Free video editors are great for creators who can’t justify the costs of Adobe Premiere, Sony Vegas, and other proprietary options. Maybe they don’t work on your operating system (OS), at least without a lot of extra configurations like a virtual machine (VM) or dedicated partition for a supported OS.
Videos, similar to podcasts, are great for expanding your reach to more people. And there are quality, open source video editors for your creative suite, regardless of your Unix distribution.
Below are free video editors for editing videos via desktop, online, or command-line interface (CLI).
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InVideo Online Video Editor
InVideo.io is an online video editor ideal for Chromebook users and creators constantly on the go. Notable features include video templates, watermark free videos, and live support. There’s a lot of template multimedia content you can use, customize, and automate with ease.
Pros:
- Very user-friendly
- WYSIWYG drag-and-drop interface with lots of video, music, and graphic templates to choose from
Cons:
- Online only
- Need a paid account for other features including 1080p renders, watermark removal, and more than 1GB cloud storage
To get started, create an InVideo.io account with your email address and phone number.
Blender
Blender, unlike the others on this list, isn’t primarily a video editor. It’s more of a visual production suite capable of 3D modeling, story art, VFX, and much more.
Blender does include a basic video and audio editing interface with more than enough features for the casual video editor.
Pros:
- Perfect all-in-one solution for versatile graphic and visual artists
- Good documentation
Cons:
- Overkill for creators only needing a video editor
- Video editor section takes time to learn
Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
kdenlive
kdenlive is an in-depth, multi-track video editor with plenty of effects, transition, and final rendering options. You can create titles, automate effects, and make changes within the interface to fit your workflow. It even supports screencasting.
Pros:
- Lots of useful audio and visual effects including compression, limiting, cropping, and fades
- Plenty of documentation
- Automatic backups
Cons:
- Lots of available features may seem overwhelming for those new to video editing
- MacOS users will need to install outdated MacPorts package
Available for Linux, Windows, and MacOS.
OpenShot
OpenShot is a solid video editor with essential capabilities to render less complex video projects. There aren’t many effects to choose from but there are dozens of transition styles for fading into another video track. The workflow is a bit different as it requires you to make many adjustments via sliders.
Pros:
- Easy to navigate
- ChromeOS download option
- Active, transparent development for stability and support via GitHub
Cons:
- Minimal drag-and-drop functionality within the timeline
- Workflow requires sliders and drop-down options which could take time to get used to
Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
PiTiVi
PiTiVi is another basic video editor with essential functions for simple video renders. It has just enough for creating podcast video renders for YouTube.
Pros:
- Many native effects available
Cons:
- Only available on Linux
- Basic features only
Available for Linux.
Flowblade
Flowblade has plenty of effects, transition, and rendering options. It also includes two workflows: one similar to most other video editors and film style for insert editing.
Pros:
- Good collection of creative visual effects
- Easy to navigate
Cons:
- Only available on Linux
- Advanced audio effects like compression and limiting may require a separate audio editor
Available for Linux.
FFMPEG
We’ve covered how to create audio spectrum visuals and convert media files with the FFMPEG CLI application. Within your terminal, you can also cut, crop, resize, and even combine videos with audio files. You can learn more from their official documentation and Wiki. Since both can be very difficult to understand, we recommend browsing for vetted, example code from trusted websites.
Pros:
- Light-weight
- Can be installed on web servers and desktops
Cons:
- CLI only, although you can download graphic wrappers to use features on PCs
Available for Debian, CentOS, and more. It may even be installed on your Linux server already.
Other Free Video Editors
Find more free video editors at alternativeto.net.
What great, free video editors are missing from our list? What tasks would you like to see covered with these video editors? Let us know in the comments below.
Learn more about video editing from our Live Broadcasting Education Channel.
