It is not easy to create great-looking videos without spending too much money. Making videos is time-consuming and can be frustrating if you do not have the right tools. However, video creation software has come a long way in the past few years, so it isn’t as difficult to create your next masterpiece.
Video has become a vital marketing and business tool for growing digital presence and engaging with prospects. But while creating video content is relatively simple and affordable, getting the right tools in place to make your videos stand out will make the whole process much easier. Whether you’re shooting a quick promo video, a script-driven TV spot, or an epic 360 virtual reality spot, here are the best options for free video editing software that will have you up and running in no time.
Lightworks
The best overall free video editing software
Lightworks includes a simple and intuitive interface, so it’s easy to pick up. Lightworks also offers a collection of detailed video tutorials, making it one of the more accessible and easy to learn Linux video editing software options on this list.
Lightworks has a suite of original stock videos and music clips licensed for use in any videos you edit on the program, letting you give a polished look to any marketing video.
Features include:
- High-quality simple trim functions for fast and precise video editing
- Speed optimization, letting you continue to edit while importing new content
- Multicam editing for syncing clips from multiple cameras
- Real-time team project sharing with full control over which user has editing access
- Easy sharing of videos with fast export to YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and Instagram
- Support for a wide range of video formats
Available for: Windows, Mac, and Linux
Price: Free, $24.99 per month for Pro version
VSDC
Available on Windows.
This is an open-source, free video editor available only on Windows. It’s a good video editing software solution that supports almost all video formats and codecs. VSDC has both free and paid versions. The free version is good enough for almost all of your routine video editing needs. For professionals, the paid version offers more advanced features. It’s relatively simple to use and has features like color correction, visual and audio effects, blending modes and filters, etc.
Features
- Visual and audio effects
- Blending modes and Instagram-like filters
- Masking
- Motion tracking
- Support of popular formats
Ease of Use
VSDC has a modern and intuitive interface that makes use of different wizards so video creation and editing are simple and hassle-free. Despite the simplicity of the interface, the program offers plenty of features that allow users to create long and complex videos.
Advanced Editing Tools & Extras
VSDC is a full-featured video editing tool with visual and audio effects, blending modes, filters, and more. While the Pro version gives you access to even more tools, the free version is by no means lacking.
Pricing
VSDC Free is the free plan. You can get more advanced features with VSDC Pro for $19.99.
Pros & Cons
- Simple to use tool for day-to-day video editing
- Available only for Windows users
- The free version lags sometimes
Wondershare Filmora
Filmora by Wondershare is a very simple and easy to use video editing software. It has a short learning curve, so it’s perfect for those just getting started with video editing.
Even if you’ve never used a video editing software before, you can use this intuitive and easy to navigate editor to create your first video.
As your skills improve, you can take advantage of the advanced editing features this tool offers such as noise removal, speed control, color tuning, and more.
You’ll also find a library of visual effects and built-in titles that are designed with YouTubers in mind. There’s also a library of royalty-free music and sound effects you can use in your videos.
The most recent release added features like motion graphics, color matching, and a keyboard shortcuts editor to help you create your own time saving workflows.
There’s also a free mobile app for editing videos on the go, and simply uploading to Instagram or YouTube.
The premium version costs $69.99 for a lifetime payment, or you can choose to pay $44.99 per year.
There is a free version available, which has all the same features as the paid version. But, your videos will have their company watermark present.
If you want unlimited downloads from the stock film library, then there’s a Bundle plan for $104.87 per year.
Expert Review: We believe Wondershare Filmora is the best beginner-friendly video editing software.
Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro is the best video editing software for macOS used by over 2 million people. This tool is very easy to use, despite being so powerful.
Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro offer a nearly identical set of features. The big difference is Final Cut Pro X isn’t Windows compatible.
It’s equipped with advanced functionality to help you edit videos faster like, Smart Conform cropping, which will ensure that no essential scenes get cut.
There are grouping tools, organization features, animation templates, transitions, and a library of video effects. Plus, built-in audio editing features.
If you’re going to post videos to Facebook or YouTube, then you can use the export feature to automatically optimize and set the right aspect ratio for these platforms.
Since Final Cut Pro isn’t subscription-based, it offers you a simpler pricing model. Pay a one time fee of $299.99 and access the software forever.
Expert Review: We believe Final Cut Pro is the best video editing program for Mac users.
Apple iMovie
Ok—so to those of you working with PCs, this one won’t really apply; but we’d remiss to leave it off the list. If you’re looking for simplicity and elegance, it doesn’t get much better than Apple iMovie. iMovie’s ten high-fidelity filters are some of the classiest in the video editing game; and if you’re shooting on your iPhone, or have been editing a project on your iPad, you can use AirDrop to wirelessly and seamlessly transfer your project over to your Mac.
One of iMovie’s most coveted features is its green-screen, or “chroma-key” tool, which allows you to place your characters in exotic locations—Hawaii, say—at a moment’s notice. Want to overlay the scene with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”? iMovie ties directly in with iTunes and GarageBand, so you can easily implement custom tracks and sounds. When your movie’s finally ready to ship, release it into the wild using iMessage, Facebook, YouTube, or any other of iMovie’s succinctly connected platforms.
Standout Features: Seamless Apple product integration; green-screen; audio and social platform integration
Pricing: Free with the purchase of a Mac
OpenShot
Compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux.
OpenShot is one of the best open-source free video editing software solutions in the market. It’s a powerful video editor packed with numerous useful features and has a simple-to-use, drag-and-drop interface that even beginners can use easily. It provides advanced features like unlimited layers, video transitions with real-time previews, and has lots of options for video effects, animation, and keyframes. Moreover, it is extremely easy to cut and slice any video using this tool.
Features
- Cross-platform video editor, with support for Linux, Mac, and Windows
- Add as many layers as you need for watermarks, background videos, audio tracks, and more
- Drag and drop video, audio, or images right into the editor
Ease of Use
OpenShot is easy to use and has an intuitive user interface. You can import your own videos, photos, or music via drag-and-drop or right-clicking on the Project Files tab and choosing Import. Setting up your assets on the timeline is also really easy and you can also trim the music and videos by simply dragging the right slider to the time you want.
Advanced Editing Tools & Extras
OpenShot offers tons of features from basic to advanced editing. There’s also a great selection of effects like transitions, transforms, titles, and animations easily accessible from the Effects tab. Plus, the developers are super engaged in their work on the platform so new features are always rolling out.
Pricing
OpenShot is free and open-source.
Pros & Cons
- Easy-to-use interface
- Unlimited layers
- It lags sometimes, which is inconvenient
Conclusion:
It’s actually not as hard as you think to create videos for YouTube, Vimeo, and other video-sharing platforms, and there are tons of great tools that can help you save time and improve the end product. Not only that, but your videos could be happening in real time and sharing videos with friends and family (and stealing their views) instantly.