Adobe Spark Video offers a free online slideshow maker with music and transition effects. Use this powerful picture slideshow maker to compose a unique presentation by adding different backgrounds, photos, videos and voice content. Play around with a variety of customization options, so you can create something your audience has never seen before. Why do you need a free video editing software. As with any good video in order to get it right it’ll need some edits. Editing your videos shouldn’t be that expensive either as there are some good, free, safe and easy to use video editing software in the internet. Video editing has been made easy by tools that are readily available online. Adobe Spark Video offers a free online slideshow maker with music and transition effects. Use this powerful picture slideshow maker to compose a unique presentation by adding different backgrounds, photos, videos and voice content. Play around with a variety of customization options, so you can create something your audience has never seen before.
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With the right free video editing software, you can create picture-perfect clips that are ready to share to YouTube, Facebook, Instagram or anywhere else, with no unsightly watermarks or frustrating time limits.
There are free video editors out there that not only come with the most basic yet necessary tools, but also boast powerful features and even a few bells and whistles.
Finding the best free options may seem like a daunting task, but we are here to help. We’ve collated the best of the best out there so you won’t have to test every single video editor yourself. Each of the software packages below will let you perform important post-production tasks like trimming clips, applying green screen filters, and adjusting the playback speed. And, if you’ve never edited a video before, you’ll find these programs to be accessible and easy to get to grips with.
The best video editing software overall
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1. Adobe Premiere Pro | PC & Mac | $20 per month
For a small monthly sub, Premiere Pro offers outstanding value for money. It's the industry-standard video editing program, used by the pros. It's also really easy to use and get the hang of. If you're serious about your videos, you should seriously consider biting the bullet and going for Premiere Pro.
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2 Adobe Premiere Elements | PC & Mac | $99
If you're open to spending some money on your video editing software you'll find the quality of your videos improving massively. With more features, filters and wizards available to you, you'll be able to do things with your video that are well beyond what you get from any free options.
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3. Apple Final Cut Pro X | Mac only | $299.99
Final Cut Pro is still one of the most popular video editing options on Mac. It's not cheap so if the $300 asking price is too much, consider Premiere Elements above which at $99 offers all the same features for a third of the price.
The best free video editing software
© Provided by TechRadar (Image credit: EditShare)1. Lightworks
Operating system: Windows, macOS, Linux
Highly customizable interface
Steeper learning curve than some
Lightworks is the best free option for anyone who wants to create professional-quality movies and videos without paying a penny. While it still can't be considered a match for a program like Adobe Premiere Elements, it supports multitrack video and is a non-linear editor, so the quality of your footage won’t be reduced while being processed.
With Lightworks, you’ll find all sorts of high-end features that are normally only available with expensive packages such as Final Cut Pro. These include the ability to import and render footage in the background, and to preview video effects in real-time.
The one downside is that learning how to use Lightworks can take some time as the interface is fairly complex. You can drag various editing windows around to create an almost infinite number of layout variations and set custom keyboard shortcuts to speed up your editing jobs.
You can download and install Lightworks for free on Windows, Mac, and Linux devices. If at a later date, you decide you want to invest in an improved experience, you can upgrade to Lightworks Pro. With this upgraded version, you’ll be able to export your projects in different formats, create 3D masterpieces and upload straight to YoutTube.
Read our full Lightworks review
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2. Hitfilm Express
Free software for amateurs and experts alike
Operating system: Windows, macOS
Professional-grade tools
Excellent online tutorials
Like Lightworks, Hitfilm Express is free-to-use video editing sofware that aims to make a professional editing experience available to everyone. With this software package, it’s easy to adjust color balance, trim clips, and export your projects in different video formats.
But the Hitfilm Express feature set goes way beyond that. You can also use this free video editor to set green screen chroma keys, create custom video masks, and take your footage to the next level with a range of 3D compositional tools. Although first-time users may find it a little confusing, the HitFilm Express user-interface will be familiar to anyone who’s worked with an advanced video editor before.
