Edit Videos Like a Pro: The 12 Best Free Video Editing Software Programs for 2022

According to Wyzowl’s 2022 State of Video Marketing survey, video continues to be used by an overwhelming majority of businesses, with 86% businesses using video as a marketing tool. To make the most of this, you will need a good video editing software that can help you showcase your products from every angle by producing professional promos for platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or anywhere else you share brand videos. There are a number of easy-to-use free video editing programs that can help you stand out from your competition.

Well-produced product videos are a more engaging form of content marketing than photographs alone and can reduce a customer’s hesitation in making a purchase.

Below, we’ve compiled a list of the best free video editing software for 2022 from around the web, as well as a few with affordable paid versions. Every marketer has their own specific needs, so we’ve run down some of the most useful features of each tool.

Best free video editing software for desktop

There are a lot of desktop-based editing software available for businesses looking to create promotional videos. The biggest advantage of free video editing software for desktops is that they tend to have more features than most mobile video editing apps.

If you’re looking to edit your promotional videos on a budget, check out our list of free video editing software you can use to edit long-form content for YouTube, your ecommerce site, or a variety of other platforms:

1. Lightworks
2. VideoPad
3. HitFilm Express
4. DaVinci Resolve
5. VSDC Free Video Editor
6. OpenShot
7. Shotcut
8. Blender
9. Movie Maker 10
10. iMovie
11. Kapwing
12. KineMaster

1. Lightworks

The best overall free video editing software 

Lightworks includes a simple and intuitive interface, making it so easy to get started. A video editor software that offers a collection of detailed video tutorials, Lightworks is one of the more accessible and easy to learn Linux video editing software options on this list.

Lightworks has a suite of original stock videos and music clips licensed for use in any videos you edit on the program, letting you give a polished look to any marketing video.

Features include:

• High-quality simple trim functions for fast and precise video editing
• Speed optimisation, letting you continue to edit while importing new content
• Multicam editing for syncing clips from multiple cameras
• Real-time team project sharing with full control over which user has editing access
• Easy sharing of videos with fast export to YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and Instagram
• Support for a wide range of video formats

Available for: Windows, Mac, and Linux

Price: Free, $24.99 per month for Pro version

2. VideoPad

Best free video editing software for beginners

VideoPad is a great free option of video editing software for anyone who wants to create high-quality videos without spending a dime. With VideoPad, you’ll find all kinds of simple and easy-to-use features—such as 3D video editing and a sound effects library—to try different video compositions and styles. 

You can edit your videos with special effects, overlays, texts, and transition, as well as colour adjustment and sound effects. Then export all your finished videos to YouTube, Facebook, Google Drive, and other mobile devices quickly and easily. 

The only drawback is that it may be too simple for advanced video editors. It doesn’t come with as many advanced features as some of the other free video editing software on this list, but with options to add light effects, fine tune colours, and overlay text and images, there’s enough here to make it worth the free download.

Features include:

• Double built-in screen (one to preview selected clips, one to preview complete sequence) for easy and intuitive editing
• Pre-made, customisable transitions for polished professionalism
• Exporting presets to easily create video files optimised for specific platforms—such as Facebook and YouTube—and post them directly from within the software
• Social media sharing and publishing tools to share videos online instantly
• A large library of video transitions and visual effects to customise videos
• Video optimisation tools, such as stabilisation

Available for: Mac, Windows

Price: Free

3. HitFilm Express

Simple free video editor with professional visual effects and tutorials

If you don’t have a lot of experience with video editing, HitFilm Express may feel a little advanced at first—it’s used to produce Hollywood-style films—but it’s worth the learning curve, as it’s one of the best all-in-one free video editors available. (HitFilm does ask you to share a social media status update when you download the software, but that’s a small price to pay.)

HitFilm includes animation tools that let you create and edit audio and video transitions without the need to create composite shots, which is a huge time saver when editing videos.

