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Video content is in demand these days, and having the right video editing software makes the difference between the task being a joy or an annoying nightmare. To help you find the right app for you, our experienced reviewers have tried and tested the programmes below, weighing up the pros and cons of each option to help you make the best choice possible.
In our tests, we’ve looked at the design, performance, price and compatibility of each app and included options for various needs and skill levels. We’ve got options for those with decent or zero budgets, and everyone in-between (check our best free video editing software guide for more free options).
This list has some crossover with our best apps for video editing guide, which is focused on mobile apps in particular, but in this guide, we’ve also indicated which platform the software below are available on, and have included some in-browser and Android or iOS options.
If you want to get the absolute best setup for video editing, then you may also be interested in our best monitors for video editing and best tablets for video editing guides.
Top 3 at a glance
The best video editing software in full
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Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
The best video editing software overall
Premiere Pro is routinely used to create everything from YouTube videos to Hollywood movies. It’s also commonly used in the workflow of designers, animators and VFX artists, and having extensively tested it ourselves, we can see why.
When we reviewed the software, we loved how it enhanced our productivity by dividing everything into different workspaces, including editing, effects and audio. Each workspace helps manage a specific task, minimising distraction. We found this true when testing it out on both Mac and PC. In our experience, the automatic sync works like a dream when you have multi-angle shots, and it’s hard to fault the fine-tuning tools that make your video stand out from the crowd. Customisable keyboard shortcuts and superior collaboration features were the icing on the cake.
The software supports 4K, 8K and VR formats, and trimming and editing tools give you a high degree of precision and control. You can work on an unlimited number of video tracks (we fired up four 4K videos in our testing), which can be imported from pretty much any source.
Like all Creative Cloud software, Premiere Pro is constantly updated, and subscribers get all updates for free. The latest update in 2024 has improved audio editing tools powered by Adobe‘s heavy investment in AI, making it much easier to manage audio tracks.
Adobe Premiere Pro is one of the two industry-standard tools for video editing on our list. The other is Final Cut Pro, but that’s only available for Mac. As Premiere Pro is cross-platform, we rate it as the best video editing software overall.
For more details, see our full Adobe Premiere Pro review.
The best free video editing software
There is no doubt that BlackMagic’s DaVinci Resolve Studio is a great video editing package, and the free version, called simply Davinci Resolve, is our top pick of the best free video editing software out there. The paid version offers better performance for bigger projects (it can use multiple GPUs) and a lot of extra tools, including Magic Mask and depth maps for colour grading.
It’s colour grading where Davinci began before expanding into a fully fledged video editor. We find its colour-grading options truly excel, but so does its smart video-stabilisation tool, and its built-in audio mixing abilities are powerful and capable. We also love its new Relight tool, which analyses your images and creates associated normal maps. And most of all, we love that you can everything you need to in video editing within a single app, without the need to open and manage various different apps to achieve the best results.
“I love this version of Resolve,” said our reviewer. “It comes with all the industry-leading colour grading tools but includes some next-gen tools such as auto-subtitling and transcribing tools.” Its interface can take a bit of getting used to, but shouldn’t be too much of a problem if you’re used to video editing. If you’re looking for a full-feature package that can do it all for a one-off price, DaVinci Resolve is our recommendation.
See our full Davinci Resolve Studio review for more on our experience with the software.
The best mid-level video editing software
If you’re not working as a professional video editor but do a lot of editing (as a YouTuber or TikToker, for example) Premiere Pro may be overkill. In which case, you’d be better off with a cheaper, simpler, middleweight video editor.
We rate CyberLink PowerDirector 365 as the best video editing software for non-pros who have some experience of editing video. While beginners might still be freaked out by the apparent complexity of the interface (in which case, we’d recommend Premiere Elements, below), those who’ve used any type of video editing tool before will find it pretty easy to pick up and run with.
