If making a video isn’t an important part of your content marketing strategy, odds are it is about to be. Web content is taking a turn toward video whether SEO and content marketers like it or not.
The need for video content is accelerating. People are making money on YouTube, live streaming content on Twitch, and even creating their own OTT video subscription companies like Netflix.
It is time to transform any piece of raw footage into a masterpiece and for those looking to continue to grow their organic traffic, that means one thing:
You are not an expert? You don’t know how to edit videos, have a video studio, or you have a bona fide video specialist to shoot and cut your features?
The goal of today’s blog is to show you that with the right video Editing Software, you too can create professional video content like a pro regardless of experience.
Whether you want to sell an online course, build a YouTube channel, or create a professional portfolio, you need the best software.
Let’s dive in!
Find here the recs for the 10+ best video Editing software or video editing apps for beginners to pro from cheapest (free!) to the most expensive.
In this blog post, I rank, review, and compare the best video editing software to use this year.
This includes:
- The best for PC.
- The best for Mac.
- The best free video editors.
- The easiest video editors to use.
- The best for high-quality film production.
- The best for small businesses.
Disclaimer: This blog contains affiliate links that I receive a small commission for at no cost to you. These are the tools I fully recommend when it comes to an video editing software best free and paid. You can read my full affiliate disclosure in my privacy policy.
1. Adobe Premiere Elements.
Best Video Editing Software for Beginners
Based on the ingenious versatility, Adobe Premiere Elements is today's one of the best video editing tools for beginners.
Adobe Premiere Elements is not compatible with 360 degree video and other newfangled innovative capabilities like multi-cam video editing. All these are forgivable when you start to consider its very wide range of capabilities.
Adobe Premiere Elements has lots of considerable features like plenty of enhanced face detection, transition effects, focus adjustment, haze removal, and many more.
There is also a guided editing interface, live search functionality, touch-based editing and video collages.
There are 3 modes to create your own video: Quick, Guided and Expert.
With the quick mode, you can select your own preferred media for your video and the program arranges it for you on the timeline.
It automates aspects of your own video like stabilization (very good for GoPro), smart toning and automatic motion tracking.
The guided mode is assisted as the name function suggests. The video software educates you on its unique functionalities and features and you learn each and every component of the interface and how it works as you go.
The Expert mode is for more experienced users and you can control everything yourself. While Adobe Premiere Elements isn’t as advanced as the other tools on this list (and isn’t the fastest either), it’s a very good entry-level app.
It just only costs $69.99, and they also have a free trial available.
Altogether, it’s an outstanding all-around tool that’s available for both Windows 10 and Mac PCs.
2. Adobe Premiere Pro.
Best Video Editing Software for Windows
Adobe Premiere Pro is a dominant video editing app as part of Adobe Creative Cloud. It has fully well-integrated workflows so you can edit your own video without exiting your timelines.
This video editing software is time-efficient thanks to the Adobe Sensei technology, which gives you an array of automated tools.
With Adobe Premiere Pro, you can work with the current video formats. You can edit video footage in high-end 8k, ultra, as well as in virtual reality. Content delivered on Adobe Premiere Pro is suitably optimized for any screen.
This video editing software is compatible with the top Adobe products like Adobe Audition, Adobe After Effects and Adobe Stock.
So, you can simply download a motion graphics template from Adobe After Effects or Adobe Stock seamlessly without needing to leave Adobe Premiere Pro’s interface.
One very notable feature is its end-to-end Google VR180 capabilities.
Find here, how you can make the most immersive videos and:
- Deploy Goole VR180 support which optimizes your video effects and format.
- Publish your own video content on Vimeo, YouTube or other video platforms by using their Google VR180 format.
Color correction and color grading are also well-built features. With Adobe Lumetri Color tools, your curve adjustments become more precise and accurate and chroma key options you can remove the backgrounds for green screen videos.
Adobe Premiere Pro stands out when it comes to audio editing too. With innovatory sliders in the Essential Sound Panel, you can effortlessly add effects like flangers, reverb, amplification, compression, and stereo balance.
Besides, with this native functionality from Adobe Audition, you can take your audio to professional levels.
Adobe Premiere Pro gives you the complete package you need to create a professional video. As a beginner, you’ll enjoy very much their streamlined interface, specially its dedicated companion mobile app and drag and drop tools.
Get started with Adobe Premiere Pro now.
3. Corel VideoStudio Pro.
Best Standalone Video Editing Software
Corel VideoStudio Pro is an great video editing software that helps you with timeline video editing and storyboard. This video software helps you turn your own images into movies and provides project templates, creative effects, title presets, 1500+ filters, transitions and many more.
VideoStudio slideshow maker also helps you create slideshows and movies with lots of template options – you just need to add your own media. You can also combine videos, photos, and audio on multiple tracks.
