Today I want to show you my favorite top five free video editing software. And when I say free, these truly are free.
There are no watermarks, there are no time limitations, none of that. They're just entirely free. And they're also pretty good when you compare them to paid video editing software.
In many cases, these are just as good, if not better. In fact, on my YouTube channel, I use one of these free video editors to pull together all of my videos.
Windows 10 video editor: The Hidden Video Editing Gem
This brings us to the first free video editor, and this is probably one that you already have if you're running Windows 10. Windows 10 comes with a video editor. What? Yes, it's true.
If you go down to the search field on your taskbar, simply type in Video Editor. Who would have thought? And right up at the top as the best match, you should see Video editor. Let's click on this one.
This drops us into the Windows 10 free video editor. And if you're still scratching your head and wondering how you ever missed this, don't feel that bad.
It's very difficult to discover the video editor is actually within the Photos app. And in the past, you had to open the Photos app, and then you had to go into the video editor.
Only recently, Microsoft added video editor to the search field so it would pop up there. Let's start with what I like about the video editor. And there is a lot to like. It comes with your PC, so you don't have to download any other software to edit videos. It's also extremely easy to use.
Here, I could drag and drop some video files directly into the video editor. And here I can use the storyboard to pull together my video. I simply drag and drop my different clips down, and my video starts to take shape.
Over here, I have access to all of the most common video editing tools. You could trim, split, add text, and the list goes on. With what you can do above, you also have access to background music.
So here I could insert music, and I could even sync it to my video's music beat. Over here, I could also insert custom audio. Let's say I wanted to include a voiceover. It has a lot of very nice functionality, and in a pinch, this works extremely well. So this sounds like a pretty good video editor.
Are there any downsides?
And unfortunately, there are a few right down below. One of the most glaring omissions is you can't add any transitions between clips.
So all you could do is a hard cut between two of your clips on the storyboard. Also because it uses a storyboard layout that makes it very easy to use, but you also don't have any tracks.
So let's say you want to do a picture in picture effect or basically you want to have one video play on top of the other. Well, unfortunately you can't do that.
Also, we looked at this background music catalog and you have a lot of songs you can insert.
However, if you upload your video to YouTube, you won't be able to monetize with any of those tracks.
Also, probably one of the biggest drawbacks once you pull together your video and you have your storyboard laid out, when you go to export your video, the highest quality that you can set it to is 1008p.
So let's say you have a new camera that shoots at 4K. Unfortunately, you won't be able to render your video at the top quality level.
All in all, the Windows 10 free video editor is a decent option and you can pull together some pretty nice videos. But the drawbacks are somewhat of a deal breaker, at least for me personally.
So let's jump on to the next free video editor.
OpenShot video editor.
It's free, it's open source and you can install it on any platform, whether it's Windows, Mac or Linux. Once you finish installing, this drops you into the OpenShot video editor.
And looking at this, it looks pretty simple, but yet it also has a lot of power under the hood.
Right here I can simply drag in video files and they show up here under Project Files. And here I could simply drag and drop my different files onto the timeline down below.
And here, now I have multiple tracks so I can layer different items on top of one another. If I pull in multiple items down onto the timeline below, this is a big improvement over the Windows 10 video editor.
Here I can insert transitions and there are many different transitions that you can choose from. Along with transitions, you can also insert different effects on top of your different media files.
As you start laying all of your different media files on the timeline down below, you can preview the video over here on the right hand side.
Now, I mentioned it looks very simple, but it does also have some advanced capabilities.
Here you can right click on any one of your media files and go into properties and you can set different keyframes and change the values on this clip.
So once again, it also has a lot of advanced functionality.
So are there any drawbacks?
I mean, it is free software and it does quite a bit. Well, there is one here. If I go up and let's say you want to insert a title, you can insert a standard title just fine, and this works well.
But there's also an option for an animated title, which sounds neat, but here, if you select any one of them, you have to install another application called Blender, which will allow you to do an animated title.
Now, Blender is also a free application, so it's kind of hard to complain, but it is a little bit of extra friction to be able to insert an animated title.
All in all, OpenShot is an excellent choice if you want a simple but yet also powerful free video editor.