When we reviewed it, we found it to be one of the most simple, well-designed, and attractive video editing interfaces we’ve used to date. There are a lot of intuitive controls that speed up the process, too, including automatic gap filling and an overlay channel that sits beneath the primary video on the timeline. We were particularly impressed by the free, unlimited access to an extensive, royalty-free library of content from Shutterstock. And when it came to exporting our test piece, we loved the simplicity of clicking the Produce button.
CyberLink PowerDirector 365 is available for Windows and Mac and features a 100-track timeline, strong stabilisation and video correction tools, professional effects, multi-cam editing, motion tracking and surprisingly easy trimming. There’s also 360-degree video editing, together with support for all the file standards and formats you can imagine.
Then there are slideshows, screen recording, DVD menus, object design tools and more. And its cost, either as a one-off purchase or a monthly or annual subscription, is much more affordable than Premiere Pro.
The latest version (2023) contains advanced AI-assisted video editing tools which help editors craft perfect effects for their clips. We’ve not reviewed the newest version yet but our Cyberlink PowerDirector 2022 review found it to be perfect for creatives that don’t know video editing intuitively and need a little help producing their content.
The best video editing software for beginners
If you don’t need to edit videos for work and just want to do it as a hobby, the above tools are probably more complex than you need. Similarly, suppose you’d like to get into video editing but are entirely new to it. In that case, they offer quite an intimidating learning curve.
In both cases, we recommend Adobe’s Premiere Elements, which is the best video editing software we’ve tested that suits beginners and casual users.
As the name suggests, Premiere Elements is a simplified version of Premiere Pro. It’s cheaper and easier to learn, but it still has many practical, high-end features, including face detection, audio effects and bundled soundtracks. All this power is placed behind an easy-to-use interface, and you get all the video effects a beginner will need, including transitions, chroma-keying and opacity.
In our review, we found it possible to develop a fast workflow by using features like its smart search functionality, video stabilisation options, and automated functions like motion tracking and smart toning. And if you don’t know what any of that means, don’t worry. The set-up wizard and general interface are geared towards beginners, making it easy to start with the basics (such as importing and trimming clips) and then work your way up as you gain confidence. The software helps you learn through ‘guided edits’, which take you step by step through various tasks.
Although it’s made by Adobe, Premiere Elements is not part of a Creative Cloud subscription but is available for a one-off fee. There’s also a 30-day free trial. For more details, see our Premiere Elements review.
The best video editing software for quick social videos
Need to make a social media video but don’t have any experience of doing so? Vimeo offers a paid-for service that helps you do it quickly and easily in your web browser without the need for experience with video editors. Vimeo Create provides a range of pre-prepared templates, so you just drag and drop in your own clips and then tweak them accordingly using simple tools. If you don’t have your own content, you can also access millions of stock video clips, photos and commercially licensed music tracks for free.
When we reviewed Vimeo Create, we were surprised by just how easy the interface was to use. While the number of features was pretty limited – this is certainly the most basic video editing software on our list – we did find everything we’d want to make quick social clips. We particularly liked how you can produce videos for a variety of aspect ratios for different social platforms, such as square, horizontal and vertical.
Using Vimeo Create is free, but to save and share your video you’ll have to pay for a Vimeo Pro, Business or Premium membership. For more information, read our Vimeo Create review.
The best video editing software for Mac
If you don’t use a Mac, Final Cut Pro is simply not an option. And while there’s no subscription, it’s pretty expensive. But Final Cut Pro has plenty going for it. There is a 90-day free trial, which is a lot more generous than the seven-day trial offered by Premiere Pro.
Apple‘s Final Cut Pro is an industry-standard app used throughout the TV and movie professions – and there’s now an iPad version, too, so you can have a cohesive workflow across devices. One of the main reasons to choose it over Premiere Pro would be that it’s subscription-free on a Mac: you pay once and once only for the software (though the iPad version is a subscription).
When we reviewed Final Cut Pro (known as Final Cut Pro X until the X was dropped in 2020), we particularly loved its Magnetic Timeline, which works brilliantly. However, it can be intimidating if you’re used to other editing software. If you’re having trouble, though, there are lots of resources to help newbies get up to speed.
