If we need to edit a video, either professionally or amateur, we usually choose for paid video editing programs like Adobe Premier. But beyond these types of programs, there are a lot of great video editing programs and best of all, they are free! In this article we are going to take a look at the best free video editing programs.
But first…
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The best free programs for editing videos
The editing program that we have selected are free, but there are paid versions that include many more features. Even so, the free versions are comprehensive enough for both amateur and professional video editing.
Avidemux
This video editor is more like a complementary editor since it only allows you to edit a single video at a time. You can, however, include effects, trim and adjust the colors of the clips and then join them together with another program to create the movie.
When importing a video, you can change the position markers in order to trim it and you can check how the result looks like in the preview window or by using the navigation tool on the video (shot by shot).
When editing a video, you have the possibility to add frames of different styles and sizes, logo with effects, change the speed of a shot, resize, crop, rotate the video or even include transitions in the beginning and at the end.
Blender
Blender is another very good option for editing video for free. It is an open-source program that started as a 3D animation suite and yet has ended up being one of the most widely used free video editing programs. It is available for Mac, Windows and Linux.
Arguably, it has great advantages when it comes to advanced video editing. However, it is more recommended for advanced users with a high level of animation since it is more a 3D animation program than a video editing program and the information and resources you can find are focused on that area.
HitFilm Express
This software edition company was founded is 2011. Throughout the years the company has been creating and establishing itself as one of the best video editing companies. ´Hitfilm 4 Express´ is the free program that involves many functions that can also be found in the paid version called ‘HitFilm Pro’. It has a very intuitive and clear interface, although if you need help to learn how to use it, they offer tutorials on their web page.
It has a number of options such as special tools to create special effects like match moving that inserts graphics in a video or removes chroma key. Its free version is quite complete, but if you need to shape it to your liking, you have the option to expand features with the purchase of extra content from 10 €.
Lightworks
This is quite a complete program. With this platform, you can edit professional videos and it is available for Windows, Mac and Linux. Its free version has its limitations, however, it is sufficient if you are not going to work at a very professional level. Its design is very intuitive, clean and includes the usual in this type of program as timelines for video and audio. Effects, transitions and two drawers for different sequences, among other options.
Openshot
Openshot, like Blender, is an open-source program. It is a bit more complex than the classic iMovie and you can edit in multiple layers, edit sound effects, correct colors and, best of all, it includes real-time previews so you can see the changes as you apply them. As a negative point, it is a bit complicated to find information and tutorials about it so we may not get enough out of it.
VirtualDub
It is one of the oldest video editing programs and although it could be a positive point for the experience, in this case it is not. It does not support some modern video formats such as mp4 (the most common). However, it does have great comprehensibility and the ability to add different video tracks as well as being able to batch process so it can handle multiple files at once.
Shotcut
Shotcut is a great free, cross-platform and open-source alternative. Unlike VirtualDub, Shotcut supports various audio and video formats as well as codecs, offers timelines in multiple formats, we can add filters and adjust the frame rate.
It is possible to capture screenshots, webcam and audio, network streaming and supports resolutions up to 4K. It has a modular interface of panels that you can dock and undock including playlist with thumbnails, encoding, history, among others, even perform drag-n-drop to add content.
DaVinci Resolve
DaVinci Resolve is one of the most advanced that we propose in this article. If you are looking for something simpler, we recommend any other on the list, but if you need to calibrate audio, correct color, use 2D or 3D subtitles or titles, multi-camera editing, then this is the program for you.
VSDC Free Video Editor
This video editor is available for Windows and has two versions. The free one, which is the one we are going to focus on, is quite complete. It has basic and advanced functions such as audio editing and color correction. It is true that the paid version, of course, includes functions such as image stability and technical customer support. But what we say is that if you are not going to edit professional videos as such, the free version is phenomenal.
WeVideo
Last but not least, we have WeVideo. It is possibly one of the best online editors that you will meet and it has a free version in which you only need to register. You can make collaborative edits and with the Google Drive application, you can save exports to the Google cloud.
The free version allows you to work with files up to 1GB, save files with a resolution of 720 dpi and supports most video formats. Not only this, but it has a library of songs so you can enrich your videos and then share them on online video platforms.
Well, now that you know how many video editing programs you can find for free, it’s time for you to start developing your video project. Try some of these tools and choose the one that best suits what you are looking for and, above all, to surprise your customers and stand out from the competition with video montages.
