When you want to modify the video files on computer, whether to add text or images or videos or any file with different encoding formats, then your best choice would be to select a good free video editing software.
Have you ever heard of free video editing software? Or do you know there is such a thing? Sadly, people who complain about the costs associated with such software, generally don’t research what is available. So you want to edit your videos and make them better? There are numerous options for making this happen, including paid and free editing programs. Let’s look at some of the best free video editing software available!
Apple iMovie:
iMovie comes with every new Mac (OS X), and you don’t need to pay extra money for it. The latest iMovie 11 is a great and free video editor for Mac with many great features such as movie trailer, one step effect, audio editing, etc.
In just a few steps, you can share your movies to YouTube or export videos for your iPhone, iPad, etc. However, iMovie is only free if you buy a new Mac. And when getting started with iMovie, you will find it is hard to master this software. All in all, iMovie is one of the best free video editing software for Mac users and receives a good reputation. You can learn some iMovie video editing tips and tricks on how to use iMovie.
Main Features of iMovie:
- Supports editing 4K videos.
- You can also use it on iPhone/iPad.
- 10 video filters are for you.
Pros: Available on iPhone/iPad; Compatible well with Apple ecosystem.
Cons: Limited to 2 video tracks and 2 audio tracks.
HitFilm Express:
The best free video editing software overall
SPECIFICATIONS
Compatible with: Mac, WindowsMinimum system requirements: Windows 8 (64-bit), Mac OS 10.13 SierraTODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Customizable interface+Drag and drop special effects are easy to apply+Cross platform+Library of great free instructional videos
REASONS TO AVOID
-New users must pay to switch to the dark interface
Hitfilm Express is the best free video editing software, as 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 2021, includes an array of enhancements such as physically-based 3D rendering, custom Light Flares effects, a built-in voice recorder and more. 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.
OpenShot:
The easiest free video editing software for intermediate editors
OpenShot’s easy-to-use user interface makes it a great video editing program for beginners. While more complex tools may offer more editing components, OpenShot’s intuitive interface and minimal design are perfect for simple editing.
OpenShot is an efficient option for small businesses and is best for clip resizing, scaling, trimming, snapping, and rotation. It also offers credit scrolling, frame stepping, time mapping, audio editing, and real-time preview.
Features include:
- Unlimited layers for watermarks, background videos, and audio tracks
- Customizable title-card templates
- Drag-and-drop functionality for easily adding video, audio, or image files
- Digital video effects, including brightness, gamma, hue, greyscale, and chroma key compositing for green-screen effects
- Powerful key-frame animation capabilities for creating animated videos
Available for: Windows, Mac, and Linux
Price: Free
Avidemux:
Avidemux is another great free video editor designed for simple cutting, filtering, and encoding tasks. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, Linux, and BSD under the GNU GPL license and supports a variety of video, image, and audio formats, including AVI, DVD compatible MPEG files, MP4, MOV, ASF, JPG, AAC, AC3, etc.
High compatibility with many video formats is the highlight of this free video editing software for Mac. You can also cut ads from a TV recording or just save a small part of the video. It also offers some filters to use, such as color correction. You can apply these filters to your video to make it more beautiful.
Main Features of Avidemux :
- It supports AVI, MP4, and ASF.
- Based on H.264 encoder.
Pros: Clean and easy-to-use interface; open-source software without built-in purchase.
Cons: Exporting process is slack, which means it will take a longer time.
Lightworks:
A full-featured and free video editing program with an optional Pro upgrade
SPECIFICATIONS
Compatible with: Windows 7/8/10, Mac, LinuxTODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Completely free+Basic and advanced features+Good performance+Active user forum
REASONS TO AVOID
-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 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.
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.
Shotcut:
Best open-source movie maker for audiophiles
Shotcut is an open-source, cross-platform video editor with a vast collection of tutorial videos. It also supports a wide range of formats, including FFmpeg, 4K, ProRes, and DNxHD. A warning, however—Shotcut was originally designed for Linux, so some may find the interface a little quirky. Despite this, it’s still a top-notch editor.
Shotcut also provides extensive audio editing options, making it ideal for audiophiles. Its host of fine-tuning audio tools allows users to make bass and treble adjustments, create bandpass filters, adjust gain, add dynamic compression, and much more.
Features include:
- Support for the latest audio and video formats via FFmpeg, the leading multimedia framework
- Native timeline editing, which allows users to import video files directly into their project file rather than a media library
- Multi-format timeline for mixing and matching resolutions and frame rates within a project
- Advanced audio filters like balance, bass and treble, bandpass filters, compressor, and more
Available for: Windows, Mac, and Linux
Price: Free
ZS4 Video Editor:
ZS4 Video Editor is a free video editor for Mac, which provides media experts with a facility to combine a variety of media types into one (or more) output file(s). Besides Mac, it is also available for Windows and Linux. ZS4 Video Editor comes with over 150 built-in video effects, which can help you bring your videos to the next level instantly.
More importantly, you can use it to combine various media files into one, like videos, audios, and photos. With this all-in-one editor, no more needs to install too many annoying Apps.
Main features of ZS4 Video Editor:
- You can edit photos, videos, and audio files.
- It is easy to use.
Pros: More than 120 built-in video effects; Unlimited tracks.
Cons: The user interface is not friendly.
VideoPad:
Great video editing software for beginners and social media
SPECIFICATIONS
Compatible with: Mac, WindowsTODAY’S BEST DEALSUS$69.95VIEW AT AMAZONUS$69.95View at AmazonUS$69.95View at Amazon
REASONS TO BUY
+Intuitive and easy to learn+Extensive YouTube, social media and mobile-output formats and specs
REASONS TO AVOID
-Lacks some advanced features like multicam editing and motion tracking-Lacks a free slide-show creator
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.
Conclusion:
Videos on Youtube and Google Video (owned by Google) can be easily posted and shared on your social profiles and networks. Why? Because videos are fun to watch! However, it is possible for you to create a video so cool that it needs editing before it is uploaded. Editing videos online is fun and quite easier than you think. You can edit them with the best FREE video editing software.