Shotcut
Shotcut is free, it's open source, and it works on all major platforms, including Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Once you finish installing Shotcut, you'll be prompted to create a new project. Here I'll click on Start, and this now drops us in the main interface.
Just like with the other apps, you can drag and drop your media files in. And here, now I see a playlist of all of my files. Just like with the others, you can select one of your files and you can drag and drop it down onto the timeline below.
With Shotcut, you can add any number of tracks. Here I can right click and I can add additional video tracks or additional audio tracks.
And here I could drop in additional items as my video starts taking shape, here I could preview what it looks like.
Unlike the Windows 10 free video editor, shotcut supports a massive catalog of transitions.
Here, I could simply come down to my track, and I could drag one of the items and position it over the others, and that'll automatically insert a transition.
Here, if I click into Properties, I can choose from many different transitions similar to OpenShot. Along with inserting transitions, I could also select one of these clips.
And here I could click on Filters, and I can add a massive catalog of different filters to this clip. One other thing that I really like about Shotcut is, depending on what you're working on, they have different views optimized to that task.
Here, for instance, I'm currently in the editing view, which shows me the timeline down below and the preview. But I could also jump into an FX view. Or maybe I want to do some color grading so I could jump into the color view.
There's also an audio view and a player view if I just want to review what my video looks like.
All in all, Shotcut is a very powerful video editor. And when I look at all the videos on my channel, I could use Shotcut to pull any one of them together.
So are there any drawbacks?
Well, Shotcut is a little bit more complicated than the first two video editors that we looked at. So the learning curve is a little bit steeper. So it really depends on how serious you are about video editing.
If you really plan on creating some advanced videos, this could be a good choice. But if you really just maybe want to pull together a simple video, this might have a few more capabilities than you really need.
KDENLive
And this works cross platform, so whether you have Windows, Mac, or Linux. And once again, this is also an open source video editor, so it's completely free to use.
Choose your operating system and then go ahead with the install. This drops us into the main KDENlive interface, and it looks pretty similar to the previous few video editors that we looked at.
Over here, on the left hand side, you can drag and drop different files into the editor. And here, too, just like we saw before, you can drag the different items down below onto the timeline. And here, too, you get multiple tracks on your timeline. So here, I could place them on the same track, or I could place them on separate tracks.
One of the key differences. You'll notice now that I have two different ways I could view my video.
Right here, I could view the clip, so I could jump into a clip and I could preview that. And then I also have a separate view of my project.
So here I could see two different clips side by side. In terms of editing, you have many different tools to edit your videos. In fact, you have what's referred to as normal mode. There's an overwrite mode.
So if you drag a clip down it'll overwrite the existing clip, or you could insert it. They also have a wide variety of different editing tools that you can use.
Similar to Shotcut, there are also views that are catered to what you're doing or the task at hand.
There are views that specialize in each one of those different tasks. Back on the main view, I can also add many different transitions.
Here I have two different clips, and if I click into compositions here, I have all of these different options. Let's say I want to add a wipe transition between clips. Here I could insert it between these two clips, and that's now added a transition.
I could also choose from many different effects that I want to add on top of any one of my clips.
All in all, you can pull together some very impressive and advanced videos using KDENLive. Although similar to Shotcut, one of the drawbacks is you do have a lot of different options and a lot of different controls.
So the learning curve is a little bit steeper. However, there are lots of helpful resources online that'll help you get started with this video editor.
DaVinci Resolve
And this is the one that I personally use to pull together all of my videos on my YouTube channel.
DaVinci Resolve is a very impressive application. In fact, many different TV studios or film studios use DaVinci Resolve to pull together their projects.
DaVinci Resolve is a freemium product. What that means is you get most of the core or foundational capabilities entirely for free.
However, if you want additional effects or tracking, it costs some money for those. But I've been using the free version and I've been able to do all of the editing that I want to get done.
To download DaVinci Resolve 17 click here. Scroll down and then click on Download Now.
When you click on Download Now, you'll have a few different options. There's DaVinci Resolve 17 and there’s 18. You could also get an older version.
However, I'd recommend going with the latest. For DaVinci Resolve 18, you have the standard version and there's the studio version. The studio version is the paid version. If you simply want to move forward with the free version, select DaVinci Resolve 17 and then select your operating system.
