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The best free video editing software is ideal if you want to turn all of that footage gathering dust on your computer into a mini movie masterpiece but without spending a fortune. Sure, you can splash out on one of the best video editing software packages overall if you prefer, but a free version will let you learn the basics without any outlay.
What’s more, the best free video editing software is a lot more feature-rich than you might imagine these days. Where once they would be severely limited compared to their paid cousins, most now offer a bunch of advanced tools for everything from transitions to soundtrack to special effects.
That said, not all free software is created equal. That’s why we’ve tested all of the top free video editing software packages to help you decide which one is right for you. We’ve spent hours editing our own video footage within them, and assessing them for ease of use, so we’re confident that these are best options available.
Read on and we’ll help you choose the best video editing software.
Top three video editors overall in 2023
If you feel you’re already ready to take the step up to some more advanced video editing options, there are some really great value paid-for options out there. If you’re creating video for commercial purposes, in particular, it’s worth investing in the proper tools. These are currently the best three paid-for video editors out there:
On to the best free video editing software
After testing numerous suites, we think the best free video editing software overall is HitFilm Express. It works with both Macs and PCs and has a revamped interface that’s powerful but easy to use and customizable to your needs. While HitFilm is free, you can pay for 30 add-on packs, which range in price from around $15 up to $50. These include such features as 360-degree video editing, 3D titles, advanced color-grading tools and LUTs, and even audio tools such as Doppler Shift and noise reduction. Lightworks is another great option, offering plenty of advanced tools completely free, but with the caveat that exports are limited to 720p.
Mac users who only need a simple video editor will find that Apple iMovie is the best free video editing software, because of its strong integration with Apple’s operating system and easy-to-grasp editing tools. iMovie supports 4K video, and has some good tools for smoothing shaky video, adding titles, and even soundtracks from music in your iTunes library. However, you won’t get advanced features such as 360-degree video editing and special effects here.
Of course, there are some features that can only be found in paid software packages; be sure to check out our picks for the best video editing software under $100 too. But if you need just the basics, you’ve come to the right place.
The best free video editing software you can download today
Hitfilm Express is the best free video editing software package. Its high-energy style appeals to budding filmmakers who want to put a special touch on a personal event or get creative with a video blog, but it’s still easy enough for the adventurous friends-and-family crowd.
The latest version, Hitfilm Express 2022.1, includes an array of enhancements such as clipping masks, a lasso mask feature and a bunch of in-app tutorials. That’s all on top of the many other features already present in this premium-feeling package: there’s an auto stabilizer to make bumpy footage look smoother, motion tracking, a color picker to selectively adjust colors, and a crop & pan tool — otherwise known as the Ken Burns effect.
Hitfilm Express supports resolutions up to 4K, GPU-accelerated decoding on Nvidia, AMD, and Intel graphics cards (on PCs only), changes to the interface, and native support for Dolby AC3 audio. It also supports VEGAS files and effects. And, it has a light interface — but if you prefer a dark interface, that’ll set you back $9.
Other great features include the ability to create your own lightsaber battles, 360-degree video editing and lens distortion correction from action cameras. You can also purchase a number of add-on packs, starting at around $10, to add even more functionality to the program, or upgrade to either the Creator ($6.25/month) or Pro ($10/month) for more options.
Read our full HitFilm Express 16 review.
Lightworks is advanced enough that the Pro version has been used to create multiple award-winning movies including the likes of Pulp Fiction and The Wolf of Wall Street, but the free version is only marginally less full-featured.
There’s a wide range of tools to create professional-looking videos, including some fairly advanced audio-editing options, VFX, color adjustments and more. And while the interface may take a little getting used to, even a beginner can master the essentials relatively easily. It also works on almost every platform, with versions for Windows, Mac and Linux.
In fact, Lightworks Free has been made simpler in the 2022 version — some advanced features have been removed but a bunch of user-friendly options have been added, including 80 new transitions. A recent update to 2022.2 has also added support for Apple’s ProRes format.
The main drawback is that with the free version, output options max out at 720p — but depending on what you’re planning to upload your film to, that may not matter. And if you do decide to go Pro, you can do so for $24/month and open up 4K export plus various other features. Or you could try the Lightworks Create version, which costs $9.99/month and which sits between the two in terms of functionality.
Read our full Lightworks review.
iMovie is the best free video editing software for Mac users, as it delivers themes, Hollywood-style trailers and video effects with minimalistic panache, a cinematic flair, and deep integration and optimization with macOS.
