The Best Free Video Editor software is what you want to give movie-making a go without consuming a fortune upfront.
Gone is the day during which free video editing software was a weak relation to paid variants. Some of the choices in the list come with advanced features like auto image stabilization, 3D rendering, and color correction.
The Best Free Video Editor software will support you in comprehending the basics, like creating transitions and appending a soundtrack or text overlay.
They’re powerful enough for home movies of the latest vacation, and if coupled with one of the best action cameras or the best drones, you could quickly make a vast sports film; the opportunities are limitless.
Read on the Best Free Video Editor software combinations and determine to get the next step.
Best Free Video Editor
HitFilm Express 16
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Customizable interface, Drag and drop special effects are easy to apply, Cross platform, Library of great free instructional videos | No Linux support May have slight learning curve for newcomers |
Hitfilm Express, a video editing software bundle, has high-energy style reviews for budding filmmakers who want to set a special touch on a personal experience or be productive with a video blog. However, it’s still simple enough for the adventuresome friends-and-family group. The latest variant, Hitfilm Express 16, carries an array of enhancements such as materially based 3D rendering, custom Light Flares impressions, a built-in voice recorder, etc. There’s an auto stabilizer to create bumpy footage that looks more constant, motion tracking, a color picker to modify colors selectively, and a crop & pan tool — otherwise known as the Ken Burns effect. In addition, 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. It has a free light interface. Other prominent features include the capability to build your lightsaber battles, 360-degree video editing, and lens distortion correction from action cameras.
Lightworks
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Completely free Basic and advanced features Good performance Active user forum | Export options limited to 720p and H.264/MP4 Steep learning curve for newcomers No built-in Help Paid upgrade for certain features |
Lightworks is superior enough that the Pro version has created multiple award-winning movies, including Pulp Fiction and The Wolf of Wall Street. Still, the free variant is only marginally less full-featured. There’s a broad range of tools to build professional-looking videos, including some logically advanced audio-editing opportunities, VFX, color adjustments, and more. And while the interface may need a little getting admitted, even an amateur can immediately learn the essentials. It also works on each platform, with variants for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The main disadvantage is that with the free variant, output privileges max out at 720p — but depending on what you’re preparing to upload your film to, that may not involve.
Apple iMovie
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Professional-looking themes and trailers, Abundant audio tools, Supports 4K | Lacks multicam, motion tracking and 360-degree features Limited output controls |
iMovie, the Best Free Video Editor, is best for Mac users. It conveys themes, Hollywood-style trailers, and video effects. While you can now publish and share 4K videos, iMovie lacks characteristics found in other free apps, such as the ability to edit 360-degree video, Multicam editing, and motion tracking. Instead, it has a cinematic flair, minimalistic panache, and deep integration and optimization with macOS. You also have limited control over output settings. Because it’s so strongly weaved with macOS, iMovie was always one of the fastest apps when it came to encoding video. New updates tweaked the interface and attached Touch Bar support for the latest Macs. Once that’s completed, it also provides you with many sharing options: you can upload directly to YouTube and Vimeo and share any video frame as an image.
VideoPad
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Intuitive and easy to learn, Extensive YouTube, social media and mobile-output formats and specs | Lacks some advanced features like multi-cam editing and motion tracking, Lacks a free slide-show creator |
This Best Free Video Editor gives it the snap to export your creations to YouTube, Flickr, Google Drive, Facebook, Dropbox, and an assortment of mobile devices through a single pull-down menu. The biggest issue with VideoPad was not knowing which characteristics were disabled in the free variant versus the trial and paid versions.
DaVinci Resolve
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Free with no limits or watermarks, Intuitive interface for most routine functions, Exquisitely deep app for color grading, compositing and audio production | Learning curve for advanced features No direct export to social media |
DaVinci Resolve, the best free video editing software, is for more advanced video editors. A powerful cross-platform, pro-level app, you’ll need to use a system with discrete graphics to make the most out of this video editor. The most advanced version of DaVinci includes a significant upgrade to Fairlight, the audio editing workspace. In addition, it gives free users the ability to cooperate on a project simultaneously — a function that was beforehand only available to those employing a paid version. Previous variants also included facial recognition, fast export to YouTube and Vimeo, and 3D audio; there’s a lot to investigate here. DaVinci Resolve also incorporates Fusion, earlier a stand-alone application, with four high-end video-production modules for color correction, audio production, editing, and video effects and motion graphics. Davinci is pretty powerful but has a bit of a learning curve. However, if its 256-page manual doesn’t intimidate you, high-level enthusiasts will find a lot of tools at their disposal.
VSDC
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Variety of stylish built-in effects, transitions and audio filters, Consumer-oriented and easy enough for simple video tasks Includes a screen-capture tool | Old-fashioned, unorthodox interface Lacks features like 360-degree, motion tracking and multicam editing |
VSDC has a hybrid design that includes controls for creating and editing video plans and links to instructional videos, which help when navigating through its interface. VSDC is a non-linear editor, which grants you more flexibility while editing, suggesting it has a more meaningful learning curve than traditional video editing software. VSDC is not critical for basic edits, but its interface has a knowledge curve, and it requires a few popular features.
Movie Maker Online
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Free photos, music and sound effects Built-in help Video and slideshow functions | Confusing and clunky interface Learning curve Ads |
Movie Maker Online is a web-based program, implying that you can use it on any computer with a web browser. That supplies it an advantage over some of the best free video editing software packs, as there’s no requirement for you to own a super-fast machine or many hard drive spaces. In addition, it holds free music and stock photos you can attach to your video, plus there’s the capacity to add transitions and some acute effects. But don’t expect HitFilm levels of refinement. Movie Maker Online’s interface is a little confusing — for example, the timeline moves vertically rather than horizontally — and there are other restrictions, like the fact that you can only export in MP4 format. The ads are intrusive, too, but it’s certainly worth a glance for creating short films without significant fuss.