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Best FREE Video Editing Software for PC & MAC (2022 Review!) - read the full article about video editing software, Video production and In motion from Justin Brown - Primal Video on Qualified.One
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- This is our 2022 roundup of the best free video editing software on Mac and PC.
After putting all the leading software without watermarks to the test, were gonna run through a short list of the top options, as well as my pick for the best free video editor right now.
Now, as were going through a scroll down, let me know in the comments whats your favorite free video editing software right now and why.
Now a really quickly upfront, I wanna say that all the options were covering off in this video are full featured video editing programs with no watermarks or no critical editing limitations.
So you can edit and save out your videos with no issues in these options.
Okay, so option number one is iMovie.
Now this one is Mac only as it comes pre-installed on your Mac.
And it is a really popular option for video editing software on Mac.
And that really comes down to how easy and how intuitive it is to use.
Its probably got one of the simplest interfaces out there.
So someone who is an absolute beginner and never edited before can really jump in and quickly figure out whats going on and start editing their videos in iMovie.
Compared to some of the other options Im about to cover, iMovie is much more limited in terms of the effects, the video formats, and the color correction controls that youve got.
But this doesnt mean that you cant get great results in iMovie.
Theres some really big YouTube channels and content creators that just use iMovie for all of their stuff.
But if you do start with iMovie and you are hitting the limits, then there is a clear upgrade part to the big brother or the more professional application, Final Cut Pro, where the two of them do share a lot of similarities.
So it is easy to move from iMovie to Final Cut if youre hitting the limits.
But overall, iMovie is a great option for someone who is an absolute beginner and doesnt need all the extra advanced stuff.
Option number two is OpenShot.
And this one works on Mac, Windows, and Linux.
Its completely open source, and its got an amazing community and dev team behind it, keeping it updated and adding new features all the time.
It is another one thats very easy to use.
Its probably not as simple as iMovie, but it also does have some more advanced features and tools than iMovie has.
Now depending on which computer youre using this on and how powerful it is, it can be a little clunky.
Personally, in my experience, Ive used it on both Mac and PC, and its worked fine for me.
But I have heard of people having issues with it running slowly for them.
Just like iMovie, one of the biggest limitations with OpenShot is around the filters and effects and the controls and stuff in there.
It does have very limited color correction tools.
But if all you need is the basic stuff, then it could be a great option for you.
So Id say OpenShot is great, again, if youre someone who is at that beginner level.
Option number three is VN Video Editor.
And this is kind of a bit of a newcomer when youre comparing it to a lot of the other options were covering here.
This one will work on Mac.
It also works on iOS and Android cause its an app as well.
And they do say on their website it works on Windows, but there is kind of a bit of a workaround to get it to work on Windows.
Now, personally, Im a massive fan of VN Video Editor.
I really love what theyre doing.
I love that theyve really just ported their app from iOS and Android over to the Mac, and I guess to Windows as well.
Because the approach from editing on the app is something that is totally different when youre comparing it to, say, regular video editing programs.
And this new approach and this new interface is something that is really easy to use, its really intuitive, but it also makes your editing really fast and fun.
Unlike iMovie and OpenShot, in VN Video Editor, theres a ton of effects, ton of presets, ton of filters, so you do get a lot more control over your editing and the look and feel of your videos.
And because this one works on so many different devices, you can actually share your projects between them.
So you could, say, start your project on your iPhone and then you could AirDrop it over to your Mac and finish editing on the Mac version of the app.
And personally, I think thats huge if you are someone who is creating content on the go.
Now one thing to be aware of that has caught me out a couple of times, this is definitely not a deal breaker.
But when you do start a new project, it automatically creates a little title screen like a credit screen that goes at the very end of your video.
So you wanna remember to remove that or its gonna save that with your video.
But overall, Id say the VN Video Editor is great for someone an absolute beginner level, never edited before, youd be able to jump in and get up to speed quick right through to someone at kind of that intermediate level, someone looking for more features, more control but doesnt necessarily wanna jump into a full featured professional program.