Recent updates tweaked the interface and added Touch Bar support for the latest Macs, plus it now lets users edit and adjust focus in videos shot with the iPhone 13 range’s new Cinematic Mode. It’s also now been optimized for the latest Apple Silicon, so it’ll have improved performance when used on the new MacBook Pro 14 or 16-inch models and the M1 Pro or M1 Max chips.
While you can now edit and share 4K videos, iMovie lacks features found in other free apps, such as the ability to edit 360-degree video, multicam editing and motion tracking. You also have limited control over output settings.
Because it’s so deeply entwined with macOS, iMovie was always one of the fastest apps when it came to encoding video. Once that’s finished, it also gives you plenty of sharing options: you can upload directly to YouTube and Vimeo, and share any video frame as an image. When you couple iMovie with iMovie Theater and iCloud, you can also view your creations on any Apple device or via Apple TV.
Read our full Apple iMovie review.
This free video editor makes it a cinch to export your creations to YouTube, Facebook, Dropbox, Flickr, Google Drive and an assortment of mobile devices through a simple pull-down menu. You have to sign in to these services first — and while YouTube uploaded directly to my channel without incident, you may have to save your video to your hard drive with social media specs, then upload to the social network yourself.
Compared to HitFilm’s high-energy interface, VideoPad has a simple, soothing look which makes it the best free video editing software for novices. It works with both Macs and PCs and still lets you edit 360-degree video with the same ease as you would traditional movies, though adding text to 360-degree clips can be a bit tricky. VideoPad also lacks some of the advanced features you’ll find with HitFilm, for instance multicam editing, high-end special effects and motion tracking — but you can purchase a number of add-ons to expand VideoPad’s feature set.
Our biggest issue with VideoPad was not knowing which features were disabled in the free version versus the trial and paid versions. We found VideoPad to be a bit slower on our transcoding tests than Hitfilm, too. But that may not matter for those looking for an app that they can use to quickly and easily edit video and then upload to the social media outlet of their choice.
Read our full VideoPad review.
DaVinci Resolve is the best free video editing software for those who are more advanced video editors. A powerful pro-level, cross platform app, you’ll want to use a system with discrete graphics to get the most out of this video editor.
A new version, DaVinci 18, is now out and we will be testing it soon. It includes new cloud-based workflows for easy collaboration, and also enables up to 30x faster playback on Apple Mac M1 models. Previous versions also included such features as facial recognition, fast export to YouTube and Vimeo, and 3D audio; there’s a lot to explore here.
DaVinci Resolve also incorporates Fusion, previously a stand-alone application, which brings with it four high-end video-production modules for editing, color correction, audio production, and video effects and motion graphics.
Davinci is quite powerful, but has a bit of a learning curve. If its 256-page manual doesn’t intimidate you, high-level enthusiasts will find a lot of tools at their disposal.
Read our DaVinci Resolve 17 review.
VSDC has a hybrid layout that incorporates controls for both creating and editing video projects, along with links to instructional videos, which are a big help when navigating through its interface. VSDC is a non-linear editor, which gives you some more flexibility when editing, but that means it has a bigger learning curve than more traditional video editing software.
VSDC is not bad for basic edits, but its interface has a learning curve, and it lacks a few popular features. VSDC is also a Windows-only program. If you upgrade to the pro version of VSDC for $20 (good for one year for two machines), you get additional features such as technical support, a full multimedia suite, advanced settings, hardware acceleration, sub-pixel resolution, a masking tool, chroma key functionality and a visible audio waveform. The latest version, VSDC 7.1, upgrades the GUI and LUT editors and adds new effects and custom shortcuts, among other things.
Read our full VSDC review.
Now on version 22, Shotcut is a free, open-source, cross-platform video editor for Windows, Mac and Linux that works with a variety of video resolutions and more esoteric codecs. The platform-agnostic Shotcut appeals to prosumer and enthusiast filmmakers with its broad format support and abundant audio and video effects and editing features. However, its learning curve might be a bit much for novice users, and it lacks an easy way to share videos to popular social media sites.
We like that Shotcut’s interface starts out sparsely populated; you can add windows as you see fit, though it can get cluttered quickly. In addition to being cross-platform, Shotcut also works pretty well on systems that don’t have discrete graphics, making it more accessible to those who don’t have thousands to spend on the latest GPUs.