The Corel MultiCam Capture Lite feature lets you record your webcam and screen simultaneously and create videos. Sub products like Corel PaintShop Pro and Corel Painter can also help you create static graphics, custom animated overlays and live paintings.
The Corel video editing software also provides all essential video editing tools to trim, crop and split video, directly on the timeline. You can also change the aspect ratio and change or rotate the video just the way you like.
Additionally, you can remove fisheye distortion with the lens correction feature and adjust the temperature using color correct clips. The color correction function also helps you bring out the colors in your own videos with saturation, auto-tune adjustments, and many more.
Further, you can record voiceover, add subtitles to your videos, fade and layer audio with audio ducking, and many more.
The Corel video software is also optimized for Nvidia and Intel processors and graphic cards. This helps speed up the rendering process in all the most actual file formats.
Other outstanding VideoStudio Pro features include:
- Optimized for 4k display
- Drag and drop video editing
- Multi-camera editing
- 360-degree video editing supported
- Stop motion animation
- Pan and Zoom
- Color and Lens correction
- Chroma key/Green screen
- Split-screen video
- Record voiceovers and add subtitles
- Batch processing
- Create Custom motion paths graphics, overlays, shapes, and more
- Get new textures, gradients, templates from NewBlueFX, Boris X, and more.
- Convert 360-degree videos into Tiny Planet or Rabbit Hole effects (Spherical Panoramas).
Pricing:
Corel VideoStudio Pro normally costs $79.99 but is on sale (25% off) for $63.99. You also get a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Get 25% off VideoStudio Pro.
4. Final Cut Pro
Best Video Editing Software for Mac
Apple’s Final Cut Pro is a popular video editing software package that absolutely blends professional video features with a smooth learning for users.
With more than 2 million users and a gradually reduced price from the original price of $999 to $99 on Amazon and now it’s more popular than ever.
The graphical user interface uses a three-pane view with a trackless, Magnetic Timeline, which is outstanding for using dual monitors. The clips selections can be organized and imported as Roles in the video library, which can be assets like music, video, titles, effects, voiceovers, and many more.
Once video production completes, you can use Final Cut Pro their 150 video effects, 110 audio effects, 185 title animation templates, and 100 transitions.
These transitions are very easy to implement with keyboard shortcuts, which can save with custom keyboard combos.
Final Cut Pro video editing software has support for MacBook Pro Touch Bar Editing, allowing you to use touch controls for things like text customization and timeline scrubbing.
Text editing is fun with its 3D capabilities. There are different 3D templates, textures like concrete and plastic, lighting effects that you can add from any angle on the screen.
Some other fine features include unlimited video tracks, multi-cam editing, chroma-keying, plenty of exporting options like 360 videos and 4k, and very fast performance, even on older MacBooks.
For Mac users who care about advanced features, power, speed and ease of use, Final Cut Pro video editing software is the number one choice.
5. Movavi Video Editor.
Best Easy Video Editor for Mac OS X (Free – $39.95)
Movavi is a video editor that lets you convert, record, enhance, and edit your own videos. Movavi video editor helps you with all variety of videos, including travel clips, wedding videos, home movies, birthday films and many more.
You can add filters, animated transition effects, captions in your own videos to make them more engaging. Movavi provides pre-made intros that you can add to your particular videos. You can further customize the intros according to your own requirements.
There’s even an option to buy and choose lots of video intros, transitions, stickers, titles, backgrounds and many more from Movavi Effects Store.
Movavi video editing software helps you rotate and crop your videos in the way you want. Also, you can use the ‘Chroma Key’ to simply remove or change the background of your own video clips.
Now, you can set aspects ratios of your own choice. Movavi provides you with the appropriate aspect ratio for social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, etc.
Movavi lets you perform various functions with just a single click:
- Make your videos with a retro look from the 80s
- Inserting transitions
- Show stories with the picture-in-picture option
- Get rid of shaking in your videos
- Add transitions between all segments
- Trimming, cutting, and joining
Plus, you can use Movavi’s media file conversion tool and screen recording with its full Video Suite plan.
Find here the list of its most outstanding pros:
- It supports all main formats like GPP (.3gp), DivX Video (.divx), 3GPP2 (.3g2) etc.
- It provides video editing features like pan & zoom, stylization, video stabilization and many more.
- Movavi also helps you with Audio synchronization.
- You can add up to 100 tracks in a single timeline.
- Faster processing of 4k and 1080p videos with the Plus edition.
- Use special effects like Slo-Mo and Chroma Key.
- Stock audio collection and video.
- Adjust the intensity of filters.
- Preview clips frame by frame.
- Compatible with both Mac and Windows.
- 24/7 customer support.
