Free/Low Cost Video Editing Software

The Final installment in the free/low cost software for designers! Video Editing software is a cornered market.This is a hard post to write as Adobe Premiere is my favorite software among the Adobe family. Also, It is difficult to find free and open source video editing software that will get the job done as well as their paid for counterparts. There are alternatives out there though! Here are a few worth mentioning!

OpenShot

OpenShot is an open source video editing software. OpenShot has a ton of features worth mentioning such as opening title creation, 3D text animation, audio mixing and of course your standard transition effects, compositing, etc.. It’s made for cross platform support so you can use it on Linux, Mac and Windows. OpenShot is a very simplistic editor but can get the job done for small projects such as hobbies!

Lightworks

Lightworks is a freemium video editing software that is pretty powerful. It’s initial user interface can be kind of awkward but the software allows users to change it around to customize their own workflow. Lightworks does all your standard editing, effects, trimming and text effects. It also supports multi camera editing and project sharing for those who are working it groups. The Free version of Lightworks can only export videos to Vimeo and YouTube, where as the paid version supports multiple file output. To buy the software outright can be a tad bit pricy ($437) but there is also a cheaper “year license available for #174.99. Lightworks is available for Linux, Mac and Windows.

Final Cut Pro X

Final Cut Pro is my second favorite video editing software. Its ease of use helps even beginners jump right into editing and adding effects. Final Cut Pro has come a long way as a software and now supports many different plug-ins to help streamline your work flow. The only downside to this is it is only available for Mac, so no cross platform compatibility. Final Cut Pro X is available for $299 in the apple app store.

Pinnacle Studio

My third all time favorite video editing software. Think Final Cut Pro, but Windows version. Pinnacle Studio has also come along way since when I first used it back in 2011. It now supports stop motion animation, multi camera editing and 360 camera videos. Pinnacle studio is a great resource for any editor on a budget and not to mention the ease of use when it comes to becoming familiar with the program. It comes in three different packages: Pinnacle Studio ($59.99), Studio Plus (99.95) and Studio Ultimate ($129.95) which are all easily affordable and pretty cheap for a video editing software. Pinnacle Studio is available for Windows, iPhone and iPad!

Well there we have it! Have your own favorite video editing software? Put it in the comments!