Features include:

• Professional-grade video editing with motion tracking, colour pickers, and cropping tools
• Composite shot enhancements that allow you to animate two separate shots together for surreal video effects
• An auto-stabiliser to make shaky footage look smooth
• Unlimited video and audio timeline track creation
• An adaptive trimmer that lets you re-trim your clips after adding them to the timeline
• Ability to copy a group of attributes from one clip and apply them directly to another or to a whole project
• Audio mixer for fine tuning sound for professional quality output
• Various transition options, such as push, zoom, and dissolve

Available for: Mac and Windows

Price: Free, $349 for the Pro version

4. DaVinci Resolve

Top free video editor for advanced editors

DaVinci Resolve combines professional 8K editing, colour correction, visual effects, and audio post-production in a single production tool, which is why it’s the video editing software of choice for many professional editors of films, television shows, and commercials.

DaVinci allows for both offline and online editing, and its high-performance playback engine saves time when editing and trimming—even for processor-intensive file formats like H.264 and RAW. DaVinci Resolve’s complex features may be too extensive for some users, but the free version is perfect for more advanced projects.

Features include:

• Dual timeline for quick navigation, cutting, and trimming
• A dedicated trim interface that gives you the ability to edit in minute detail
• Intelligent auto-editing that syncs audio and visual clips for you
• Built-in tools for picture-in-picture effects, retiming, stabilisation, dynamic zoom, text, and audio
• Facial recognition that detects faces in your clips and automatically creates bins based on the people in each shot
• High-quality motion estimation speed changes and frame rate conversions to easily and realistically speed up or slow-down clips

Available for: Windows, Mac, and Linux

Price: Free, $269 for the full Studio version

5. VSDC Free Video Editor

Best free video editing software for Windows only

VSDC’s desktop video editing software is available as both a free and paid version. Although the free version has reduced features, it still comes with VSDC’s full video editing suite—including a mask tool and chroma key functionality for green-screen video effects.

If you have the funds to spring for the full version, the suite of tools expands to include video stabilisation, robust post-production effects, slideshow/ presentation capabilities, 3D diagram templates, and direct social media publishing.

Features include: 

• Colour-correction tools for a more professional look
• A full suite of transitional effects
• Easy-to-use image filters, similar to what you’d find on Instagram
• Mask tools for hiding, blurring, or highlighting specific elements
• Social media link for sharing videos on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Vimeo
• HEVC/H.265 (an advanced video-compression standard), for maintaining the highest quality at the minimum file size—essential for processing 4K and HD files

Available for: Windows

Price: Free, $19.99 for Pro version

6. OpenShot

The easiest free video editing software for intermediate editors

OpenShot’s easy-to-use user interface makes it a great video editing program for beginners. While more complex tools may offer more editing components, OpenShot’s intuitive interface and minimal design are perfect for simple editing.

OpenShot is an efficient option for small businesses and is best for clip resizing, scaling, trimming, snapping, and rotation. It also offers credit scrolling, frame stepping, time mapping, audio editing, and real-time preview.

Features include:

• Unlimited layers for watermarks, background videos, and audio tracks
• Customisable title-card templates
• Drag-and-drop functionality for easily adding video, audio, or image files
• Digital video effects, including brightness, gamma, hue, greyscale, and chroma key compositing for green-screen effects
• Powerful key-frame animation capabilities for creating animated videos

Available for: Windows, Mac, and Linux

Price: Free

7. Shotcut

Best open-source movie maker for audiophiles

Shotcut is an open-source, cross-platform video editor with a vast collection of tutorial videos. It also supports a wide range of formats, including FFmpeg, 4K, ProRes, and DNxHD. A warning, however—Shotcut was originally designed for Linux, so some may find the interface a little quirky. Despite this, it’s still a top-notch editor.

Shotcut also provides extensive audio editing options, making it ideal for audiophiles. Its host of fine-tuning audio tools allows users to make bass and treble adjustments, create bandpass filters, adjust gain, add dynamic compression, and much more.

Features include:

• Support for the latest audio and video formats via FFmpeg, the leading multimedia framework
• Native timeline editing, which allows users to import video files directly into their project file rather than a media library
• Multi-format timeline for mixing and matching resolutions and frame rates within a project
• Advanced audio filters like balance, bass and treble, bandpass filters, compressor, and more

Available for: Windows, Mac, and Linux

Price: Free

8. Blender

Best professional video editing software with 3D creation suite

Blender video editing is a free, open-source 3D creation suite. It includes features to help model and render 3D animations. The software is a collaborative creation of hundreds of developers from around the world. The huge community of users gives Blender’s software an extensive group of tools.