DaVinci Resolve is a powerhouse video editor. Here, just like the others, you can pull your different media clips in, and here I can pull them down onto the timeline, and I could start organizing what my video looks like.
Right over here, I have a clip viewer, and then I also have my project viewer. Over here, I could adjust all sorts of different settings related to the video, the audio, and different effects or transitions that I decided to insert.
One of the really nice things about DaVinci Resolve is I have all of these other applications that are all part of DaVinci Resolve. Here I could load a view of all of my different media files. Here I have a dedicated cutting view, which makes it even easier and quicker to cut your different video clips.
Here you have your standard editing view, but also if I want to add any VFX, I have a fusion page where I can add all these different effects, and I have a node view where I can start pulling them together.
Over here, I also have access to colors. The color view in DaVinci Resolve is one of the industry leading ways that you can set color on your video.
I also have access to something called Fairlight Audio, and this is a super powerful tool that you can use to adjust the audio on your projects. With DaVinci Resolve, they bring together multiple what could be standalone applications all into one interface.
So as you're pulling together your project, you can very quickly jump between, say, the editing view and then the VFX view using that clip.
Out of all of the video editors that we looked at today, arguably DaVinci Resolve has some of the most advanced functionality. In terms of another application that's similar to DaVinci Resolve, you have HitFilm Pro and then you also have Adobe Premiere.
Those are comparable to what DaVinci Resolve offers. But what's great about DaVinci Resolve is it's entirely free to start using and only some of the features are behind a paywall.
Overall, DaVinci Resolve is an excellent choice, and that's why I use it as my primary editor.
However the one downside is it has a very steep learning curve. In fact, anytime I use this video editor, I feel like I'm constantly learning new things about it. But that's also what makes it so exciting. What you can do with this tool is pretty much limitless.
Kinemaster
Kinemaster is a free video editing software that is compatible with Chromebooks, Android, and iOS. However, you should know that your videos will be watermarked unless you subscribe to the premium version.
The interface of Kinemaster is user-friendly, making it an ideal option for beginners who want to perform basic tasks such as using Instagram filters and adjusting brightness, contrast, and saturation using sliders. Additionally, a background remover tool was recently added, which can be useful for more experienced video editors working on mobile devices.
Kinemaster is not intended to replace desktop software, but it is a useful complement to it. It offers more features than most mobile-focused editing apps, including color grading, chroma key, audio mixing, and beat sync.
Adobe Express
Adobe Express is a free app that aims to make it easy for people without design experience to create static and video content for social media. It's available as a web app, iOS app, and Android app, and can be downloaded for free.
However, it's important to note that Adobe Express is not the same as the Creative Cloud suite, which includes more advanced video editing tools like Premiere Pro and After Effects.
When it comes to video editing, Adobe Express offers some basic features like trimming video clips, adding music, text, and images, and resizing everything to fit different social media platforms.
The app provides users with a range of templates to choose from, and the quality of the templates is impressive. However, it's not a full-fledged video editing app, and its video editing capabilities are limited.
That said, the app has a simple and intuitive interface, making it easy to use even for beginners. Adobe Express can be useful for those who want to create social media videos quickly and don't require advanced video editing features.
Additionally, the recent integration of Adobe Firefly has added AI-powered features that make it even easier to create and edit content for social media.
Overall, Adobe Express is a great option for those who want an easy way to create social media content without having to learn advanced video editing skills.
Its simplicity, quality templates, and AI-powered features make it a useful tool for creating quick and easy social media videos.
Apple iMovie
If you're a beginner looking for a video editing software that is easy to use, Apple iMovie could be the perfect choice for you. The best part is that if you own a Mac, iMovie is already installed on it.
And if you have an iPad or an iPhone, you can download it for free from the App Store. However, if you have an Android device, you will have to look elsewhere.
One of the main advantages of iMovie is its simplicity. It doesn't have as many features as other video editing software, but this makes the interface clean and easy to navigate, which is great for those who are new to video editing.
During our review, we found that iMovie was quick, easy, and fun to use, which makes it an excellent choice for simple projects. Moreover, the shake and noise reduction tools work well to stabilize footage and reduce background noise.
Despite being a basic video editor, iMovie is more versatile than you might think. You can record footage on one device, edit it on another, and pull in assets from a different one. Additionally, iMovie supports exporting at 4K resolution at up to 60fps, which is impressive for a basic video editor.