In our testing, we also found the organisational features very strong and enjoyed using the grouping tools, the wide range of effects, and nuanced audio tools. There are plenty more high-end features on offer too, include 360-degree video, HDR and advanced tools for colour correction.
As Apple software, Final Cut Pro is optimised to get the most out of your Mac. And so we weren’t surprised to see it integrates nicely with other parts of Apple’s ecosystem, such as your Photos or iTunes collections.
Every update to Final Cut Pro since its release has been made free. The newest release in November 30 2023, brings improvements to the already stellar organisational tools, and improvements to run faster on the latest Apple Silicon, which no other editing application can match on the Mac.
The best video editing software for beginners on Windows
Using Windows and never edited video before? We’ve found Pinnacle Studio to be another good choice of the best video editing software for getting started on a PC. Like Premiere Elements, it sits somewhere in the middle between the more basic free tools and professional-level video editing apps, both in terms of price and capability. In our Pinnacle Studio review, we found its interface similarly easy to use.
So why opt for Pinnacle Studio over Premiere Elements? In our experience, the biggest benefit lies in Pinnacle Studio’s more sophisticated audio tools and use of masks to overlay effects, shapes, and text in particular areas of your video.
Other sophisticated features include 8K import, keyframe groups, and advanced blend modes, although if you’re a total newbie, it’s probably going to take you a while to make use of those. We also liked the 1,500+ effects, titles, and templates on offer, as well as the six-track HD video editing, good colour correction tools, stop motion feature and time remapping tool. On the downside, we experienced occasional lags and crashes, slowing down our workflow overall.
Pinnacle Studio is pretty cheap, and if you like it, you can always upgrade to one of the more fully-featured packages, Pinnacle Studio Plus and Pinnacle Studio Ultimate.
The best video editing software for mobile
These days, tablets and smartphones are so powerful that it’s perfectly possible to do even pro-level video editing on the move. Out of all the video editing software for mobile we’ve reviewed, we’ve found Premiere Rush to be best option on the market today.
Available for iOS and Android, Premiere Rush uses a simplified version of the Premiere Pro interface with large icons and panels that are easier to use on a small touchscreen. This means there are fewer features, but you still get all the basics, such as adding videos to the timeline through drag-and-drop and mixing in music.
In testing, we found that the easier interface means that our workflow in Premiere Rush was refreshingly quick. That was particularly the case when it came to making simple edits for social media, with export options optimised for Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Vimeo working smoothly and really saving us time. Premiere Rush is also nicely integrated with Premiere Pro.
So that meant we found it useful to make extra edits to footage we’d previously worked on in that software, while on the go and using a tablet.
You can get Premiere Rush as part of Creative Cloud (which means you get Premiere Pro, too), or via a single-app subscription. There’s also a free starter plan that includes access to the app, 2GB of cloud storage, and unlimited free exports on mobile.
Overall, Premiere Rush’s simplicity means it’s suitable for beginners, while more experienced video editors will find it useful for editing on the go. If you’re a beginner who doesn’t travel a lot, though, you’d be better off opting for Premiere Elements, as this desktop software is similarly easy to use, but has more features once you’ve mastered the basics. For full details, see our complete Premiere Rush review.
The best free video editing software for Apple
Apple’s iMovie video editing app is completely free for macOS and iOS users, making it an attractive option if you’re getting started in movie editing and don’t want to pay through the nose for a powerful app. But being free doesn’t mean iMovie skimps on features, and it’s got plenty to offer for beginners and intermediate users.
One of its key features is dubbed Magic Movie, and it aims to take the pain out of throwing together quick videos. Set it to work, and it’ll combine clips, add titles, and choose accompanying music, all with just a couple of clicks. You can dive in and edit the resulting footage as needed or export it as-is. It’s a really strong tool if you want to put together a quick-and-dirty edit with your available material.
