4 Best FREE Video Editors Out There

Stop wasting money paying for expensive video editing softwares

Maaz Naeem
ILLUMINATION
5 min readApr 30, 2023

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Image by Author

It’s no secret, that the skill of video editing is always in high demand and it’s not cheap.

You’d know if you’ve ever gone out there in search of a video editor, whether that be a software or even a freelancer, they come with a high cost.

Maybe you just want to create short videos for YT Shorts, TikTok or IG Reels or maybe you want a full-fledged video editor for serious editing, if you want a good video editing software without paying a single penny, I’m here to help.

In this post, I’ll be sharing 4 of my favorite video editing softwares that are completely FREE, they don’t have anything like a subscription plan, nothing like that.

Just download them and go bananas!

If that’s exciting, let’s dive into the list.

Here are the 4 Best FREE Video Editors out there👇

1. Davinci Resolve

Probably the most popular and toughest competitor of Adobe Premiere Pro out there. Davinci Resolve is pretty much like if Premiere Pro was legally free. It's got everything you’d ever need.

If you are a YouTuber or any other kind of content creator, this is the best free video editor I can recommend to you for your job.

It’s got everything you’d ever wish for in a professional video editor, from keyframes to high-quality color correction, you name it!

I used Davinci Resolve a few years ago and didn’t struggle that much as I had used Premiere Pro before so if you’re like me and have some experience with Premiere Pro, learning Davinci should be easy for you.

You can find numerous people on YouTube who switched over to Davinci Resolve after using Premiere Pro for years for various reasons.

When the major players start acknowledging it, you know it’s got something special.

Davinci Resolve main interface — Image by Author

Pros

  • Perfect for YouTubers.
  • Has all the features you could ever need.
  • Easier to learn if you’ve used Premiere Pro before.

Cons

  • Not for beginners.
  • Heavy on PC.

👉 Davinci Resolve website

2. HitFilm

If you’re someone who's into a lot of filmmaking and cinematography, maybe you’re thinking about creating your very own short film, if that’s the case, the best free video editor for you would be HitFilm.

I came to know about this editor back in 2018–19 maybe, and its main focus was it was going to revolutionize the filmmaking industry.

If you know what you’re doing with this tool, it can be really powerful. Here’s an example of what it is capable of

This video should be enough to give you a glimpse of HitFilm’s potential.

There are numerous tutorials and guides available on YouTube for HitFilm so getting started with it shouldn’t be a problem.

HitFilm interface — Image by Author

Pros

  • Perfect for filmmakers.
  • Interface similar to Premiere Pro.
  • Variety of effects.

Cons

  • Has a learning curve.
  • Also heavy on PC.

👉 HitFilm website

3. OpenShot

If you’re someone who doesn’t want all the bells and whistles of the above-mentioned video editors, you want something simple and uncluttered, something which you can use to do basic video editing stuff.

Or maybe you’re doubting the performance of your PC to handle those editors (trust me I’ve been there) and want something that is a little easy on your system.

If that’s the case, give OpenShot a shot 💥… (I don’t know how to do jokes)

It’s a fairly simple video editor that you can start using by yourself without taking any help from any YouTube video.

It’s perfect if you want something to make basic videos, slideshows, etc. Plus, it’s really light on the PC so that’s a bonus.

I’d also recommend starting with OpenShot if you’ve never done video editing before or are completely new in the field.

OpenShot interface — Image by Author

Pros

  • Good for beginners.
  • Light on PC.
  • Good for basic editing.

Cons

  • Lacks advanced features.

👉 OpenShot Website

4. CapCut

At last, for all the short-form content creators, I mean who make YT Shorts, TikToks, IG Reels, etc. If you’re looking for the perfect free video editor for your job, you wouldn’t find a better one than Capcut.

It first got released for smartphones and that was the case for a while until recently (like 8 months ago), a PC version also got released.

It is highly optimized for smartphones, has got really nice effects and features and unlike other smartphone video editors, IT DOESN’T LEAVE A WATERMARK!! Now that's a relief.

You can easily create promos, shorts, or any other kind of videos through this app.

I have created a number of videos for myself and my friends as silly projects and I didn’t have any hard time using this app.

And let’s not forget, it’s also got a PC version (which is also free), so in case you don’t like OpenShot, you can try CapCut.

You’ll be amazed by the exciting features it provides, from text-to-speech to background removal, it can do it all.

CapCut interface (Android) — Image by Author

Pros

  • Also good for beginners.
  • Very clean interface.
  • Exciting effects.
  • Also available on phones.

Cons

  • Not suitable for advanced editing.

👉 CapCut website

As Premiere Pro is the all-in-one software, these 4 alternatives stand out in their own way.

I’d say that the two best competitors of Premiere Pro that are free would be Davinci Resolve and HitFilm.

The reasons are:

  • They have got similar interfaces to Premiere Pro.
  • They provide almost all the features of Premiere Pro.

OpenShot and CapCut, however, are good if you are a beginner and have little idea about good free video editing software you can use for basic video editing projects.

I’ve had a good time with both of them and I think you will too.

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