It’s time to learn about the best free video creation tools online. I’m not talking about the best tools for buying your own video footage and music, but about tools that can help you make videos online.
Photo to video or video to photo, there are many tools available on the web with which you can create a video. But it’s important to choose the best one that creates videos with very little effort.In this post, I have compiled free online video makers and tools to help you create a animation, slideshow, or video with your photos and/or music.
Blender
Available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Blender, one of the best free video editing software on the market, is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Blender is an open source program that is entirely free to use. The tool was actually designed as a 3D animation suite, but it does come with a very good video editor app. Blender’s video editor should be enough for most of your video needs.
The editor allows you to perform basic actions like video cuts and splicing. You can also use it to carry out more complex tasks like video masking. This makes it a very flexible video editor that caters to both beginner and advanced users.
The Blender Video Editor includes the following features:
- Live preview, luma waveform, chroma vectorscope, and histogram displays.
- Audio mixing, syncing, scrubbing, and waveform visualization.
- Up to 32 slots for adding video, images, audio, and effects.
- Speed control, adjustment layers, transitions, keyframes, filters, and more.
Pros: Perfect for advanced users who are not put off by all the features.
Cons: The sheer array of features make the learning curve a little steeper. Most of the tutorials are focused on the 3D animation/modeling side. The resources to help you with the video editor are very limited.
Best for: More advanced projects that may involve 3D animation.
Blender Reviews: Check out Blender user reviews
2. Lightworks
Available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Lightworks is another great free video editing software, available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Lightworks is one of the more powerful video editors on the list. It’s packed with tons of useful features. The free version should be more than enough for most users.
- Lightworks’ free version includes: High precision video trimming.
- Multicam support.
- Export to 720p for YouTube.
- A wide range of video formats supported.
While most features are included, 4K video support for YouTube and Vimeo is only included in the paid version of the software, which costs around $25 a month.
Compared to Blender, Lightworks has many great video tutorials which can make it quicker to get up and running. Check out this feature comparison to make sure the free version has what you need. If the free version doesn’t meet your requirements, you can consider one of Lightworks’ paid video editor programs.
Pros: Very powerful video editor with many advanced features.
Cons: 4K video support only in paid version. Some users may find Lightworks too advanced.
Best for: All-round desktop video editing.
Lightworks Reviews: Check out Lightworks user reviews
3. Shotcut
Available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Shotcut is one of the best free video editing software for Windows, and it also works great on Mac and Linux PCs .
Shotcut, like Blender, is a fully open source program, so you get access to all the features without the need for a paid upgrade.
While this video editing software has great features and tutorial videos, some users may find the interface a little quirky. That’s because Shotcut was originally designed for Linux and it definitely shows. But, under the hood, it’s still a quality video editor.
Two of Shotcut’s most striking features are 4K HD resolution support and its timeline editing. Not many free video editors offer 4K resolution support. Plus, Shotcut doesn’t require you to import your video into the editor: this can be a timesaver if you are dealing with large video files.
What’s more, Shotcut also caters to those looking for a 1080p video editor. The app supports 1080p videos at 60 FPS (frames per second). Also it offers 3 lossless export formats, allowing you to transfer videos with no loss (the only downside is the huge file sizes).
Pros: Native timeline editing and 4K resolution support.
Cons: The quirky interface may be off-putting for some users.
Best for: 4K, HD and 1080 video projects.
Shotcut Reviews: Check out Shotcut user reviews
4. DaVinci Resolve
Available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
DaVinci Resolve is arguably the most advanced video editor on the list. While it has many professional video features, its interfaces remain intuitive. Alongside video slicing and trimming, you can master audio and correct color. The app also gives you the option to add 2D and 3D titles to your video.
If you just want to trim and upload your videos, the rich feature set of DaVinci Resolve may be too extensive. However, if your video project is a little more advanced, the free version of this software is hard to beat.
DiVinci Resolve’s features include:
- Advanced trimming
- Multicam editing
- Color correction
- Audio mastering
Pros: Intuitive interfaces and incredible color correction.
Cons: Its wide array of features make it a little overwhelming, and not all tutorials are free.
Best for: More advanced projects where you need to correct colors.
DaVinci Resolve Reviews: Check out DaVinci Resolve user reviews
5. Openshot
Available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Openshot is entirely open source, which makes it one of the best video editing software that is accessible.
It may remind some Mac users a little of iMovie with its easy to use drag and drop interface. However, Openshot packs more features than iMovie, including unlimited layers and audio mixing.
This free editor strikes a nice balance between advanced features and a simple interface. It also allows real-time previews when you create transitions between clips.
Openshot’s features include:
- Unlimited tracks/layers
- Clip resizing, scaling, trimming, snapping, rotation, and cutting video transitions with real-time previews
- Compositing, image overlays, watermarks
- Title templates, title creation, subtitles 3D animated titles (and effects)
- Advanced Timeline (including drag & drop, scrolling, panning, zooming, and snapping)
Pros: Open source, unlimited layers.
Cons: Not that many video tutorials.