There are only two small downsides to this video editor. The first is that it’s technically demanding, so you’ll need a PC or Mac with a powerful processor to run it. And, secondly, the installation process is unnecessarily complex. To get access to the Hitfilm Express software, you’ll need to share a link to its developer, FXhome, on social media.
Read our full Hitfilm Express review
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Video: iOS 13.5 - Noise Cancelling Podcast Highlight (TechRadar)
3. Shotcut
Operating system: Windows, macOS, Linux
Supports direct streaming
Can't preview filters
Shotcut started life as a free video editor on Linux and was ported over to Windows and Mac machines after it had already been around for a few years. This development journey has resulted in a slightly odd-looking user interface, but Shotcut is still one of the best free video editors you can download now.
Some aspects of the Shotcut system are easy and intuitive, such as the process of dragging media files to import them into your project. However, there’s no doubt that there’s a steeper learning curve with this video editor than most. For example, you’ll have to configure your display by adding the modules you need.
But once you get the hang of Shotcut, you’ll discover why this free video editor has amassed such a large following. The best Shotcut feature is a large selection of filters that can be applied to audio and video content. Once added, you can layer and customize filters to achieve the precise effect you’re looking for.
Read our full Shotcut review
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Good Free Online Video Editing Software Editor
4. Movie Maker Online
An online video editing tool that you can use anywhere
Operating system: Windows, macOS, Linux (in browser)
Works on any computer
Intrusive advertising
Movie Maker Online is a video editor that runs in your browser. To edit a video, you simply need to upload it to an unusual vertical project timeline where you can crop clips and add filters or transition effects.
Other free video editors listed here are software packages that can be installed and run locally. However, these aren’t the only types of free video editor available. There are also many great browser-based tools too, and Movie Maker Online is one of these.
The big advantage of an online editor is that you can access it from any desktop device, and there’s no need to worry about content storage. Another big bonus is that your computer specs don’t matter as much, the age of your hardware doesn’t matter when using an online video editor as everything happens in the cloud.
If you want to enhance your video or movie with music or still images, Movie Maker Online gives you access to a large archive of royalty-free images that can be inserted into your project timeline with a single click.
Read our full Movie Maker Online review
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5. VSDC Video Editor
Free software with multi-monitor support
Operating system: Windows
Anti-shake technology
No hardware acceleration
VSDC Video Editor used to be known as one of the clunkier free video editing programs. Thankfully, the latest edition of the software has a dramatically improved interface with a fresh-looking dark theme and the ability to detach individual windows, ideal for editing with more than one monitor.
Like Lightworks, VSDC is a non-linear video editor that’s able to compete with more expensive video editing packages. It comes in both free and premium editions, and there are pleasingly few prompts for free users to subscribe. The only serious annoyance is that the free variant lacks multiple color chroma key tools and can’t be used for resolutions above 1080p.
VSDC supports plenty of useful video editing functions including animations, sprites, transitions, watermarking, blending, overlaying, and masking. Another awesome feature is a free video stabilization tool, which is excellent if you need to improve the quality of shaky clips captured on smartphones.
Read our full VSDC Video Editor review
Other free options to try:
Adobe Spark If you need to trim a video and don't mind the watermark, Adobe Spark can get the job done quickly and easily online. The basic version is free to use, but you'll need a premium account to remove the watermark and perform more advanced editing tasks.
When you need to crop a video to a specific aspect ratio, this simple online tool could be just what you need. It's not suitable for very large files, but you can set the dimensions, select from a list of presets, and position the crop area yourself.
Why should I care about free software?
Video is the new rock’n’roll: where children used to dream of being rock stars, now they dream of being YouTube vloggers. Meanwhile video has become the lingua franca of the internet, from viral clips and video responses to indie films and glossy corporate presentations.
The one thing they almost all have in common is editing. That could be simple trimming to cut a clip at the appropriate place, or it could involve mixing multiple clips together, changing the soundtrack and adding a whole bunch of special effects. To do these things you’ll need a video editing app.
Which programs do most YouTubers use?
