So many choices
In the world of video editing, there is many programs from which to use. Some are gimmicky freeware installed by device manufacturers in a bid to get you to cough up money on what they hope you assume is just like having iMovie on a Mac; Some are amazing multi-faceted programs that cost merely a kidney or two per year.
Either way, there’s a lot to sort from and choose.
I’ve been learning video editing as a hobby for the better part of around 8 years now. In that time I’ve tried many different programs on the different operating systems, along with trying to edit different kinds of videos, adding in occasionally a dash of VFX practice. I’ve learned off of youtube and loved to watch different film/vfx channels show the software they use to create the videos they do. From all that, I have gained a decent idea on the programs that I will list and recommend to you, each I have personally tried and edited at least a small amount on. So if you have no clue on what programs to start on, or are looking for something new, this article should help you out.
FIRST OFF, IF YOU OWN A MAC:
Personally, I started video editing (and learned most of what I know) thanks to iMovie, which is where I recommend you turn if you’re editing just basic videos that don’t need fancy special effects or custom motion graphics. If you require more features, I’d honestly cough up the extra $300 for final cut pro, because the speed and stability that comes from using it is worth the money. Most of the other software on this list is compatible with the mac, but they aren’t as optimized as Apple’s proprietary software; If you bought a mac without the intention of using it, honestly get a PC at that point.
For the tasks Final Cut can’t perform (such as VFX), most of the following software can still be useful for you, so I’d recommend continuing to read.
THE FREE STUFF
HitFilm Express: Like After Effects and Premiere but you might need to pay
HitFilm Express is a free version of the small, but surprisingly feature-rich, HitFilm Ultimate. This software was developed by the company FXHome and is the successor of the visual effects software EffectsLab Pro. Its main focus is on combining a video editing experience similar to Adobe Premiere Pro, along with the visual effects capabilities of Adobe After Effects all in one program. It isn’t perfect at either, but it is pretty decent at both. The free version is a great starting off point, and although it doesn’t come with every effect by default, and you are limited to only 1080p, you can still get a decent amount of work done starting out, and if it doesn’t come with the special effect you want, odds are it’s in a cheap bundle you can get on their asset store. There are no limits on video or audio tracks in the free version, and it is a huge step up over Windows Movie Maker (which I would strongly advise against). Some other benefits of this software are that it has effects packs you can use in other software such as After Effects (the pro version has a ton), and if you’re willing to pay $300 for the pro version (which I suggest you do if you like it and want more effects), it has Mocha tracking built in for awesome 3D camera tracking (but sadly not multi-cam). The other best part about this software? There are a TON of tutorials for it.

Quite honestly, the Hitfilm YouTube channel is a feature of this product. Whilst Premiere Pro and Sony Vegas have a large number of tutorials, Hitfilm has a large number of professional tutorials made by the same channel over every feature of the product (making it a lot easier to find what you need). I honestly recommend Hitfilm a lot just because of the YouTube channel and how helpful it is. It is like the ArchWiki of video editing and visual effects. If all you need is 1080p for starting out, and you want to do lots of cool special effects like Muzzle Flashes and Lightsabers, Hitfilm Express is for you, and it’ll give you a relatively affordable avenue to go down in the future with Hitfilm Pro.
Davinci Resolve 15: Color + Audio + Effects + Linux

Davinci Resolve 15 is a fun new one on the scene, and it’s been making some waves as being a potential replacement for Premiere Pro. Davinci Resolve has always been well known in the industry for having some of the BEST color grading built in. Recently though with Davinci Resolve 12.1 and especially now with 15, it has shifted away from just color to becoming a fully fledged video editing program in its own right. It now is much faster, has more advanced timeline editing capabilities, and has really overhauled its audio features while still maintaining the awesome color grading it has always had. It also now is (mostly) cross-platform and supports multiple GPUs if you’re running Red Hat or CentOS Linux.
You can even build your own workstation using low-cost motherboards, extremely fast processors, massive amounts of RAM and up to 8 GPUs — Blackmagic Design
Recently with 15, audio now works on linux, so a decklink card is not required. Although not every feature is available in the free studio version (multi-GPU and collaborative editing is only in the pro version) it does have most of what you’d need, supporting SD, HD, AND Ultra HD. If you need some amount of visual effects and you don’t mind learning something different that uses nodes, Blackmagic Fusion is now built into Davinci Resolve and can do a ton of really advanced visual effects/3D animation. It allows for a lot of cool stuff like importing and rendering 3D models from most major software, Chroma Keying, Titles, 3D particle simulation, and rotoscoping.
One major thing to note though: H.264 does not at this time work on Linux as far as I can tell from Googling around, so you will need to transcode into a different format with something like VLC, ffmpeg, or Handbrake into a codec like DNxHD
If you want to try out more editing programs on Linux, this It’s Foss article does a good job of breaking down the popular programs available on Linux.
Now onto the paid software
*Quick Note: Since I have already touched on Hitfilm, Resolve, and Fusion, I will not cover their pro versions with the paid software since I already mentioned some of what you gain for paying up. Main things to know: All the pro versions are $300 You gain Mocha tracking with Hitfilm along with up to 8K 32 bit color editing You gain multi-GPU/network rendering and collaborative editing in Resolve and Fusion
Premiere Pro: It crashes but everyone uses it