- It also provides a knowledge base, how-to guides, and a learning portal.
Pricing:
Movavi Video Editor has #2 editions: Video Editor and Video Editor Plus.
- Video Editor: $39.95
- Video Editor Plus: $59.95
- Video Suite: $79.95
You can get the free version for both editions to try out the tool before purchasing it for more advanced features. All the Movavi plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
The Movavi's Video Editor Plus edition comes with additional features like overlay video, stickers, keyframe animation of titles, etc. You can purchase the Video Suite to use other sub-products like Video Recorder and Movavi Video Converter.
6. EaseUS Video Editor.
Easy and Smart Video Editing Software for Windows
The company EaseUS it's around from 2004 and is well known for its data recovery software that’s been downloaded for more than 72 million times. They recently created a new video editing software that is becoming popular due to its ease of use, simplicity, and great features.
You can try out EaseUS video editor with a free trial and then buy the pro version for $17.97. EaseUS video editor offers lots of timeline editing features like trim, cut, split, rotate and merge.
You can apply video effects, change the speed of your clips and use 50 built-in transition effects for accelerated speed or slo-mo.
Their video editing software makes audio editing easy too. You can narrate over clips with just one click and add any audio file to your timeline.
The EaseUS Video Editor offers plenty of export options and videos can be played on iPads, iPhones, HTC, Samsung Galaxy and other devices. You can burn your own video files to DVD or upload them directly to YouTube.
You can easly also use EaseUS tools to convert YouTube videos to MP3.
With more than 530 million users, a 30-day money-back guarantee, free tech support, EaseUS Video Editor is a great option. It’s a very simple video editor at a low price for Windows that anyone can use.
7. Pinnacle Studio.
Best video editor for creative visual effects ($49.95)
Pinnacle Studio is an advanced video editing software and screen recording. It provides multitude of overlays, creative effects, title editor, video masking, 360-degree video editing, color grading and many more.
One very good point is that the video editing software supports old video formats like V8, Hi8, VHS, and other cameras. And you can convert all these old video formats into video digital files.
The Pinnacle Studio MultiCam capture feature helps you capture audio and videos from multiple cameras. You can simply connect various devices and capture synced video and audio.
This Pinnacle Studio feature enables you to make many different videos like tutorial videos, unboxing videos, and many more.
It easily also lets you create custom motion title graphics and control all the aspects of your own video, including overlays and motion, effects. And, you get all the necessary video editing tools to crop, trim, split your videos and rotate.
Pinnacle Studio advanced features include color correction, color grading, LUTs and filters. The color grading helps you adjust colors, highlights, mid-tones and shadows, while the color correction function helps to correct underexposed scenes and adjust white balance.
Pinnacle Studio Color Grading function provides other advanced controls like Color Wheel, Tone Curve, HSL Tuning, Selective Vectorscope and many more.
There’s Chroma or Green screen key function that lets you change or remove the background of any video with any video or image you want.
With Pinnacle Studio you also get options to add audio, record your narration and voiceovers, mute or detach audio in just a few clicks.
Plus, the video editing software comes with add-ons like author DVDs, capture videos, and many other 3rd party plugins.
Find here an overview of some of Pinnacle Studio key features:
- 100+ MyDVD menu templates.
- Color grading.
- 4K video editing supported.
- Edit Multi-camera clips for up to 6 cameras.
- Motion tracking with Mosaic blur.
- Editing across unlimited tracks.
- Combines clips and clone objects.
- Remove distractions.
- Use time remapping to slow-motion or create fast effects.
- Blur backgrounds, brighten faces, edit other targeted areas and censor license plates.
Pricing:
Pinnacle Studio has #3 pricing plans:
- Pinnacle Studio 24: $49.95
- Pinnacle Studio 24 Plus: $79.95
- Pinnacle Studio 24 Ultimate: $99.95
All the Pinnacle Studio plans offer features like keyframe controls, title editor, color correction tools, and many more.
8. MiniTool MovieMaker.
Best free video editing software for Windows
MiniTool MovieMaker is a powerful video editing software, free tool that lets you easily edit and create high-quality videos in jusr minutes. Its very simple drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to import files, and add your titles, effects and transitions.
Another very cool feature is their Hollywood own style movie trailer tool. Simply, just choose a pre-made template, import your videos, and then share or save the video with your friends and family.
Find here some of it other features:
- Auto-save video project feature.
- Video trimmer that makes splitting and trimming video files easy.
- Professional LUTs and creative filters create nice visual aesthetics.
- Subtitles and animated titles.
- Lots of transition effects to choose from.
- zoom and pan effects to add motion to your videos.
- A speed controller so you can slow down, speed up, and reverse video clips.