Generally speaking YouTubers tend to go for simple, effective and affordable apps. One of the best free apps is Lightworks, which you can get for Windows, Mac and Linux devices. It has integrated YouTube exporting and a bunch of really impressive real-time effects. It looks absolutely terrifying compared to something like Microsoft Photos but it doesn’t take long to learn and it’s a really good editing app.
There are lots of other good options too. HitFilm Pro has a free version but also offers a powerful professional version. The free app DaVinci Resolve is very good, especially on colour correction, and while the VSDC Free Video Editor lacks the hardware acceleration of paid-for editing apps that’s not really an issue if you’re not in a busy working environment.
Which programs do professionals use?
That depends on your definition of 'professionals' and the industry or sector you’re thinking of. Go to Hollywood or a major TV studio and the editing’s almost certainly being done in Avid Media Composer Ultimate.
In ad agencies, indie film studios and businesses making YouTube films you’re more likely to see Adobe Premiere Pro CC or Apple Final Cut Pro X and associated apps such as Adobe’s After Effects, a motion graphics and visual effects app - see above for how well we rate those. These are very, very good tools designed to run on very, very good computers.
Should I pay for a premium option?
To state the blindingly obvious, premium video editors tend to have advantages that free ones don’t. Those advantages tend to come in the form of resources: resources to develop apps that squeeze the most performance out of high-end hardware, resources to develop better effects, resources to fix show-stopping bugs, resources to make sure the app works on the latest hardware, resources to polish the interface and create help files and how-tos and all the other things you’d expect from professional software. But of course, that comes at a price – $300ish for Final Cut Pro X, for example.
If you’re a pro, time is money so you spend money to save time, whether that’s the time it takes to render your footage or the time you can’t afford to spend shouting 'WHY GOD, WHY?' when the app doesn’t do exactly what you want or crashes mid-edit.
Free apps are aimed at a more forgiving and less demanding kind of user. That’s not to say they can’t do great things. They can. But they often take a hand-holding approach that focuses on the basics and doesn’t give you access to the fine detail. They might take a good-enough approach to performance rather than a “Steven Spielberg needs this NOW!” no-compromise approach, and their effects may be simpler than the pro ones.
It can be. Movies made in Apple’s iMovie have wowed crowds at film festivals over the years, and some people have made perfectly good movies using just it and an iPhone.
There are many decent free video apps out there, but there are a few things to consider. Performance, especially encoding and exporting, isn’t always up there with the big hitters, and you’ll often find that features are only available if you buy in-app purchases or just aren’t there at all. Some stick an enormous watermark over everything you output; few offer any kind of technical support. Pro-level features are rarely offered because these apps aren’t designed for video pros.
It’s worth being a bit pedantic here and differentiating between free commercial software and free open source software. The former is often a cut-down version of a full product offered for free in the hope you’ll buy its big brother. The latter is usually a full product made available by individuals or teams of volunteers with no expectation of any financial reward. While open source acts can sometimes lack the polish and/or user-friendliness of commercial software they may well deliver all the features you need without requiring you to spend any money.
Videos are widely used on video sites, social networks, and news platforms for sharing, entertainment, education, and other purposes. With a growing need for videos to convey information, the demand for video editing software surges. For example, you may need to make video clips into an impressive short film for sharing, an amusing video for recreation, an instructional video for education... All these require a video editor.
Many of you look for free video editing software to apply. However, freeware always adds the name or logo of the software to the video automatically, which is undesired. Given that, I'll introduce 8 free video editing software (no watermark) for you.
Top 8 Free Video Editing Software (No Watermark) in 2020
What video editor does not have a watermark? You will know from the list below. Whether you are a beginner or a professional, using Windows or Mac, you will find the free video editing software as you need.
VSDC Free Video Editor - Wide File Formats Support
Applies To: Windows
VSDC Free Video Editor is a video editing software application that helps to edit videos and create videos of any type and of any complexity. It has no watermark, ads, or trial period. And thus it is a good choice for both beginners and professionals.