Option number four is Kdenlive.
Now this is another open-source solution thatll work on Mac, Windows, and Linux.
You could think of this like OpenShot but much more advanced.
Its also got a similar layout and style to traditional professional tools like Adobe Premiere.
So learning and mastering this, youre easy to move between different, more professional applications as well.
But comparing this to OpenShot, its definitely a much more professional option.
It also means it is more complicated or there is a higher learning curve than, say, OpenShot, but thats because there is more advanced tools and features and everything in there.
But overall, in my experience, the overall editing and moving around the timeline and everything is really, really fluid, really fast.
And its so awesome to have in there a lot of the more professional tools.
Like even the color grading tools and things that they give you in there, they are really next level on what you would expect for free open-source software.
So Kdenlive would be a great option for someone at that intermediate to more advanced level, someone looking for more of those advanced tools and features and things but isnt necessarily looking for the most advanced or the most professional tools out there.
That brings us to option number five, which is DaVinci Resolve.
This is another one that we speak about a lot on this channel.
It works on Mac, Windows and Linux, and this is hands down the most professional free video editing software out there.
This is legit, professional, Hollywood-grade movie style stuff.
It wasnt that long ago that it was mainly used just for finishing or for color grading, but its now a full production tool.
Not only it isnt an amazing video editing tool, but it also has professional-grade audio tools and even motion graphic tools built in too, think Adobe Audition and Adobe After Effects all included.
Now in terms of usability and the overall interface, this is another one where it is easy enough to learn and to get up to speed with, but its definitely more advanced than all the other options mentioned.
And thats because it really does pack in a ton more advanced features and controls.
Again, this is legit professional-grade software.
Now there is a paid version of DaVinci Resolve available, DaVinci Resolve Studio, which does give you higher than 4K UHD resolution support, more hardware acceleration, and extra effects, and those sorts of things.
But Id say that most people probably arent gonna need that stuff, and youll be able to get away just fine with the free version.
Now one thing you do need to be aware of, though, is that you will need somewhat of a recent or more powerful computer.
This is definitely a resource-hungry program.
And if youre trying to run this on an older dinosaur of a computer, its either not gonna install or open or youre gonna run with some trouble.
So you do need a fairly powerful system.
But overall, DaVinci Resolve is really gonna be great for someone at that intermediate level right through to someone at advanced or even pro level, given all the features and tools and everything you get access to.
Now just like anything really where youre jumping in and trying to figure everything out for the first time, it is gonna take you a little bit to get up to speed, no matter the tool or the application.
So we have a full step-by-step editing tutorial helping you with DaVinci Resolve, which Ill link up in the cards, but also for a lot of the other tools and programs weve mentioned in this video, which Ill link in the description box below.
Okay so rounding this out, if youre someone who is an absolute beginner, then you definitely wanna check out iMovie or OpenShot or even VN Video Editor.
If youre someone whos looking for something a little bit more advanced than, say, iMovie or OpenShot, then VN Video Editor would be a great all roundup.
Whereas if youre someone at that intermediate to advanced level or youre really someone whos looking for more of those professional-grade features, then thats where Kdenlive or DaVinci Resolve are gonna be the ones for you.
So out of all of these, my preference, my number one top pick goes to DaVinci Resolve.
Again, its just ridiculous what theyre giving you access to in here, literally professional-grade tools for free, its amazing.
But I will say a very close second goes to VN Video Editor.
I love what theyre doing.
I love that its cross platform, so it works on your phones and iPads and stuff as well, but also that its good fun to edit in, and yeah, another one where youre like, "How is this free?" So now that weve run through my top picks for best free video editing software, if you wanna see how these free options stack up against the paid options out there, then check out the video thats linked on screen for Mac and PC.
And dont forget to check out our video editing walkthroughs, which, again, Ill link in the description box below.
Ill see you in the next video.
Justin Brown - Primal Video: Best FREE Video Editing Software for PC & MAC (2022 Review!) - Video production