide range of formats, including FFmpeg, 4K, ProRes, and DNxHD. However, some people caution that Shotcut was originally designed for Linux, so some may find its interface a bit odd. Nevertheless, it is still a great editor.
Shotcut also has comprehensive audio editing options, making it ideal for audio enthusiasts. Its precise audio toolset allows you to adjust bass, treble, create bandpass filters, adjust gain, add dynamic compression, and more.
Shotcut Features:
- File format support with FFmpeg
- Native timeline editing
- Advanced audio filters including bandpass filters and audio compression
- AV1 encoding and decoding support
Shotcut Advantages:
- Multi-format timeline for mixing and matching resolutions and frame rates in a single project
- Import
video clips directly to your project file instead of the media library
Disadvantages of Shotcut:
- Some people feel that the Shotcut interface is not user-friendly
- Shotcut may be more suitable for audio editing
9. Clipchamp
The best free video editing software for Windows 11
Available for Windows.
Price: Free.
Watermark? No.
Microsoft Clipchamp comes pre-installed on Windows 11. It is one of the most intuitive video editing programs on this list, with some great time-saving features such as batch editing, automatic subtitles, and text-to-speech.
Clipchamp allows you to edit videos from screen recordings as well as uploaded video files. There are drag-and-drop tools for editing, along with a well-designed set of templates and music tracks that you can add to your creations.
Features of Clipchamp:
- Speaker coach to help you improve your voice and virtual meeting skills
- Unlimited exports in 1080p resolution
- Smart editing features including iStock integration for unlimited stock images
- Commercially licensed music library
Advantages of Clipchamp:
- Speaker coach helps you improve your voice and virtual meeting skills
- User-friendly for beginner Windows users
Disadvantages of Clipchamp:
- Clipchamp is only free when installed with a Microsoft 365 subscription
10. Vimeo Create
The best free AI-powered video editor
Available for iOS and Android.
Price: Free (Plus subscriptions start at $7 per month).
Watermark? No.
Vimeo Create is a free editing tool that can be directly linked to your Shopify store, which automatically turns product images and text into polished e-commerce videos – no video editing experience needed.
All you have to do is answer a few questions about your product, add your footage and logo, and choose your customizations. Vimeo Create automatically edits your video in minutes (although you can also choose your own styles or start from scratch). The software even suggests colors, themes, music, and fonts using AI.
It is particularly useful for creating videos in bulk (for example, if you want to start a channel for your business in an attempt to make money on YouTube and want to streamline the creation process). Since Vimeo is an all-in-one solution, you can also manage, host, and distribute all your videos from one place, simplifying your workflow.
Features of Vimeo Create:
- Over 1000 templates
- Face recognition feature
- Automatic screen capture
- iStock integration for unlimited stock images
- Commercially licensed music library
Advantages of Vimeo Create:
- Easy video sharing across marketing channels
- Use AI to add effects and branding elements
- Professional automatic editing tools
Disadvantages of Vimeo Create:
- Best for editing video batches that require fine-tuning
11. KineMaster
The best free video editor app for mobile devices
Available for iOS, Android, and Chromebook.
Price: Free ($3.99 per month for the paid plan).
Watermark? Yes.
If you’re editing video on the go, consider KineMaster your go-to application. This free (subscription optional) yet powerful video editing app is perfect for mobile devices. With KineMaster, you can shoot, edit, and upload footage directly from your phone or tablet. Typically, mobile editors sacrifice advanced tools to simplify video creation, but KineMaster does the opposite.
With KineMaster, you can easily cut, merge, and crop videos, with over 2500 downloadable transitions and effects. Use color filters and adjustments to correct and enhance videos to make them stand out. When finished, you can easily share them on YouTube, TikTok, Reels, Stories, and more.
Features of KineMaster:
- Project backup feature for added security
- Merge options to create artistic video effects
- Focus and camera transition adjustment tool
- Edit
- Export videos in 4K resolution at 60 frames per second
KineMaster Advantages:
- Visit the asset store to download effects, audio clips, stickers, fonts, and more
KineMaster Disadvantages:
- KineMaster is designed for mobile use only
- It is meant for filming videos then editing them, rather than being a dedicated editing software
12. Movie Maker Online
The best free online video editor in the browser
Available for use in the browser.
Price: Free.
Watermark? No.
Movie Maker Online is the best browser-based video editor. It is a free tool for people who want to create videos, but there are some downsides. The tool is ad-supported, so you’ll need to navigate around the ads to edit your videos. It also has a maximum duration limit of 10 minutes, which should be suitable for most cases.
The interface also has some quirks. The timeline for video and audio is arranged vertically instead of horizontally, like traditional video editors. It can be a bit challenging to get used to at first. However, it is easily accessible on multiple devices since it is entirely browser-based.
Movie Maker Online gives you all the basics you need to create a video for free. You also get access to free music, videos, and images, which is a nice bonus.
Movie Maker Online Features:
- Library of royalty-free music, images, and sound effects
- Built-in support
Movie Maker Online Advantages:
- Browser-based editing for free that you can access in seconds
- Great for quickly trimming, merging, and adjusting videos
Movie Maker Online Disadvantages:
- Some users find the Movie Maker Online interface confusing
- Movie Maker is supported by ads
Source: https://shopify.com/blog/best-free-video-editing-software
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