Top Free Video Editors 2023

[@seaofcuriosity]

I am dissapointed by youtube to not recommend this channel enough. Such high quality knowledgable content.

[@leskaighin8903]

I'm sure it takes a lot of research and effort to put this good of review together. I hadn't realised there was quite so much choice. Many thanks.

[@wildonemeister]

Information like this is for the novice just pure gold. Short, straight to the point and no fuss. Really appreciate the effort!

[@tramcrazy]

For my KZbin videos, I started off using Shotcut and then moved to DaVinci Resolve. I found Shotcut quite easy to use and it did everything I needed to start with, but moving to Resolve gave me much more functionality and didn’t have much of a learning curve after using Shotcut for a while. Both are great pieces of software, though!

[@dang48]

Very thorough and clear as always. I also like how you addressed the watermark concerns that were raised.

[@peppe540]

Superb! Clear explanation (per usual), great comparison and good tips for starters and more experienced users alike. Thanks a lot Chris, as always informative and very useful.

[@danielpicassomunoz2752]

The quality and comprehensiveness of this video is only rivaled by previous EC releases. Quite remarkable!

[@jimlynch9390]

Hi, Chris, thanks for the update. I rarely have a need for a vid editor but when I do, Kdenlive is the one I turn to. To learn it, I watched a tutorial and found it was quite easy to use with just a bit of education. When I had a question about how does THIS (fill in with whatever) work, I googled it and found there are a lot of answers to Kdenlive questions, which is quite helpful.. Too often I start to use a product/library/app and find there is little knowledge on the web and the only thing you have to work with is the documentation which isn't always as complete as it should be. But I digress. Keep up the good work!

[@nickf3242]

I love when you share great free/opensource software. Great downloading advice at the end. Its a shame that you need to include that especially with something so trusted as a Google search. Thank you for your hard work in editing this video together:)

[@dreamyrhodes]

Another reason to use uBlock, because I don't see any of these spammy ad links on Google. Google fails to keep their search results clean? Well though luck duh

[@shanesrandoms]

Christopher, you're a champ buddy. This video was released yesterday and today I was deciding on a free video editor to do up a couple of videos I've been meaning to do. I've found Kdenlive from your video and find this to be quite good after a few short youtube videos later on how to work a few things. Always appreciate your videos Christopher, keep up the great work and quality.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Result!

[@Rood67]

Looking at the pros and cons of each of these; I’m still glad that I moved quickly to DaVinci Resolve and have stayed there.

[@leetucker9938]

still loving my Linux mint , Mate . running it on a 2009 old iMac . It is 100 percent stable and fast . Its transformed old E waste into a new home PC , awesome

[@ExplainingComputers]

This is great to hear!

[@bluehornet6752]

Wow--incredible video CB, top-notch! I can't imagine the work you put into this one video, having to review all those editors. I used to edit a lot of video using Sony Vegas Pro, but don't do it anymore...but I certainly know how challenging it can be to learn all the menu options and features. Strong work!

[@parrotraiser6541]

Usual thorough exploration and high-standard commentary. Testing all of those must have taken a lot of work, even for someone who has practical experience with the genre.

[@jaffarbh]

For the geeks among us, DaVinci Resolve is (by far) the most powerful video editor. It can even utilize embedded Intel graphics (which has excellent encoder and decoder hardware called Quick Sync) and discrete graphics cards from Nvidia/AMD for effects processing at the same time. However, I think the free version is a bit limited in this regards.

[@thebamplayer]

Additionally, if you buy a Blackmagic camera, a DaVinci Resolve license is also included.

[@gdans111]

The same for shoutcut (it has HW encoder/decoder). I also migrated from Shoutcut to DaVinci, but Shotcut is much more convenient. I use Davinci only for motion tracker and Neat Video.

[@chriswatts3697]

Great comparison, Chris ! I use daVinci myself and it is really important to know that daVinci has so many functions that this package is almost full production package for animation, editing and also audio produciton. Just for example in daVinci you have the fusion compositing software implemented that also allows you to use 3D Models in your productions. Thanks for the video, excellent as usual ....

[@arxaaron]

Nice to see all the free & flossy options that have evolved for Linux. Because of extreme familiarity I most frequently fall back to Final Cut Pro 7, but support in newer Mac OSX versions is nonexistent. I'm in process of migrating away from Mac altogether and move to DaVinci Resolve on Linux for my pro work, but I will definitely be exploring a couple of these other free options as appropriate tools for simpler projects.

