Every day, YouTube hosts nearly 5 billion video views, making it a popular choice for content creators seeking to reach a vast audience. To make your videos shine amidst this vast sea of content, you need the right equipment and video editing software. A video’s quality depends on your filming gear and the editing tools you choose. High resolution, good lighting, and seamless editing are essential for producing professional-looking content. To assist you in this endeavor, we’ve compiled a list of the best video editing tools available, both free and paid. These tools empower you to craft engaging and standout content on one of the world’s leading social platforms.
1. Shotcut
Shotcut, a free, open-source video editor compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux, offers an array of impressive features akin to Windows Movie Maker. It allows you to trim video footage before conversion and provides filters and effects for a polished look. Shotcut supports various streaming formats, including HTTP, RTSP, and UDP.
Despite its minimalist interface, Shotcut is remarkably comprehensive. You can fully customize its video and audio filters, and the non-linear editing allows you to add, remove, or modify changes at any point, regardless of chronological order.
Price: Free
Available for: Windows, Mac, and Linux
2. VSDC Free Video Editor
VSDC offers the flexibility to import clips or record via your webcam, making it a prime choice for YouTube vloggers. The interface is user-friendly, offering Instagram-like filters, voiceovers, titles, shapes, and impressive visual and audio effects. VSDC also enables direct exports to YouTube and other social networks.
Note that to export videos in the free version, click the cog icon at the top right, select ‘Acceleration options,’ and uncheck ‘Use hardware acceleration for encoding video.’
Price: Free, or $19.99 for Pro Version
Available for: Windows
3. DaVinci Resolve 18
Matti Haapoja, a YouTuber focusing on filmmaking, lauded this tool, equating its quality to Final Cut Pro and Premiere Pro, but with a significant advantage – it’s entirely free. DaVinci Resolve boasts tools for offline and online editing, color correction, post-production audio effects, and visual effects. It also facilitates collaborative editing, beneficial for teams with multiple editors.
The latest version of the software incorporates new AI tools for audio clip classification and analysis. DaVinci Resolve’s SEO-friendly features include Smart Bins for automatic sorting based on metadata criteria, along with manual sorting and the option to add custom keywords and tags.
Price: Free for DaVinci Resolve 18, or $295 for DaVinci Resolve Studio
Available for: Windows, Linux, Mac
4. LightWorks
If you’re seeking highly customizable professional software, consider LightWorks. While available for a free trial, investing in it enhances the user experience. LightWorks offers nonlinear film editing with over 100 special effects, supporting up to 4K resolution and compatibility with HD and SD formats. It provides royalty-free audio and video content complying with YouTube’s copyright guidelines. Social media templates for seamless transitions and thumbnails are also available, facilitating uploads to various channels.
Price: Free, $9.99 monthly for Create or $23.99 monthly for Pro
Available for: Mac, Linux, Windows
5. FlexClip
FlexClip is user-friendly and offers a free plan for creating videos up to 10 minutes long, making it ideal for budget-conscious YouTubers, including beginners. It provides a library of video templates across various categories, allowing even those without video editing experience to craft professional-looking content swiftly. These templates encompass diverse styles, from slideshows to product reviews and explainer videos.
Moreover, FlexClip has recently introduced three advanced AI functions: AI video script, text-to-speech, and AI image generator, promising to revolutionize video creation. You can also easily incorporate voiceovers or narration into your YouTube videos using the text-to-speech feature, eliminating the need for external voice recording.
Price: Free, $9.99 per month for Plus, or $19.99 per month for Business
Available for: Mac, Linux, Windows
6. InVideo
InVideo is a user-friendly choice, especially for newcomers to video content creation. Leveraging AI tools, it simplifies the editing process by offering template suggestions based on your uploaded video.
With AI-generated scripts and a text-to-video feature, you can effortlessly transform blog articles into engaging video content. Additionally, the software provides access to an extensive library of 8 million stock media resources for building videos from scratch.
Price: Free, $15 per month for Business plan, $30 per month for Unlimited plan
Available for: Windows, Mac
7. Wondershare Filmora 12
Known as the ‘video editor for all creators,’ Filmora offers user-friendly editing suitable for beginners and professionals alike. It includes filters, overlays, transitions, and customizable titles to enhance your YouTube content and engage your viewers.
This tool also provides audio capabilities for key-framing and background noise reduction, along with an audio equalizer. If you’re looking to combine multiple clips into a seamless video, Filmora supports up to 100 layers of media, allowing for versatile clip layering.
Price: Free trial, $49.99 for Annual Plan, $59.99/year for Cross Platform Plan, or $44.99 annually, $79.99 as a one-time payment for Perpetual Plan
Available for: Windows, Mac, or iOS/Android app
8. Vimeo
Vimeo is among the great video editing tools, formerly known as Magisto, is designed to simplify video editing, making it accessible to beginners and novices. Powered by AI, this user-friendly interface generates video content within minutes. Users only need to upload their footage and audio files, and the software handles the rest based on the chosen video style. Editors can take advantage of its professional auto-editing features, including facial recognition and filters, on both PCs and smartphones. Magisto’s streamlined process is an efficient way to scale up video creation for business on iOS and Android devices.
Price: $12.99/seat/year Starter, $20/seat/year Standard, $65/seat/year Advanced, contact for quote for Enterprise
Available for: iOS, Android
9. Premiere Pro
Premiere Pro stands among the top-tier video editing tools, trusted by Hollywood filmmakers, TV editors, and YouTubers alike. It offers an array of creative features for crafting professional videos, including color grading, data visualization, and advanced audio tools for noise removal. Moreover, Premiere Pro now includes Premiere Rush CC, a mobile app for editing and seamless social media sharing, including YouTube.
Leticia De Bortoli, a HubSpot Senior Video Editor, elevates her videos using Premiere Pro for editing, Audition for sound, and DaVinci for color correction. She attributes her video quality to this software, excellent lighting, and audio tools.
Price: As a standalone app, Premiere Pro costs $239.88 per year
Available for: Mac, Windows