- Supports a wide range of image/audio/video formats
- Provides an excellent selection of effects, transitions, and filters
- Provides advanced features, like picture-in-picture, video stabilization, and color blending
- Allows to create masks for hiding, blurring, or highlighting the content in the selected area
- Offers the options to export edited videos to social networks
- Allows to share videos to social media and upload videos to YouTube directly
In addition to video editing features, VSDC Free Video Editor is also equipped with extra functions like DVD burning, video converter, video capture, and more. If you want to turn clips into videos via basic skills, this app is advisable for you.
iMovie - Easy to Command
Best Online Editing Software Free
Applies To: macOS and iOS
iMovie is a free video editing software tool developed by Apple for macOS and iOS devices. Simple and intuitive, iMovie is the of the most user-friendly video editors available for beginners. Although being free, iMovie won't add any watermark to the item you edit unless you want.
- Supports video/audio/image editing, such as trimming videos, detaching audio, and sharing photos
- Allows to add transitions and effects
- Provides pre-set trailers and themes
- Supports 4K resolution
- Supports multiple video/audio tracks
Compared with other equivalents, iMovie has an exclusive benefit that it offers the app version of iOS devices. That means you can also edit videos on your mobile device if you need to.
A more advanced video editor that is also developed by Apple is Final Cut Pro X. Compared with iMovie, it has more advanced features and is more suitable for professionals who need professional video editing software and attempt to create videos with high quality. However, Final Cut Pro X is a paid tool and charges $299.99. If you are using a Mac, choose either the free or paid application according to your needs.
VideoProc - One-Stop Video Processing
Applies To: Windows an macOS
VideoProc is a powerful yet free video editing software program with no watermark for beginners who need basic video editing. It supports 4K videos and is compatible with many digital cameras and devices via the built-in wide range of video codec library. And thus is also advisable for users who attempt to make a video without watermark.
- Allows to trim/merge/crop/rotate clips
- Offers visual effects and filters
- Allows to enable, disable, add or export subtitles
- Provides advanced features like video stabilization, Fisheye fixing, noise removal, and GIF-making
- Supports 4K/HD videos from iPhone, GoPro, DJI, and other 4K cameras
Good Editing Software Free Youtube
In addition to common video editing features, there is an exclusive function in VideoProc - hardware acceleration, which contributes to faster file processing. If you have a video to edit, which is large and of high-quality, VideoProc could be helpful for you to experience a smooth editing process.
OpenShot - Award-Winning App
Applies To: Windows, macOS, and Linux
OpenShot is an award-winning, open-source, and free video editing software tool with no watermark. It doesn't overstate the usability of the tool when saying OpenShot is easy to use and quick to learn. You can use it to create stunning videos without worrying about watermark or limitation because all there are what you can use.
- Support video/audio/image editing
- Supports multiple video/audio tracks
- Offers various effects and 3D animations
- Enables slow motion and time effects
- Allows to add titles to videos
A worth-mentioning advantage of OpenShot is that it supports 70+ languages, which is significantly more than other free video editing software. The simple interface and clear feature display make OpenShot a good choice for beginners who have the need for basic video editing.
Shotcut - Timeline Editing Support
Applies To: Windows, macOS, and Linux
If you are searching for 'free video editing software no watermark' in Google, you will find many recommendations of Shotcut. Indeed, when it comes to truly free video editors, Shotcut should count. Shotcut is an open-source and cross-platform program for video editing. It provides enough features for users to turn video clips into amazing videos.
- Supports a wide range of file formats
- Shows excellent compatibility with devices that capture videos and audio
- Provides a flexible and intuitive interface
- Offers unique video effects, filters, and templates
Similar to the freeware introduced above, Shotcut allows no watermark, adds, trial versions, plug-ins, and unrelated bundled software. Being different from other free video editors, file import is not required in Shotcut, due to its native timeline editing feature. Again, if you are a beginner seeking an easy video maker, Shotcut is an option worth considering.
DaVinci Resolve - 8K Video Support
Applies To: Windows, macOS, and Linux
If you are a beginner, you will be overwhelmed by the features of DaVinci Resolve. Personally, DaVinci Resolve is one of the most versatile video editing tools available. This free video editing software offers rich functionality than you may have expected and is well-known for providing professional-level features. Whether you want to create a high-quality video or movie, you can apply this program to get things done.