Blender is designed as a 3D animation suite but comes with a functional video editor that should be enough for most users’ needs. It can also tackle more complex edits, like video masking, making Blender a flexible video editor for both novice and experienced users and an excellent option for more advanced projects that may involve 3D animation.

Features include:

• Path-tracer engine for realistic rendering of animated objects
• Advanced rendering processes to speed up the saving and exporting of your project
• Option to code game logic into the software for video game development
• Advanced character animation tools for realistic kinematics
• Extensive library of visual effects and vignettes

Available for: Windows, Mac, and Linux

Price: Free

9. Movie Maker 10

Best free video editing software for Windows 10 

Movie Maker 10 is a convenient video editing software for Windows for people looking to go back to basics. It’s great for making quick edits to short video clips you need ready right away.

Movie Maker 10 comes with a free version that includes its suite of video and picture editing tools as well as the ability to add captions with customisable fonts and colours.

Features include:

• Auto-preview tool for edits and effects
• Auto-movie options for creating customisable cuts of your video clips
• Animation tab to easily add music, titles, and credits

Available for: Windows

Price: Free

10. iMovie

Best free video editing software for YouTube

Popular standby iMovie comes bundled with Mac OS. Like many native Apple apps, iMovie is uncomplicated and uses a simple drag-and-drop interface for moving files from your drive to your workstation. It’s an easy way to build powerful videos to boost your YouTube marketing efforts. 

A big advantage to iMovie is that files are saved on Apple’s cloud, meaning you can work on your project interchangeably on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. iMovie is constantly being updated as well, so you can always look forward to new features and improvements.

Features include:

• Support for 4K resolution, allowing users to create cinema-quality films
• Cloud-storage functionality that allows you to work on the same project from your iPad, iPhone, and Mac
• Dozens of studio-quality title animations for professional-looking credits
• Stylish, contemporary video filters built for specific film genres, such as Western and sci-fi
• Built-in music, sound effects, and voiceover recording so your sound and picture editing are always consolidated
• Speed controls that let you make high-octane action scenes faster and sports highlights slower

Available for: Mac

Price: Free

11. Kapwing

Best free video editing software for vloggers and educators

Kapwing is a free video editor that is compatible on Windows and Mac since it requires no download. It provides all the basic features required for most vlogs and professional video editing.

Like many video editing software, Kapwing allows collaboration, so multiple contributors can work or edit simultaneously. In the free version of this video editor, there is a cap on the video duration (7-minute video).

Features include:

• Automatic video editor that cleaves silences in videos
• Subtitle generation and background removal using AI
• Unlimited cloud storage
• Recorder to record screens and audio
• Video editor with no watermark

Available for: Mac and Windows

Price: Free, $16 for Pro version

12. KineMaster

Best free video editing software for mobile and PC

Increase clicks, likes and shares on your social media platforms with KineMaster, a video editor that is primarily for editing videos on your Android or iPhone.

Easy to use, KineMaster allows users to trim, enhance and share videos on the go.

Features include: 

• Motion effects for keyframe animation
• Option to save videos in 4K 2160p at 30FPS
• Customisable user interface
• Tools to combine, cut, and mix your videos
• Variety of audio enhancement with voiceovers and effects
• Slow-mo for visual appeal

Available for: iOS, Android, Mac and Windows

Price: Free

Choosing a professional video editing software

Now that you know your options to find the best free video editing software, you can start by testing out a few. While each option comes with its own advantages and disadvantages, hopefully, you now have a better idea of which free video-editing program is best for your video editing requirements and the output you are looking for.

Videos consistently are shown to get more engagement on average across all social media platforms than pictures or text posts. A professional, well-made marketing video can help tell a story about your products, beat the YouTube algorithm, capture the attention of your audience, develop your brand’s personality, and maximise your ROI on paid social ads.

Take your content marketing to the next level. With so many free video editing software options to choose from, there’s no limit to the creative potential of your brand’s marketing video content. What’s more, a video editing software helps build your brand image through visuals that can be consumed on-the-go.

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