Another feature we think makes iMovie good for beginners is its Storyboards feature. This provides templates and guides on a range of video topics, from cookery videos to product reviews. Each template suggests shots you can get and ways you can edit your footage together. It’s a handy way to learn the ropes. It’s packed with other useful tools, from a Cinematic Mode that lets you adjust the depth of field on the fly to included filters, soundtracks, title cards and more.
All that said, iMovie isn’t the greatest option for professionals. As we said in our iMovie review, it’s not updated as often as we’d like, and lacks some of the more powerful tools you’ll find in apps like Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro. It’s also unavailable outside Apple’s ecosystem, which is an obvious weakness if you work on Windows, Android or Linux. But if you’re a beginner who doesn’t fancy the more complex apps in this guide, iMovie is a nice, simple and free way to get started.
The best video editing software for VR video support
If you’re familiar with Corel’s illustration and graphic design software, such as Corel Painter, and you like its way of doing things, then the best video editing software for you might be Corel VideoStudio Ultimate, which has the same kind of interface and general approach as the rest of the company’s software.
In general, this is a good Windows-based video editing option for beginners and casual users. When we reviewed it, we found its interface was clean and intuitive, and we’d recommend it to any beginner wishing to get started with video editing on a PC. Once you’ve got a handle on the basics, you can explore more powerful features, such as motion tracking, 4K support, 360-degree VR video support, a music library, multi-cam support, 3D text editing, and thousands of effects.
Corel VideoStudio Ultimate certainly isn’t for everyone. The way it works with layers is a bit different to rivals, such as Adobe Premiere Elements or Pinnacle Studio, and we found this to be a tad jarring. It might not be an issue if you’re not used to other video editing software, but if you are, it can be a pain to adjust.
To learn more, read our complete Corel VideoStudio Ultimate review.
The best value video editing software for hobbyists
There’s a free version of Filmora, but all your videos will have a watermark on them, so it’s really only useful for learning video editing or trying out the tool. To remove the watermarks, you’ll need to take out either an Annual plan, a Lifetime plan for a one-off fee, or an Unlimited plan, which includes unlimited downloads from a stock library and new effects each month.
If you’re new to video editing or only need to edit video occasionally, Wondershare’s Filmora offers excellent value at a very reasonable price.
When we reviewed it, we found its interface more intuitive and easy to use than Premiere Elements or Pinnacle Studio. On the flip side, you get less scope to fine-tune your edits. So if precision is your main priority you may prefer these rivals. If, however, speed is of the essence, then Filmora is probably your best bet.
Filmora comes with a large number of handy built-in titles, effects and filters designed for YouTubers and social media users. There’s a library of royalty-free sound effects and music to give your videos impact, and you can also record your own media directly within the tool. The most recent update (version 13 released in October 2023) has brought more AI-based tools such as text-based editing, and music generation and much more. To learn more, read our Filmora review.
How to choose the best video editing software
There are a number of factors you need to consider when choosing the best video editing software for you. The first is what you want to use it for, is it just for quick social media videos, are you creating a short film or do you just want to make a quick clip to send to friends? This will determine what sort of app you go for. Next think about your skill level, are you a beginner, intermediate level or a pro?
If you’re a beginner, then you won’t need feature rich software and you will want something that is easy to use, with plenty of support and tutorials available. You may even want something you can use on your phone, and you’ll probably want social media sharing options.
Intermediate users may want something slightly more sophisticated, with more advanced features such as stop motion or colour grading tools, while professionals will need software with a range of advanced features such as multitrack editing, motion tracking, and advanced colour grading.
Note that AI features are now available in most video editing software and this can speed up the time it takes to create a video immensely, although you’ll often need to tweak the results.
Beyond that, there are technical considerations to take into account. Do you want to edit videos on Windows or Mac, or other platforms such as Linux, Android, iOS or in the browser? What export formats do you require, and at what resolution? (HD, 4K, 8K?).
Finally, there’s the question of budget. While free versions of video editing software exist, to unlock all the watermarks, remove ads and get all the features, you’ll generally need to pay. Some video editing software is available for a one-off fee while others require a subscription, so that may factor into your decision too.