[@lawrencedoliveiro9104]

Worth observing the distinction between “freeware” (proprietary but no charge) and “Free software” (non-proprietary).

[@arxaaron]

@@ScarletDeath1312 Thanks for the note, but I'm definitely aware of the distinction. I was employed by the company that invented the proprietary DaVinci color correction / editing tech around the early '90's and later licensed it to BlackMagic. My appreciations were for Chris's updates on the many true FLOSS editing options, as well as the fact that DaVinci is truly cross platform and runs fine on LINUX systems, regardless of being proprietary! 😁

[@video99couk]

It's worth mentioning that the paid version of DaVinci Resolve offers some extra features and in particular can export much faster if you have a suitable GPU. So for example a new KZbin content creator can start with the free version, then if it all takes off, purchase the full and faster version later for about £306.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Very true. Compared to other pro editors, DaVinci Resolve Studio is good value -- and non-rental! :)

[@WalterW]

Always on the lookout for free video editors! Thanks, Chris.

[@WalterW]

Not surprised that you chose DaVinci Resolve. I use it myself and can back up your choice.

[@Grant_S_M]

I have never attempted video editing, so I just installed Shotcut to experiment with. Thank you, and have a great weekend, Chris! 💛💙

[@ExplainingComputers]

Enjoy your experimenting! :)

[@ThisFinalHandle]

This video is great for those who really only need a star wipe to edit their sisters wedding but refuse to use anything else but DaVinci Resolve because that's what the pro's use.

[@AJ-po6up]

As always a fantastic video, I think Kdenlive and Davinci Resolve are definitely the best 2 choices but Olive looks like a very compelling third choice, can't wait to see where it goes. Have a fantastic day Chris, cheers.

[@michaelstoliker971]

Another great round up. Thanks for this. Knowing which packages are available for Linux is very helpful.

[@alanthornton3530]

Thanks Chris for an excellent & thorough review of all the video editors. I'll stick with kdenlive as it runs fine on my Linux machine. The current mint repository version is 19.12.3 which is a bit behind the latest one available! Another happy Sunday to you :)

[@ExplainingComputers]

Hi Alan, thanks for your support. :)

[@lesliedeana5142]

I personally think that the 'BASICS' being free, but add on's are a *wonderful* compromise. It takes time and effort to produce software, and this polite "nudge" to getting upgrades are great! A nice bridge between the true meaning of Shareware and Pro Licensing. You get to try the software and see if it's what you need without having to pay a lot of money for something what won't do what you thought you need.

[@ExplainingComputers]

I agree. I think what both HitFilm and DaVinci Resolve do here is a nice model.

[@volvo09]

And still being able to use the premium features (with a watermark) is still a perfectly fine balance. They aren't locked out, so you don't have to pay to see if they meet your needs.

[@technoWZ5598]

@@ExplainingComputers Shotcut and Open shot are my favorite video editors.

[@Gojirosan]

Once again, your timing is impeccable. Just the overview I needed. Thank you!

[@fbushphone]

Comprehensive coverage well structured for all level of users, thanks for sharing

[@sethbrown1763]

Hey Christopher! Since you mention Kdenlive so much, I actually thought that it was the only free video editor available. It's good to see that there are other options. Thanks for explaining that.

[@RetroGameStream]

Somehow, yet again, a video you uploaded is particularly prescient for me, thanks!

[@SunShinesBlack]

I'm surprised Avidemux didn't make it on here, it's a very nice and simple open source editor able of keyframe cutting without re-encoding and nice fast workflow + basically a GUI frontend for FFmpeg for encoding tasks and filters. I use it for pre cutting even if i need to use more sophisticated software, it's so quick!

[@TH-xj8ep]

Look at that thumbnail! Clear and uncluttered - genuine descriptive text & even includes some examples. In the current youtube thumbnail hellscape you should be applauded for this alone 👏...and then a great video too! Bravo

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks for this. Most appreciated. I try not to engage in the thumbnail "games". :)

[@pabblo1]

DaVinci Resolve is actually a truly underrated piece of software. It's free, yet it offers features you'd usually expect in paid video editors, like Magix Vegas Pro or Adobe Premiere Pro.

[@mikiethebikie]

Thanks so much Chris, I am in the beginner’s camp. 😊

[@Justin-Case-2.0]

Thnx for showing us again those ducks in the park (and by the way that helpful and comprehensive overview)!

