- What's the best free video editing software
for Mac and windows PC right now?
Well, after putting all the leading options,
without watermarks, on both platforms to the test,
in this video I'll run through everything
that you need to know so that you can decide
which one is the best free video editor for you,
including my top recommendations on both platforms.
Hey, it's Justin Brown here from Primal Video
where we help you grow an audience
and scale your revenue with online video.
If you're new here,
make sure you click that subscribe button.
And if you're seeing value in this video
make sure you hit that thumbs up button as well.
Oh, and all the links to everything I mention,
you can find the links in the description box below.
Let's jump into it.
So if you're looking to level up your video creation
but you don't have the budget to splurge on more
expensive options like Adobe Premier Pro or Final Cut,
the good news is that there are a ton
of powerful free video editors
for PC and Mac to choose from.
But we all know that more options means
a much harder decision to determine
which one is the best for your workflow.
So in the next few minutes, I'm going to be condensing
what we've learned from days of testing,
covering the pros and cons of all the best video editors
to help you quickly identify
the best option for you right now.
And while you're watching,
if you hear me mention the software
that you're using right now,
make sure you drop a comment with the number one thing
that you think others should know about it.
Is there a killer feature that people should know about?
Is there something that you absolutely hate about it?
Let everyone know to save them time when they're deciding.
And then once we're done with my recommendations,
I'm also going to share with you
my number one source for quickly and easily
creating video animations for your videos.
So getting to the recommendations,
my top picks right now come down to iMovie,
Shotcut and DaVinci Resolve.
Now I'm going to dive into each one of these
to help you decide which one is the right one for you,
along with any requirements
or things that you need to be aware of
like if it'll work on your computer or not.
So the first one then is iMovie.
Now this is only available for Mac users.
There's not a PC version of this one, unfortunately,
but this is an amazing free video editing program
with a really easy to use and really intuitive interface.
They make it really easy for anyone to start editing,
even if you're an absolute beginner
and have never edited before,
you'll be able to figure out iMovie pretty quick.
Now, while it's the simplest
and easiest to use out of my shortlist,
it's also the one with probably the least amount of features
or customization or advanced controls
when comparing it to the other options as well.
But what it does have is a clear upgrade path
for those that are looking for those
more advanced features and controls
to the big brother application Final Cut,
which shares a very similar interface.
So, if you learn and master iMovie,
then you can easily transition up to Final Cut
if you have the need to.
I'd say the biggest drawback with iMovie right now
is that they still don't support portrait videos.
So if you want to be editing down
things like Instagram stories or YouTube stories,
then that's really not something
you can do easily in iMovie.
But for regular widescreen videos
like YouTube content, then it's fine.
So the next one then is Shotcut.
And this will work on both Mac and PC.
Now this one isn't as intuitive
or as easy to use as something like iMovie,
but this is still going to be great
whether you're an absolute beginner
right through to someone at the more advanced end of things,
once you figure out where everything is
and how it all works together.
Now this one does have a lot more
advanced features and control in it.
Then something like iMovie,
things like being able to customize
all of your settings around your video files
that you're saving out,
or also giving you the ability
to edit things like portrait videos,
which you couldn't do in iMovie.
So while that initial learning curve in Shotcut
may be a little bit steeper, for figuring everything out,
you still have the beauty of having
a streamline video editor, allowing you to edit fast,
with a lot of the more advanced features in there as well.
And the third recommendation then is DaVinci Resolve,
which will also work on both Mac and PC.
Now this one is hands down
the most professional video editing software out there
on Mac or PC for free.
It is actually ridiculous what they're
giving you access to for free.
People literally use this to edit
top level movies, documentaries, TV shows.
This software is the real deal.
It's also the most complicated,
especially for an absolute beginner
to jump in and start seeing results with it.
The tools and the features and everything you get access to
inside of Resolve really are at that top pro level,
which also means that you're going to need to have
a fairly powerful computer to be able to run it
and to be able to run it smoothly.
Now, from this free version, there is also a studio version
a paid version of DaVinci Resolve
which unlocks more advanced filters and effects
and higher resolutions and higher frame rates.
And also will let you take advantage
of more powerful computers and video cards as well.
But in saying that probably most people
are going to be using this,
aren't going to be hitting those limits
or seeing this as restrictions
for what they're able to do inside
of the free version of resolve.
So those are my top three recommendations right now,
iMovie, Shotcut and DaVinci Resolve.
But which one is right for you
and what are my recommendations?
I think if you're on a Mac
and you're an absolute beginner
right through to that intermediate level,
iMovie could be the perfect option for you,
given how simple it is to use,
how intuitive it is to get in there and get editing fast.
If you don't need any of those more advanced features
or pro level features, then iMovie
could be the perfect application for you.
Shotcut is going to be perfect for anyone,
whether you're on Mac or PC,
whether you're an absolute beginner
right through to someone on that
intermediate to advanced end,
because it's going to be easy enough for you
to get up to speed and editing things down fast,
but still having access to those
more advanced features to let you dial in
and get more control over your edits as you need it.
Whereas DaVinci Resolve is really going to be suited
for someone at that intermediate level,
right through to advanced or pro level video editing.
Someone looking for all of those
advanced top level features and control,
or also someone who really wants to learn
and master professional video editing application
and is willing to invest that time to do so.
But also probably someone that has a
more powerful computer system as well.
Now, if you want to learn how to edit
in any one of these three applications
we have videos linked below
where there are complete walkthrough tutorials
showing you how to edit fast and efficiently
in iMovie, in Shotcut and DaVinci Resolve.
So definitely check out those links
in the description below.
Now, earlier in the video, I said
I'd also share with you our number one source
for creating video animations right now.
Showing you how to create custom intros
and titles and graphics really quickly and easily.
Just like the ones you're seeing on screen right now.
Well, these are done in a service called Placeit
and there is a link onscreen now
where we take you through how you can
create your own graphics and animations using Placeit
and taking you through the process step-by-step.
So check out that video
and I'll see you in the next one.