They always rolling out new updates and features too, including downloading YouTube videos, adding text templates, improving stability and fixing bugs.
MiniTool MovieMaker is a free video editing software that works with Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10.
9. Clipchamp.
Great Free Online Video Editor (Free – $39 /month)
Clipchamp is a free online video editor, converter, compressor and webcam recorder. It provides features like speed control, trimming, adjusts color, audio track, cropping, rotating, add text, and many more.
The video editing tool lets you create great Youtube videos, video memes, slideshows, Instagram video ads, Facebook cover videos and more.
You can use them Facebook ad maker tool to make advertisements for your company. It comes with audio templates and ad templates to help you create engaging advertisements.
The online video editor also offers great customizable templates that can help you create corporate slideshows, social video ads, cinematic presentations and more.
You can choose from multitudinous of stock videos and photos to use in your own video. Their video library and image contain over 800K assets.
Clipchamp provides additional tools besides the conventional video editor.
For example, it offers converter tools and video compressor that you can access directly from a web browser. Leverage video files to reduce size and convert videos into different video formats.
You can perform actions like trim and cut, rotate, split and combine, crop, flip and mirror, etc. Also, it lets you generate great video memes and perform webcam, screen recording.
Them drag-and-drop feature to edit videos is a bonus. It makes it very easy to add photos, audio, and videos to the timeline in your browsers.
You can add transitions and filters using the transaction and filter library, add backgrounds, balance colors and adjust the opacity. You can also change aspect ratios of your own videos with its free online video resizer software.
Other outstanding features include:
- Capture Screen: capture your computer screen along with your computer’s audio. You can also edit those video clips later.
- Green screen: remove or change your videos’ background with its free online green screen video editor.
- Picture in Picture: You can use this feature to deliver lectures, gameplays, reactions and more, videos with its free online image in a picture video editor.
- AI Voice-Over: This feature turns text to speech and lets you choose any narrator of your own choice. This can help you make sounding ads, documentaries and many more.
- Audio Visualizer: Them audio visualizer helps you transform audio recordings into dynamic animations.
Pricing:
Clipchamp provides 5 pricing plans:
- Basic: Free (For personal use)
- Creator: $9 per month (For casual use)
- Business: $19 per month (Suitable for work and business use)
- Business platinum: $39 per month (Full business package)
- Teams: Quote-based (Best for big teams)
The Basic plan provides 480p exports (SD), while the Creator plan allows 720p exports (HD). All the other plans offer 1080p exports (Full HD).
All the plans provides all the essential editing tools, webcam and screen recording and unlimited video production.
10. Wondershare Filmora.
Simple Online Video Editor for Windows and Mac ($7.99 /month)
Wondershare Filmora is an geat video editing software that comes with templates, drag and drop effects, filters, audio, soundtracks, and many more.
You get lots of features like motion tracking, split-screen, green screen and many more. Them Keyframing feature helps you to add custom animations between video clips, while them Motion tracking helps you with intuitive object tracking.
Also there’s a color matching feature that allows you to take the color settings of one video clip and apply it to other video clips in a video.
Them video editor lets you assign hotkeys shortcut commands for different tools to save your own time. Simply, you can add filters, different transitions, clips, motion elements, titles, audio, etc. with them drag and drop features.
You even get the Green screen feature that lets you remove or change the background of your video. Also, you can use ‘Audio Ducking’ to fade one audio track into another and reduce background music volume.
Other main key features include:
- Keyboard shortcut
- Color grading
- Upload your videos directly to YouTube from Wondershare Filmora.
- Hardware acceleration for mac that provides a faster editing experience.
- Blending mode to layer media for special effects.
Wondershare Filmora Pricing:
Wondershare Filmora comes with the following plans:
- Monthly: $7.99 /month
- Annual: $44.99 /yearly
- Business Annual Plan: $155.88 per user /year
- Lifetime: $69.99
All the Wondershare Filmora plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
11. Apple iMovie.
Best Free Video Editing Software for Mac and iOS
If you are a Mac user, Apple iMovie is an basically free video editor to use. Very user-friendly tool for basic video editing with support for 4k resolutions with a great wide range of features.
Apple iMovie has a great performance on new modern Macs and works well with both the Macbook Pro and Macbook Air.
Them most recent updates include 4k video functionality and touch bar support. You can simply process clips at speeds as high as 60 frames /second.
Apple compatibility is also a very strong selling point. You can simply export and import video clips, photos and audio from iCloud. Also, you can create decent slideshows and view your own projects on your Apple TV.
Furthermore, there are lots of helpful iMovie tutorials online to help you use their free video editing software. iMovie Exporting options are also uncomplicated, with exporting available in most actual video file formats.
If you need a decent, simple and free video editor for Mac, give iMovie a try.
