🎬 5 BEST FREE Video Editing Software - YouTube

Hi everyone, Kevin here.

Today I want to show you my  favorite top five free video editing  

software and when I say free these truly are free.

There are no watermarks.

There are no time limitations.

None of that.

They're just entirely free,  and they're also pretty good.

When you compare them to  paid video editing software,  

in many cases these are  just as good, if not better.

In fact, on my YouTube channel I use one of these  

free video editors to pull together all of  my videos. As we're running through this,  

if you decide you want to use one of these  video editors, I've included links in the  

description down below that will give an  in-depth overview of how to get started.

All right, let's jump on the  PC and let's check these out.

This brings us to the first free video editor,  and this is probably one that you already have.

If you're running Windows 10,  Windows 10 comes with a video editor.

What, yes, it's true if you go down  to the search field on your taskbar,  

simply type in video editor.  Who would have thought  

and right up at the top as the best  match, you should see video editor.

Let's click into this one.

This drops us into the Windows 10  free video editor, and if you're  

still scratching your head and wondering  how you ever missed, don't feel that bad.

It's very difficult to discover.

The video editor is actually within  the photos app and in the past you  

had to open the photos app and then  you had to go into the video editor.  

Only recently Microsoft added video editor  to the search field so it would pop up there.

Let's start with what I like about the  video editor, and there is a lot to like.

It comes with your PC, so you don't have  to download any other software to edit  

videos. It's also extremely easy to use. Here  I can drag and drop some video files directly  

into the video editor, and here I can use  this storyboard to pull together my video.

I simply drag and drop my different clips  down and my video starts to take shape.

Over here I have access to all of  the most common video editing tools.

You can trim, split, add text and the  list goes on with what you can do.  

Up above, you also have  access to background music,  

so here I could insert music and I can  even sync it to my video's music beat.

Over here, I could also insert custom audio.

Let's say I wanted to include voice over.  

It has a lot of very nice functionality  and in a pinch this works extremely well.

So this sounds like a pretty good video editor.

Are there any downsides?

And unfortunately, there  are a few. Right down below,  

one of the most glaring omissions is you  can't add any transitions between clips,  

so all you could do is a hard cut between  two of your clips on the storyboard.

Also, because it uses a story board  layout that makes it very easy to use,  

but you also don't have any tracks, so  let's say you want to do a picture in  

picture effect or basically you want to  have one video play on top of the other.

Well, unfortunately you can't do that.

Also, we looked at this background music catalog  and you have a lot of songs you can insert.

However, if you upload your video to YouTube,  

you won't be able to monetize  with any of those tracks.

Also, probably one of the biggest drawbacks.

Once you pull together your video and  you have your storyboard laid out,  

when you go to export your video, the highest  quality that you can set it to is 1080P.

So let's say you have a new camera  that shoots at 4K. Unfortunately,  

you won't be able to render your  video in the top-quality level.

All-in-all, the Windows 10 free video editor is  a decent option and you can pull together some  

pretty nice videos, but the drawbacks are somewhat  of a dealbreaker, at least for me personally.

So let's jump onto the next free video editor.

And this brings us to number  2, the best free video editor,  

and that is the OpenShot video editor.

You can download and install  it at OpenShot.org. It's free,  

it's open source and you can install it on any  platform, whether it's Windows, Mac, or Linux.

Simply click on the download text right here.

Once you finish installing, this drops  you into the OpenShot video editor and  

looking at this it looks pretty simple, but  yet it also has a lot of power under the hood.

Right here I can simply drag in video files  and they show up here under project files  

and here I can simply drag and drop my  different files onto the timeline down below  

and here now I have multiple tracks so I can  layer different items on top of one another.

If I pull in multiple items down onto the timeline  

below, this is a big improvement  over the Windows 10 video editor.

Here I can insert transitions and there are  

many different transitions that you can  choose from. Along with transitions,  

you can also insert different effects  on top of your different media files.

As you start laying down all of your different  media files on the timeline down below,  

you can preview the video over  here on the right-hand side.

Now I mentioned it looks very simple, but it  does also have some advanced capabilities.  

Here you can right click on any one of  your media files and go into properties  

and you can set different keyframes  and change the values on this clip.

So once again it also has a  lot of advanced functionality.

So, are there any drawbacks?

I mean it is free software  and it does quite a bit.

