What's the Best Free Video Editor for PC?

[Octoruss]

Hi friends,

Us PC users all know about windows Movie Maker, the free program that comes with our PCs. And for most purposes, it does a decent job.

But if you're looking to go one step up and get a bit more features, what FREE video editing software do you recommend?

 

[tcope]

This question gets asked about once a week. You may want to review the prior threads posted below on this page.

 

[4wd]

There's no easy answer because the 'best' could mean different things.
Most features? Easiest to use? Quicker to render?

Not much harder than Moviemaker try GoPro Studio - works quite well with Phantom files and lots of help online if you get stuck.
A rather nice one I came across recently is called Shotcut - not such a glitzy interface but very capable Open Source option.

 

[Jesse B.]

I agree with the gopro studio. that's what I use. tons of information on youtube of how to use it to its full pontential.

 

[Scotty88]

I agree with the gopro studio. that's what I use. tons of information on youtube of how to use it to its full pontential.

How do you get it to work right? I tried and could not edit due to it not being from s GoPro device. What's the trick?

 

[Mark The Droner]

I suggest VSDC

 

[drunkpenguin]

I know you asked for free, but if you ever decided to get into some really powerful editing you might want to consider Adobe Premiere. It is professional grade software and they let you rent it for 30 bucks a month. So you can rent it for a project and then stop using it, rent it again later. There's a learning curve, but SOOOO much more you can do with it.

 

[Hickeroar]

For anyone considering "almost free," you could look into Adobe Premier. They have a $20/mo subscription for it (if you commit to a full year, $30/mo otherwise), which is a steal in the grand scheme of high-end video editing software.

Adobe Creative Cloud

EDIT: Just realized the person above me said the same thing. Oops.

 

[drunkpenguin]

^lol. I love Premier! I've been using it on and off for years tho. It's not the best rookie software, but once you learn it I wouldn't want to use anything else.

 

[rcheing]

Where do you guys leave DaVinci Resolve? It's free for 1080p editing and the color grading is unmatched!

Blackmagic Design: DaVinci Resolve 12

 

[ElGringoRojo]

There's no easy answer because the 'best' could mean different things.
Most features? Easiest to use? Quicker to render?

Not much harder than Moviemaker try GoPro Studio - works quite well with Phantom files and lots of help online if you get stuck.
A rather nice one I came across recently is called Shotcut - not such a glitzy interface but very capable Open Source option.

When I import my .MOV files into Go Pro Studio the length of the clip shows, but the video is all black. Do you know how to resolve this or have you had different results?

Thank you

 

[matti]

When I import my .MOV files into Go Pro Studio the length of the clip shows, but the video is all black.

.mov and .mp4 are the same codec inside a different wrapper. Have you tried .mp4?

 

[theTastyCat]

I've been trying several programs and finally went back to learn Davinci Resolve...good God. It is fantastic. Fully featured editor and the best color correction out there. Yes, there is a learning curve, but just spend 30 minutes watching some youtube tutorials and then you'll be able to do some pro stuff. And it does 4k - really nothing missing featurewise. Makes everything else I've tried seem really amateurish. Can't for the life of me figure out why it's free!

 

[q4quads]

I also agree with using shotcut. So far a very capable program for what we need it for and it is open source free!