I personally use Premiere Pro. It’s not perfect, but I use it because it works with Adobe Audition (which I love) and Adobe After Effects (which I am used to). This works through Adobe’s dynamic link feature where you can simply right-click a clip and either hit “Create After Effects Composition” or “Edit in Audition” (A feature I make full use of a lot). It also gives me tons of options for keyframing effects/moving clips.
Premiere Pro has pretty much most features you’ll need and if it doesn’t have it, it is sure as hell covered by another Creative Cloud program. Photoshop, After Effects, and Audition are all staples of their respective sectors and so is Premiere, and they all work together relatively easily. There are thousands of tutorials for all the programs in the Adobe Creative Cloud, many major studios use at least one of the products, and film/design schools are going to teach at least one of these programs (although, the professional editing scene is still dominated by Avid/Final Cut Pro). Although this is an article about video editing, because of the fact that you’re better off just paying for the entire creative cloud bundle (since it’s much more economical than paying individually $20 a piece vs $50 for the bundle ($20 if you’re a student)), along with the dynamic link feature, I am considering it an integral part of Premiere Pro. The main issues with Premiere are its instability at times (crashes a LOT), it’s very inadequate optimization, and the requirement of paying for a subscription you’re locked into instead of a license. The main gains are the massive amounts of tutorials for it, all of the Creative Cloud at your disposal, and the fact it’s one of the most popular editing programs out there. I’d try out the others on this list first before jumping straight into this one. The learning curve can be steep for newbies but quite honestly, everything is a quick google away.
Pricing: $50/month for Creative Cloud Bundle ($20 if student) $20/month individually
Vegas Pro: The ex-Sony/ex-MLG editing software

Vegas Pro (mostly remembered as Sony Vegas Pro) is a pro-level editing software that was (and still is a little) incredibly popular and influential in the MLG/Gamer and the AMV/MEP scenes on youtube. Although AMV’s and Let’s Plays are still somewhat popular, the storm of them in the early 2010’s was largely edited in Sony Vegas Pro thanks to numerous popular and influential Let’s Players and AMV makers making tutorials and templates for Sony Vegas Pro. I personally used to use it before I switched to Premiere Pro back around 2013/2014… I am truly saddened I used it and did let’s plays back then instead of sticking to tech reviews.
Vegas Pro got sold by Sony to Magix (popular for their Movie Edit Pro program) a few years back and has since improved in performance and added more features. In general, pretty much anything Premiere Pro can do, Vegas can do (besides dynamic link). One of its main benefits is how easy it is to use. One of the main reasons it was as popular as it was is because it has a small learning curve and is quite intuitive (and easy to pirate). Many users just find it quicker to edit in Vegas Pro and find the Premiere Pro workflow too clunky and slow (I can agree on that a little).
That is my experience as well. Everything in Premiere Pro takes several steps more than in Vegas Pro. Vegas is more organic in the way you can edit right on the timeline like molding clay. I never liked editing in Premiere because of this. Too many steps to get simple things done. — John Rofrano
Although there is no direct compliment to Vegas Pro for VFX, Sony back in Vegas Pro 13 added an integration function in conjunction with Hitfilm so that it acts like Adobe Dynamic Link between the two programs, and it still exists in Vegas Pro 15. Sadly though, Hitfilm and Vegas Pro are not bundled anymore, so you’re stuck paying both full price. (You can use Hitfilm Express though if you don’t mind being limited to 1080p for the feature).
There are multiple bundles of the Vegas Software suite, most adding software you may or may not need. If all you need is fast cutting, the $250 Vegas Pro Edit has you covered, and the only main things you may miss out on are Sapphire Render Unit (which costs just as much as Hitfilm Pro which does the same stuff and more), and the BlueFX Titler Pro 5 titler program (which could also be mostly covered in Hitfilm Pro), along with the DVD architect software (but who even uses DVD’s anymore?). All of those are mostly a feature of the Vegas Pro 15 Suite which is $800. There also is the Vegas Pro 365 subscription bundle that also gives you access to training sessions and other Magix Software like Sound Forge Audio Studio (which is only $60 so YOU GET. NOTHING.).
I could go on about how stupid and pointless bundles and subscription service are, but to sum it up: Just buy Edit and Hitfilm Pro Pricing $250 for Vegas Edit.
So Summary? All-in-all: Try them all out
Video Editing programs are tools. It doesn’t matter who makes it, on what operating system it is, or if it has x and y feature. Use what you’re comfortable with. For general recommendations:
- If you need 4K, the only decent free one is Davinci Resolve, otherwise, cough up at least $300
- If you need Compositing AND Editing in one, HitFilm Express/Pro is your friend (but if you want it free, you only get 1080p) Hey, that rhymed
- If you need Creative Cloud, just use Premiere Pro and deal with it
- If you need multi GPU/Linux support, Davinci Resolve is your friend
- If you need fast/easy editing and HitFilm integration, Sony Vegas Edit
- If you’re using Resolve and need VFX, try out Fusion since it’s already built in, it’s pretty good.
*Note: this is an update of a previous article from a different site by the same author