[@leadlearner6391]

another awesome video, simply explaining available video editors :-)

[@ahmad-murery]

Before the Internet I was using Movie Maker came with windows XP and it was enough, It's weird how software resource requirements keep increasing. I don't edit videos so often but thanks to you I found Kdenlive works well enough on my 12 years old laptop Intel Core i3-2350M @2.30GHz 8GB DDR3 @667MHz Intel HD Graphics 3000 + NVidia GeForce GT 520MX Win10 on Kingston 250GB Thanks Chris

[@dgillies5420]

This is an extremely valuable video - thanks so much for creating it! One of my favorite KZbinrs uses the free version of Davinci Resolve and I recently worked with iMovie and was wondering if I should start learning a better editor such as DaVinci Resolve ... The answer appears to be "YES".

[@TheValvePage]

Yet another well researched and clearly presented video, top job.

[@BenjaminEmm]

Ooo I clicked on this one straight away! I could really do with this one. I usually pay for Vegas Pro (the perpetual version, not month to month) but after their latest “update” which completely bricked access to the software for about 48 hours, it’s left a bitter taste in my mouth. Thanks for the video!

[@5argetech56]

I used OpenShot to make a wedding anniversary video for my cousin. It was her 50th. I was able to import video and audio clips from all sorts of video and audio formats. Some from cameras, some from peoples phones. I made smooth transitions and added music and special effects with ease. I then produced a DVD for them and uploaded the finished product to Cloud services for everyone to see the video and what they had contributed. It was perfect!

[@kuchesezik]

big props to the folk who develop and offer widely available professional software without nickel-and-diming every user till the last drop. disappointed to see apple also continuing to head in that direction with ipad fcp. software for rent does not go well with the free spirit of artistry, culture and education. there are some things that no amount of money can ever buy. glad to see others understand that as well. thank you for the effort and hard work!

[@joeg3950]

Thank you for this video. I’ve been looking for a solid video editor. Cheers!

[@srvuk]

Very good simple breakdown without having to go into the weeds. The real winner is choice and for free too, so it is just not possible to be churlish.

[@haroutyonkrekorian6350]

amazing review that gives as many things as possible on video editor software.

[@JPChampion]

Great video! I did some editing in KDEnlive on my ThinkPad T400 this last weekend, and I was surprised at how well it worked. I will try out the proxy clips tip for sure.

[@ExplainingComputers]

:)

[@MikesTropicalTech]

I migrated from VSDC to DaVinci a couple of years ago. Persistent bugs drove me away. DaVinci is epically massive and complicated, I'll never use more than 10% of its features but it gets the job done. I do have a non-trivial number of annoyances with its user interface and I end up swearing at it during every editing session!

[@NZHippie]

Very timely comparison of Video Editors... Was looking for something to stitch some .mov's together and you have given me a great head start...

[@lukefilewalker9454]

Thank you Christopher, wonderful video presentations, always love and enjoy your content. Thank you for all your research and hard work. Cheers

[@datamike00]

I started with Kdenlive and transitioned to Davinci Resolve. both are awesome, but probably the the best part is that there's a wealth of KZbin tutorials for both packages

[@richardthunderbay8364]

It's quite gratifying to see such high quality video editing software is out there for free.

[@theflourishing]

Such a helpful video. It takes a lot of time to locate free video editing software that does not then turn out to have some restriction that makes it unusable for a persons use case. This is going to save so many people so much time that they would have spent trying to do this evaluation themselves.

[@danielboals9602]

Such a useful video, glad you are getting back to your roots. I still hate the intro music that I have had to sit thru for hundreds of videos, and the hitflow diatribe was tiresome, but overall, great video, thank you.

[@johnhpalmer6098]

Very good, but a few points of clarification. First off, used to run Hitfilm Express, great editor and fairly powerful, however, Artlist bought it in I think 2022 and did some changes, Express is now called Hitfilm Free, and as you say, it's now limited to 1080P, used to be able to output up to 4K for Express. Specifications do say, a Core i5, or Ryzen 5, from roughly 2016/17 (translation, the 6th gen i5, first gen Ryzen 5) or greater. Hitfilm used to be able to run on a Core i3, but no more. Back in early spring, the last of the original employees of FXHome left and the user forums were wiped out by Artlist and a subscription model is in place for the paid version, which does allow for full 4K. I agree that it was a great piece of kit, and have seen too many novices either not read the minimum specs, nor understand what is involved, and even if you explained, some still didn't get it. I have since switched to Davinci Resolve, mind you, an older version as I am running it on a 10 YO Dell Optiplex SFF that has a 4th gen Core i5, and 1G of VRAM, for now I am hoping to upgrade and it's been recommended that I run an i7 or Ryzen 7, or greater processor, 32G of system memory and have 12GB of VRAM on the graphics card for much smoother playback. Do be aware that this will be true for any editor that the minimum may get you to 1080P, but don't expect a great experience with anything higher res when it comes to scrubbing, especially when working with H.264/H.265 codecs. Best to transcode those to say ProRes, Cineform or DVnX instead. Nice thing about Resolve is once you pay $299 or so for it, it's paid and upgrades are perpetual, and as someone else pointed out, if you buy even the speed editor at roughly the same price, Resolve Studio is free.