How we tested the best video editing software
To choose the video editing software for this guide, two of our writers who are experienced video editors spent an extended length of time with each program to be able to compare their power, features, ease of use and value for money. They used each program to edit a number of projects from short social videos to longer pieces following a realistic workflow and using most of the features provided by each program, testing out how easy it was to share from each platform, too.
They considered who each piece of software is targeted at, how good it is at what it aims to do and how it compares to other products on the market. They also looked at the community/help surrounding the software, looking at how easy it was to find help. For all of the products above, you can click the links provided to see our full hands-on reviews to learn more about our experiences with them.
Frequently asked questions
Which software is best for video editing?
Right now, Premiere Pro from Adobe tops our list of the best video editing software. This industry-standard, subscription-based tool is aimed at professionals and comes packed with sophisticated and powerful tools. Adobe is at the forefront of AI integration with its creative applications, and Adobe Premiere is benefitting with features like text-based editing.
What is the easiest software to edit videos?
If you’re just starting out in the world of video editing, and using a desktop PC or Mac, our top recommendation is Premiere Elements. It’s a simplified version of the more powerful Premiere Pro, so there’s not such a steep learning curve, and it’s cheaper too. Plus unlike most Adobe tools, it’s available for a one-fee rather than a subscription.
What’s the best video editing software for mobile?
If you want to edit videos on your phone or tablet, we’d suggest checking out Premiere Rush, which makes all the most important bits of Premiere Pro available for iOS and Android devices. Its interface is nice and simple, with large icons and panels that are easier to click on a small touchscreen. But you still get a range of useful features, such as adding videos to the timeline through drag-and-drop and mixing in music. It’s nicely integrated with Premiere Pro, too, so you can work on the same footage on your desktop computer and on the move.
What is the best video editor for free?
If you have zero cash to spend, then our guide to the best free video editing software will give you lots of options. But bear in mind that many of these tools have serious limitations, such as ads, watermarks or limited features.
An alternative to these free-but-flawed tools is to opt for a free trial of one of the paid options that we list above. This will enable you to explore your options before making a decision. Just don’t forget to cancel your trial if you don’t want to be charged!
How difficult is video editing?
Learning to edit video isn’t something that should intimidate you. If you’ve ever used any kind of app on web or mobile, you’ll be able to use video editing software. You just have to start with the basics and build up your skills from there. Whatever video editing software you use, there are plenty of tutorials online to get you started, and often the best ones are provided free by the makers themselves. Check out our guide to Premiere Pro tutorials to get an idea of what’s out there, and read our Premiere Pro tips for further pointers.
What do most YouTubers use to edit their videos?
Anecdotally, the most popular video editing software amongst YouTubers are iMovie, Final Cut Pro and Premiere Pro. iMovie is a common choice among beginners and casual YouTubers, because it’s free, already installed on Apple devices, and does everything you need for basic editing. If you’re on Android, though, we’d recommend Adobe’s Premiere Rush.
Pro and semi-pro YouTubers, meanwhile, need something more sophisticated, and so most opt for either Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro. For more details, read the best software for editing videos for YouTube.
How do you edit a video for TikTok?
You don’t need to be a video professional to edit videos for TikTok; nor do you need video editing software. The TikTok app itself offers everything you need to create your video, including editing your footage, adding effects and transitions, adding music or other audio clips, and posting it to TikTok. Find out more in our article on how to edit a video on TikTok and our general tips on how to edit video.
What’s the best computer for using video editing software?
If you’re using high-end, pro-level video editing software such as Final Cut Pro or Premiere Pro, you do need quite a powerful computer to get the best out of it. In our view, the best desktop computer for video editing right now is the iMac (24 inch, 2023) thanks to its super-fast processor and gorgeous 4.5K display.
If you’d rather use a Windows machine, though, we recommend the Surface Studio 2+, boasts a fantastic 28-inch touchscreen display, has a resolution of 4,500 x 3000 pixels, and allows you to switch colour profiles from sRGB to DCI-P3. For more details, see our article the best video editing computer.
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