- Provides basic & advanced video editing options
- Offers intelligent edit modes to auto-sync clips and edit
- Has built-in tools for retiming, stabilization, and transform
- Allows to create projects with different frame rates and resolutions
- Supports frame rate conversions and motion estimation
DaVinci Resolve is an innovative tool for video editing with amazing features like cut page, visual effects, motion graphics, color correction, and more. If you prefer professional video editing software with no watermark that you can use for free, DaVinci Resolve should be your first choice.
Video Grabber - Online Video Editor
Applies To: Any Browser
If you are looking for an online video editor without watermark, Video Grabber will meet your demands perfectly. Editing videos can be easily done via this tool. Users only need to choose a function, import an item, and then create a video according to their needs. If you need to, you can also download the app to edit videos on the computer.
- Supports to edit video online
- Allows to merge/trim/rotate/crop/screenshot/mute/split videos
- Enables audio extraction
- Allows to make GIFs from a video
Video Grabber is a free tool that can serve as a video downloader/editor/converter and screen recorder simultaneously. Given that, it's quite suitable for users who want to make educational videos for teaching.
Blender - Rich Special Effects
Applies To: Windows, macOS, and Linux
Although Blender counts more like a 3D creation tool, it can also work as a free video editing software. Claiming to be free forever, Blender won't add any watermark on the video being edited. What's unbelievable with this freeware is that you have up to 32 tracks to add videos, images, audio files, and more. If the tracks available on other programs are not enough for you, Blender should fulfill your needs.
- Offers live preview, luma waveform, chroma vectorscope, and histogram displays
- Allows audio mixing, syncing, scrubbing and waveform visualization
- Provides up to 32 tracks for adding clips, images, audio, scenes, masks, and effects.
- Enables speed control, adjustment layers, transitions, keyframes, filters and more
Since Blender is an advanced 3D creation tool, it's an optimal choice for users who like to beautify their videos with special effects.
These are the most popular free video editing software (no watermark) in 2020. Apply the one best suited to your needs to start your video editing right now.
Some may say Lightworks is also a free video editor. It used to be but not now. In the latest version of Lightworks, you only have a 7-day free trial to enjoy. Hence, it falls out of the category of free products.
Extra Recommendation: EaseUS Video Editor - Powerful Video Editing Software for Beginners & Pros
Except for DaVinci Resolve which is for professionals, other free software tools are more suitable for users who are beginners of video editing. EaseUS provides free video editing software for beginners and pros to make attracting videos in an easy way. If you want to have a video with no watermark, you can upgrade to the pro version - no watermark, high-quality video, and more features.
- Allows to edit video by trimming/splitting/merging/rotating/mixing the item
- Adds various simple or complex transitions
- Adds filters/titles/subtitles
- Enables multiple video and audio track
- Imports media files from storage devices and videos taken by camcorders, DVs, vidicons, webcams, cell phones...
- Convert video to various formats, like convert YouTube to MP4
- Provides templates that are ready for use
EaseUS Video Editor is near the professional level and thus is recommended for both newbies and professionals.
Other Questions You May Be Interested In
There are some hot questions related to free video editing software.
What video editor does not have a watermark?
A small portion of free tools and paid video editors won't add watermark to the video unless you want. The tools introduced in this article are the ones you can use at no cost.
How do I make a video without a watermark?
To make a video without any sign of the software, you can either use a tool that won't add the name, logo, or sign of the product or remove the sign by using the features.
What is the best free video editing software for beginners?
If you are a Windows user, software like VSDC Video Editor and VideoProc is for you. While if you are a Mac user, iMovie is the best choice for beginners.
The Bottom Line
There is more than one free video editing software without a watermark available. But they vary slightly or significantly in features. Other than the functions you need to change footage to videos, you may also need to consider other features like screen recording and video downloading. Choose the perfect one based on your level and demands.