It’s also regularly updated with new features. Recent updates included a 15-band (graphic) equalizer plus notes and voiceover options, so updates aren’t just big fixes.
Read our full Shotcut review.
Movie Maker Online is just that: a web-based video editing program, which means that you can use it on any computer with a web browser. That gives it an advantage over some of the best free video editing software packages, as there’s no need for you to have a super-fast machine or lots of hard drive space.
It also includes free music and stock photos you can add to your video, plus there’s the ability to add transitions and some basic effects. But don’t expect HitFilm levels of sophistication. Movie Maker Online’s interface is a bit confusing — for instance, the timeline runs vertically rather than horizontally — and there are other restrictions, such as the fact that you can only export in MP4 format. The ads are intrusive, too, but for making short films without much fuss it’s certainly worth a look.
Read our full Moviemaker Online review.
How to choose the best free video editing software
Free vs. freemium
There’s free and then there’s freemium. Some software, like iMovie, is genuinely free. But just as some video-editing packages are sold in tiers — with more-expensive versions offering more and expanded features — a freemium video program may just be the lowest level of a paid version. Or it may be a trial version that hobbles the end product in various ways, like putting a huge watermark on your video or limiting output formats.
But there are variations on this theme. HitFilm, VideoPad, DaVinci Resolve and VSDC, for example, offer paid versions with high-end features that most consumers probably won’t miss, but otherwise allow for full use of the basic program.
Another hidden “cost” is periodic or even constant in-line advertising or reminders that an upgrade is available. VideoPad (on the Mac) makes you verify at every launch that you are using the free version for noncommercial purposes.
Both DaVinci and VSDC mix paid features in their basic programs, but they do not explicitly mark these features as such. However, if you try to use them, you’ll get an error message and an ad. We can’t fault the software companies for trying to get users on board with paid versions, but just be warned that such annoyances are the hidden cost of otherwise-free video apps.
Basic features
The watchword with free apps is often which one offers the best combination of technically complex software for which you would otherwise have to shell out the big bucks. All video editors should, at the very least, have some combination of familiar features like a viewer or playback window, library, timeline, and access to transitions and effects.
Tech support and documentation
One of the big differences between paid and free software is the level of documentation and tech support; paid software has more-explicit and -detailed documentation and guides than the free versions. That said, many software packages post instructional videos of the most popular features to YouTube, and more-complex free packages may offer extensive documentation.
Many independent vendors, who are often sole proprietors in charge of the software, make themselves available to users via social media and email to assist with problems, troubleshoot, take suggestions and criticism, and otherwise oversee the software. Programs with intuitive interfaces and tool-tip hints, and even built-in tutorials to greet new users, make free software popular.
System requirements
Many free software packages technically serve most consumer hardware systems with integrated graphics, as opposed to more-powerful discrete graphics cards. If you have a consumer machine like a MacBook or a Windows laptop with integrated graphics, make sure your machine is powerful enough to run them efficiently.
Export options
Another area where free meets inconvenience may be at the tail end of the project, when you want to export your video, only to discover that the free version will not output to your desired format. Before you start using a free package, make sure that it will save your video to the platform and resolution you need, whether your video will eventually wind up on YouTube or on a Blu-ray disc.
How we test free video editing software
You can’t determine what the best free video editing software is without testing the various options, so that’s what we do. And we do it in the same way that you would if you downloaded one: by actually editing video with them. While we’re doing so, we take note of the workflow, the ease with which we can add such things as filters, transitions, effects and text, and try out any novel features that each one offers.
In addition to the hands-on aspect, we also consider various other factors. For starters, how “free” is it? Some so-called free software is hobbled with limited features or watermarks on all your videos unless you pay a fee. We look at what you actually get for free, versus what you have to pay for.
And of course we look at the software’s interface. Video editing software that’s targeted towards novices should be easy to use, with plenty of guides to help you along the way.
Finally, we also consider factors such as what the upgrade path is like, how many operating systems the software is available on, how much technical support is available and how frequently the software gets new versions.
With all of this in mind, we’re able to say with confidence that these are the best free video editing software packages available right now.
Be sure to check out all of our picks for editing video and photos:
Best video editing software | Best video editing apps | Best photo editing software | Best photo editing apps | Best photo collage apps | Best photo storage and sharing sites | Best photo organizer apps | A-Z video editing guide for beginners
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