For a while, iMovie seemed to be neglected by Apple, but the company has been updating the software lately, adding support for newer features found on i-devices.
It's worth noting that if you have a MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar, iMovie comes with fully functioning Touch Bar support.
VSDC
VSDC is a great choice for beginners who are using an aging and low-powered Windows PC. This video editing software is designed specifically to cater to the needs of people who have older computers that do not have the latest hardware and specifications.
This means that VSDC is optimized to run smoothly on such systems, so you won't have to worry about frequent crashes or freezing.
One thing that sets VSDC apart from other video editing software is its flexible import and export options. With VSDC, it's easy to import files in a wide range of formats, including AVI, MP4, MKV, MPG, and WMV. You can also export your edited videos in a variety of formats, including AVI, MP4, MKV, and MOV.
Another strength of VSDC is its ability to add text, lines, charts, and other special effects to a presentation.
You can choose from a variety of effects, including Instagram-style filters, color correction, and blurring. There is also a mask tool that allows you to apply effects to specific parts of a video.
It's worth noting that the free version of VSDC has almost all the features of the Pro version, and there are no watermarks added. This means that you can use VSDC for free without sacrificing any essential features.
When compared to other video editing software, such as OpenShot, we found VSDC to be less laggy while still covering all the basics well. Furthermore, VSDC includes a video stabilizer that can help remove camera shake from footage captured with GoPros or drones.
In conclusion, VSDC is an excellent desktop tool for beginners who want to edit videos on an aging, low-powered Windows PC. With its flexible import and export options, special effects, and video stabilizer, VSDC has everything you need to create high-quality videos.
Additionally, the fact that the free version has almost all the features of the Pro version without any watermarks makes VSDC an exceptional value for anyone looking for video editing software.
OpenShot
OpenShot is an open-source video editing software that provides a full product for free. This is in contrast to most free video editing software, which often tries to tempt you into buying a paid version.
OpenShot has a simple, intuitive, and minimalist drag-and-drop interface, making it an excellent choice for beginners. You can easily stack an unlimited number of layers in your video, including soundtracks, overlapping videos, or custom images. Additionally, there is a range of customizable title-card templates available to enhance the look of your content.
When it comes to editing your video, OpenShot provides all the usual options, including crop, trim, rotate, and resize, which work exceptionally well in practice.
You can also adjust elements such as brightness, contrast, colour grading, and gamma to enhance the overall look and feel of your video.
One of the most significant advantages of OpenShot is that, since it is open-source, there are no annoying ads, watermarks, or promotions for paid upgrades.
However, during our review, we encountered a few issues that are worth noting. There was some lag at times, and some features didn't work as expected.Additionally, some effects took a long time to apply, making the editing process occasionally frustrating.
However, these issues are relatively common with open-source software, and they are minor compared to the benefits of having a free, full-featured video editor with no ads or watermarks.
In conclusion, OpenShot is one of the best free video editing software options available for beginners. Its drag-and-drop interface, customizable templates, and full range of editing options make it a powerful tool for creating high-quality videos.
The issues we encountered during our review are minor, and they don't detract from the overall quality of the software. If you want to avoid watermarks and ads and have a full-featured video editor at your disposal, then OpenShot is the best choice for you.
Bonus
We've looked at a lot of fantastic and free video editors today, but I did want to call out some other noteworthy free video editors beyond the five that we already looked at.
One of them is the HitFilm Express, and this is similar to DaVinci Resolve in terms of what you can do.
This also follows a freemium model where you get most functionality for free, and then you can upgrade if you want to unlock more functionality.
And lastly, another great video editor is called VideoPad, and this is made by NCH Hardware.
Now, it is free for home use, but you do get an annoying notification that tells you and always reminds you that you're on the free version. And there are also some limitations like you could only insert so many audio tracks.
They limit the number of plugins. But once again, for a free video editor, this also works fairly well.
Summary
All right, well, that was a quick look at my favorite free video editors. Let me know down below in the comments. Which one are you going to use moving forward?
If you want to see more articles like this in the future, please consider subscribing. All right, well, that's all I had for you today. I hope you enjoyed it and as always, I hope to see you in our next article.