[@mattybbg6850]

Chris, I'm sure your psychic, looking for a free video editor was on my to do list this afternoon.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Well there we go. We are in sync! :)

[@radiantlymusical]

Fantastic video as always. I love increasing my knowledge every week with your simple to understand explanation. Keep it up! ❤

[@PS_Tube]

Greetings Chris! This is such an insightful video. With categorical explanation of both the pros and cons. Great content as always.

[@Arc_Noir]

This video is golden! Thank you very much!

[@thestorytellersden290]

This requires a lot of effort. Very nice.❤️❤️❤️

[@seireiart]

Olive has the potential to become a really great Free and Open Source video editor, made by a KZbinr called "MattKC" (which does videos about computers and game consoles stuff) Although not much updates are happening with the project right now :((

[@ExplainingComputers]

I agree, I am impressed with Olive.

[@andrekz9138]

This video couldn't have come at a better time. Thank you!

[@christopherleadholm6677]

Hello, fellow Christopher! ...back again... Thank you for the quick rundown of this! I have just started messing around with OBS on my pi's and am still "learning the ropes" as far as programming goes but I have been branching out into somewhat new things like 3D printing so have been keeping busy but thanks for this run-down, again, fellow Christopher! Love your stuff. Keeps me on my toes.

[@jonathanleach3914]

Hugely helpful. Thank you

[@absmustang]

great compilation! many thanks

[@MichelMorinMontreal]

Hello! It's hard to be more exhautive in a video presentation! Very interesting to see Kdenlive fall into two important categories... let's face it, this software can meet the basic needs (and a little more) of a large proportion of users. Thank you for this!

[@niceblockunknown489]

Mor--in...my helicopter

[@perrymcclusky4695]

A person will be able to find something that should work for them, by consulting this brilliant presentation. Looking forward to your next video!

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks Perry.

[@petermoore9504]

Da Vinci Resolve is an excellent piece of software. You can edit simply on it but it allows an pretty unlimited improvement path without changing software. This software cost 1000's before Da Vinci bought it. My first choice. Cheers

[@johnnguyen8172]

After watching this video a week ago, I have switched to Shotcut from the dreaded 2012 Windows Movie Maker. Still getting used to its interface but I really enjoy for its functionality, the features and my slow build up to a workflow from a "person who does video editing as a hobby" mindset. Other free video editors (to me, my own perspective) that mandates for an account, includes a watermark, self-plug with its own "upgrade to pro," and have an artificial limited time use before the free software ceases to function is a disqualifier. Regardless, I won't argue for more because its software is what keeps the creators / developers / programmers afloat which is important for them in a financial standpoint. If I were to use anything else instead of Shotcut, I will re-evaluate myself when I come back to this video or an updated one for 2024 and later. P.S. Search engines are pretty wonky when they sponsor a websites, menacingly looking at Filmora/Wondershare for its terrible design.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Good luck with Shotcut. :)

[@Colin_Ames]

Thanks for this great overview of the available options. It’s so long since I edited a video that I don’t think any of these programs existed.

[@shawnbrown8788]

Right on time. It just happened that I need this info today, right now.

[@KarimMGS]

It must have taken much effort and time to go through all the choices and prepare screenshots of them all. I appreciate your effort and the high quality videos you make. As always, another excellent video and keep up the good work 👏🏽 I like the consistency in your videos, such as the black shirt and white background. This consistency does not distract me from video to the next, and allows me to concentrate on what matters: the content being explained, because after all I am here to learn. Moreover, comparing software or hardware is the best service you do to your viewers, because it is what we need but do not have the resources (time and money), effort, nor expertise to perform. I wish I had come across this video in the past when I was searching for a video editor software to cut out commercials from movies I record from live TV. This was before streaming become mainstream, and probably before KZbin became mainstream too. I had to search around and try different software until I settled for VideoReDo, which did the job and was good for the task and for that era. I was much younger then and had the patience and energy to do that, but now I don't anymore, so thank you.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks for this feedback, appreciated. :)

[@zishanrahman2031]

I'm surprised Pitivi hasn't been mentioned in this video. It's a very nice beginner-friendly video editor for Linux that works quite well on my laptop with 8GB RAM, and it's also free and open source. I definitely recommend you have a look at it one day. Other than that, thanks for another excellent video, Chris!