Well there is one. Here if I go up and  let's say you want to insert a title,  

you can insert a standard title  just fine and this works well.

But there's also an option for an animated title,  

which sounds neat, but here if you  select any one of them, you have  

to install another application called Blender  which will allow you to do an animated title.

Now Blender is also a free application,  so it's kind of hard to complain,  

but it is a little bit of extra friction  to be able to insert an animated title.

All-in-all, OpenShot is an excellent choice if you  

want a simple but yet also  powerful free video editor.

This brings us to the next free video editing app  

and this one is called Shotcut. You  can download this at Shotcut.org.  

Once again for all of these video editors I've  included links in the description down below.

Shotcut is free, it's open source  and it works on all major platforms  

including Windows, Mac and Linux.

To download this simply click on this, click  to download text on the top of the page.

Once you finish installing Shotcut, you'll  be prompted to create a new project.

Here I'll click on start and this  now drops us in the main interface.

Just like with the other apps, you  can drag and drop your media files  

in and here now I see a playlist of all  of my files. Just like with the others,  

you can select one of your files and you can  drag and drop it down onto the timeline below,  

and here I can start pulling together my video.  With Shotcut, you can add any number of tracks.  

Here I can right click and I can add additional  video tracks or additional audio tracks and here I  

can drop in additional items. As my video starts  taking shape, here I can preview what it looks  

like. Unlike the Windows 10 free video editor,  Shotcut supports a massive catalog of transitions.

Here I could simply come down to my track  and I can drag one of the items and position  

it over the others and that'll  automatically insert a transition.  

Here if I click into properties, I can  choose from many different transitions  

similar to OpenShot. Along with inserting  transitions, I can also select one of these clips  

and here I can click on filters and I can add a  massive catalog of different filters to this clip.

One other thing that I  really like about Shotcut is  

depending on what you're working on, they  have different views optimized to that task.

Here, for instance, I'm currently in  the editing view which shows me the  

timeline down below and the preview,  but I could also jump into an FX view.

Or maybe I want to do some color grading  so I can jump into the color view.

There's also an audio view and a player view if  I just want to review what my video looks like.

All-in-all, Shotcut is a very powerful  video editor, and when I look at all  

the videos on my channel, I could use  Shotcut to pull any one of them together.

So, are there any drawbacks?

Well, Shotcut is a little bit  more complicated than the first  

two video editors that we looked at, so  the learning curve is a little steeper,  

so it really depends on how serious  you are about video editing.

If you really plan on creating some advanced  videos, this could be a good choice,  

but if you really just maybe want  to pull together a simple video,  

this might have a few more  capabilities than you really need.

This now brings us to the 4th free video editor  

and this one is called kdenlive. You  can get it at the website kdenlive.org.

Once you land on the homepage, to download it,  you'll see a link right here and this works  

cross platform, so whether you  have Windows, Mac or Linux,  

and once again this is also an open-source  video editor, so it's completely free to use.  

Choose your operating system and  then go ahead with the install.

This drops us into the main kdenlive interface,  

and it looks pretty similar to the previous  few video editors that we looked at.

Over here on the left-hand side you can drag  and drop different files into the editor  

and here too, just like we saw before,  you can drag the different items  

down below onto the timeline and here too  you get multiple tracks on your timeline.

So here I could place them on the same track,  or I could place them on separate tracks.

One of the key differences you'll notice now that  I have two different ways I can view my video.  

Right here, I can view the clips so I can  jump into a clip and I can preview that  

and then I also have a  separate view of my project.

So here I can see two different clips  side by side. In terms of editing,  

you have many different tools to edit your videos.

In fact, you have what's referred to as  normal mode, there's an overwrite mode,  

so if you drag a clip down, it'll overwrite  the existing clip, or you could insert it.

They also have a wide variety of different editing  tools that you can use. Similar to Shotcut, there  

are also views that are catered to what you're  doing or the task at hand. Up here, I'm currently  

in the editing view, but let's say I want to work  on audio, I could shift into a dedicated audio  

view. Or maybe I want to focus on effects. Or  maybe I want to focus on color grading my video.

There are views that specialize in each one of  those different tasks. Back on the main view,  

I can also add many different transitions. Here  I have two different clips and if I click into  

compositions, here I have all  of these different options.

Let's say I want to add a wipe  transition between clips. Here I  

can insert it between these two clips  and that's now added a transition.