Best for: Great for users just starting out with video editing.
Openshot Reviews: Check out Openshot user reviews
Headliner
Headliner might be the easiest way to create a video with captions. (Remember that designing for sound off is key for social videos!)
With Headliner, you can upload a video and let it automatically transcribe the audio into captions or create a video simply uploading an article or an audio file. You can also upload or search for images, videos, and GIFs to be added to your video.
Bonus: The team at Headliner has a hilarious page explaining why the tool is free.
Clipchamp Create
Clipchamp Create is one of the most generous free online video editing tools I’ve found in my research. The free plan lets you create unlimited video projects, gives you access to all basic editing tools, and allows you to export your videos in 480p output resolution without watermark! (There’ll be a watermark if you use the stock footages, which I thought is reasonable.)
You could upgrade to Premium or Business for just $9 per month or $19 per month respectively to gain access to their stock library and to download your videos at higher resolutions.
Clipchamp also provides a few other video tools, such as video converter, video compressor, and webcam recorder.
Quik by GoPro
GoPro has two free video editing apps for creating and sharing content from your smartphone and GoPro devices. (It doesn’t have to be GoPro footages at all, and the videos created won’t have any watermark!)
Quik is the simpler of the two, which aims to let you create videos with minimal effort. As GoPro stated, “it automatically analyzes your footage to find the best moments, adds beautiful transitions and effects, and syncs it all to the beat of the music.” (Mindblown!)
Splice by GoPro
Splice is the other video editing app by GoPro. According to GoPro, Splice “puts the power of a professional desktop editor at your fingertips”. You can select transition style, trim your footages, add text, change the video speed, and more. Splice also provides a huge library of free soundtracks for your videos.
Adobe Premiere Clip
Adobe Premiere Clip is a mobile video editing app (available on both iOS and Android devices). Once you have selected your images and video clips, you can let Adobe Premiere Clip create a video for you automatically or create a highly customized video yourself. You can change the music, edit the image and video clips, add titles and transitions, and more.
If you subscribe to the Adobe Creative Cloud, this app also works with Premiere Pro CC, Lightroom, and Capture CC.
FilmoraGo
FilmoraGo is such a comprehensive video editor app that you might feel like you are editing your videos on your desktop. Besides the usual features such as themes, text, transitions, it also offers a range of video editing features — trim/split, ratio/crop, speed control, reverse, voice over, audio mixer, and picture-in-picture. It’s amazing that FilmoraGo is free and it doesn’t add a watermark or limit the length of your videos.
FilmoraGo is available on both iOS and Android devices.
Typito
Typito is another drag-and-drop online video editor with a forever free plan (so wonderful!) An interesting unique feature Typito has is the ability to add a branded banner on your video. This will allow your audience to easily recognize your videos on social media. Typito also lets you resize your video in seven different sizes with a click.
Most video editors I found doesn’t let you remove watermarks on a per-video basis but Typito lets you remove their logo from your video for $5.
Adobe Spark Video
Adobe Spark Video provides multiple storyboards, layouts, and themes to help you put together amazing videos. You can access all the features for free! The only catch is there will be a tiny Adobe Spark watermark in the bottom-right corner of your videos. (If you are already paying for Adobe Creative Cloud, you’ll access to Adobe Spark’s premium features, including removing the watermark.)
Adobe Spark Video also has an iOS app.
Kapwing Video Montage Maker
Kapwing created an awesome free video montage maker for combining videos, images, and GIFs into a video slideshow. While it doesn’t come with many editing features, it is quite easy to use and allows you to create square, vertical, and horizontal videos.
Wave.video by Animatron
Wave.video is an online drag-and-drop social media video maker. You can even resize your videos (vertical, horizontal, square) in just a click to create videos ideal for each social media platform.
On its free plan, you can create up to 10 videos and export them up to two-minute-long each in standard definition quality. The videos will have the Wave.video watermark. Also, you can upload only 10 video clips, 20 images, and 10 audio files (up to 500MB each). You could also use their stock videos, images, and audio files but they do come at an additional cost.
Soapbox by Wistia
Soapbox is a Chrome extension that lets you record, edit, share, and (even!) measure presentation videos. It records both your screen and your webcam simultaneously, which will then allow you to have a “split screen” view of both you and your screen in your video.
On the free plan, you can create unlimited videos, add a link to the end of your video, customize your player color, and generate a unique thumbnail. Downloading your videos, tracking engagement, and other advanced features are included in the $300 per year plan.
Biteable
Biteable is an online video maker for social media videos, ads, slideshow, and more. Videos created with the free plan will have a watermark and can only be embedded or shared via a Biteable link. It also seems like you cannot upload your own video clips on the free plan.
To download your videos and get access to more features, such as 85,000 extra stock videos, video privacy, and more, you can upgrade to their Premium plan, starting at $29 per month.
Conclusion
For video enthusiasts, Animoto is simply a great solution for creating and sharing video clips. Professionals will also find this an excellent option. And though it doesn’t have the capability to edit HDR video or 4K Ultra HD video quality, it will work well with photos only.