[@jpwillm5252]

Very good analysis and conclusions. You know the subject well !🎬 * Très bonne analyse et conclusions. Vous connaissez bien le sujet !🎬

[@felicytatomaszewska2934]

As usual a very well researched and valuable video...must appreciated

[@lorderectus1849]

Chris has captured himself on video!

[@johnboy8846]

excellent as ever Chris

[@terryjones9987]

Fantastic job , well done

[@terryjones9987]

And I particularly like that you included recommendedations for low powered machines. All too often KZbinrs think that everyone has the latest and greatest kit ,,,, which we don't . Well-done

[@Reziac]

Great way to organize and compare the various options!

[@tubeDude48]

Chris, thanks so much for this! I've been wondering about this exact subject for some time...

[@lasersbee]

Excellent and thank you for the Info.

[@johng.4959]

Thank you for such amazing content. Excellent information and delivery. 👍

[@josmoify]

like that swift little kick in the t ... at the end google search engine.😀

[@AMDRADEONRUBY]

Oh nice thanks Chris it's going to be very handy you are number 1

[@nycdogs]

Great video, thank you !!!

[@IsaacParks]

Really wonderful vid. Thank you for making these!

[@rano12321]

Great list, I'd also like to add Capcut, VSDC and VideoProc Vlogger.

[@ExplainingComputers]

VSDC is in the list! :)

[@rano12321]

@@ExplainingComputers Yeah I noticed it at the end of the video lol after I made the comment😁

[@Manian488]

Brilliant video, that was long overdue ! Very useful ! Thank you!

[@guildpilotone]

great rundown on current choices!

[@petethefeet1461]

thank you for some great info 👍

[@new.asteroid.tracker]

I realy like the very end warning about being miss-directed when searching for an item.

[@valkhii]

Thank You for pointing out these poteholes of the internet. Fake Download buttons or misspresentation. This knowledge is usefull in general when one is looking for software on the net~

[@gr-os4gd]

I’ve noticed it increasing as well; so Chris’s warning is very timely. 👍

[@xperience-evolution]

Great Tip at the End for Windows users. Fortunately that is not a Problem on Linux.

[@BrUSomania]

I use DaVinci Resolve myself and I really enjoy the experience so far.

[@puppy_BYTE]

very nice presentation, thanks!

[@philipprudhomme6967]

Thank you for this presentation, Chris. There are very good pieces of software here. All your top recommendations are excellent.

[@pixelkay2004]

thanks!!

[@sunsethorizonstudios]

Hey Chris can you make a video about shields or attachments for rock pi SBC please and also great day when he uploads :)

[@sebastiangonzales46]

I use kdenlive for a quick trim on videos and Davinci Resolve for more effects and all

[@gilbertturaray]

Thank you very much for sharing your expertise. God bless

[@loginregional]

Normally I watch your videos in the morning, but today I only just finished at 10pm EDT. Back in the XP (eXtra Problems) days, when files were smaller and rarely greater than 848x I used the built in Movie Maker windows software. I had been using ffmpeg for conversions of mp4 to avi, and when files started getting much larger, and data rates for my work station were really expensive, I started moving files over to my server from a GMAIL account via gdrive and using ffmpeg to assemble via CLI. Most of the time, they were single files that only needed putting the channel bug in the corner. Other times they were meant to be assembled and put a bug in the corner. The vagaries of concatenation were resolved easily.This worked just fine. Nowadays, fibre is very cheap so there are no longer issues of running out of bandwidth, and I'll usually get a couple of gigabyte sized clips for assembly prior to publicaton four or five times a week. Openshot used to work fine, but it started crashing on the last update. KDENLive, so often recommended here, was my choice to replace it. Much better than Openshot, it has a very short learning curve and faster at the render. If push came to shove, I could always go to CLI and ffmpeg. Remember kids, YMMV

[@LMacNeill]

Not even a little bit of a surprise that DaVinci Resolve is the #1 Professional pick, if you've been paying attention at all these past few years. It really is a superb piece of software.

[@abdouabdou1089]

thanks that's was very informative