I could also choose from  many, many different effects  

that I want to add on top of any one of my clips.

All-in-all, you can pull together some very  impressive and advanced videos using kdenlive,  

although similar to Shotcut, one of the drawbacks  is you do have a lot of different options and a  

lot of different controls so the learning curve  is a little bit steeper, however there are  

lots of help resources online that will  help you get started with this video editor.

This now brings us to free video editor  number 5, and that's Davinci Resolve 17,  

and this is the one that I personally use to pull  together all of my videos on my YouTube channel.

Davinci Resolve is a very impressive application.

In fact, many different TV studios or film studios  

use Davinci Resolve to pull  together their projects.

Davinci Resolve is a freemium product.

What that means is you get most of the core or  foundational capabilities entirely for free;  

however, if you want  additional effects or tracking,  

it costs some money for those, but I've been  using the free version and I've been able to do  

all of the editing that I want to get done. To  download Davinci Resolve 17, on this main site,  

once again, the link is in the description,  scroll down and then click on download now.

When you click on download now  you'll have a few different options.  

There is Davinci Resolve 17.  This is the most recent version.

You could also get an older version,  however I'd recommend going with the latest.

For Davinci Resolve 17, you have the standard  version, and there's the studio version.

The studio version is the pay version. If you  simply want to move forward with the free version,  

select Davinci Resolve 17 and then select  your operating system right down here.

Davinci Resolve is a powerhouse video  editor. Here, just like the others,  

you can pull your different media clips in and  here I can pull them down onto the timeline and  

I could start organizing what my video looks  like. Right over here, I have a clip viewer and  

then I also have my project viewer. Over here,  I can adjust all sorts of different settings  

related to the video, the audio and different  effects or transitions that I decide to insert.

One of the really nice  things about Davinci Resolve  

is I have all of these other applications  that are all part of Davinci Resolve.

Here I could load a view of all  of my different media files.

Here I have a dedicated cutting  view which makes it even easier  

and quicker to cut your different video clips.

Here you have your standard editing  view, but also if I want to add any VFX,  

I have a Fusion page where here I can add all  these different effects and I have a node view  

where I can start pulling them together.  Over here I also have access to colors.  

The color view in Davinci Resolve is one of the  industry leading ways that you can set color on  

your video. Down below, I also have access to  something called Fairlight Audio and this is  

a super powerful tool that you can use to adjust  the audio on your projects. With Davinci Resolve,  

they bring together multiple, what could be  stand-alone applications, all into one interface,  

so as you're pulling together your project, you  can very quickly jump between, say, the editing  

view and then the VFX view using that clip. Out of  all of the video editors that we looked at today,  

arguably, Davinci Resolve has some  of the most advanced functionality.

In terms of another application that's similar  to Davinci Resolve, you have Hitfilm Pro and  

then you also have Adobe premiere, and those  are comparable to what Davinci Resolve offers.

But what's great about Davinci Resolve is it's  entirely free to start using, and only some of the  

features are behind a paywall. Overall, Davinci  Resolve is an excellent choice, and that's why  

I use it as my primary editor. Although the one  downside is it has a very steep learning curve.

In fact, anytime I use this video editor, I feel  like I'm constantly learning new things about it,  

but that's also what makes it so exciting.

What you can do with this  tool is pretty much limitless.

We've looked at a lot of fantastic and free  video editors today, but I did want to call  

out some other noteworthy free video editors  beyond the five that we already looked at,  

one of them is the VSDC video editor, and this  is also a freemium video editor, so you get  

most of the core functionality for free,  but then a few items are behind a paywall.

This is also a good option.

There's also Hitfilm Express, and this is similar  to Davinci Resolve in terms of what you can do.

This also follows a freemium model  where you get most functionality  

for free and then you can upgrade if  you want to unlock more functionality.

And lastly another great video editor is called  Videopad and this is made by NCH Hardware.

Now it is free for home use, but you do get an  annoying notification that tells you and always  

reminds you that you're on the free version. There  are also some limitations like you could only  

insert so many audio tracks, they limit the number  of plugins, but once again for a free video editor  

this also works fairly well. All right, well  that was a quick look at my favorite free video  

editors. Let me know down below in the comments  which one are you going to use moving forward.

If you want to see more videos like this  in the future, please consider subscribing.

All right, well that's all I have for you today.

I hope you enjoyed and as always,  I hope to see you next time, bye.