- What's the best video editing software on Windows
right now, and which one is the best for you,
for your budget, and for your level of experience?
Here's our roundup of the current editing software landscape
and my recommendations on the best ones for you.
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Hey, it's Justin Brown here from Primal Video.
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So, let's jump into it.
Choosing the right video editing software
can be incredibly confusing, no matter what level you're at.
The number of options seems to only be increasing,
which is great for competition and prices
and driving new features, but not so great
if you're trying to weight out your options
and try and figure out which one is right for you.
So we do a video like this every six to 12 months
for both PC and for Mac with an overview
of the current landscape and our recommendations
for best editing software across multiple budgets.
So, from free to $200-plus software.
As always, there have been some big chances
since our last video.
Some of my prior recommendations will still make the cut,
whereas others have fallen behind
and newer options have stepped in to take their place.
Now, just like last time,
I'm going to break this overview down
into multiple pricing categories
so that you can see what's available at each level.
You can hear our recommendations, and if you're
starting out in one of the lower pricing brackets,
then you can know what you're missing out on
or that you could upgrade to later.
And while you're watching, make sure you let us know
what video editing software you're using right now
and what your favorite feature is down in the comments.
It's always interesting to hear the experience
that others are having with their software,
and your suggestions may help others make the call
on which software is right for them.
And once we wrap up looking at all the editing software,
I'm also going to share
my top three tips for editing faster,
no matter what software you're using.
Okay, so now onto the software.
We've broken this down into three categories.
We're going to start of looking at free software.
Then we're going to look at sub-$200,
and then $200-plus.
So let's get started.
So, first up, free software.
Now, these options are really going ahead
in leaps and bounds, and some of the software
that's available these days for free totally beats out
a lot of the paid options available just a few years ago.
So, in this pricing bracket, you've got software
like AVS video editor,
VSDC has a free version,
WeVideo has a free version,
HitFilm Express, Shotcut, Lightworks,
Avid Media Composer First,
and DaVinci Resolve.
This is the first time that we've included VSDC Free
and Avid Media Composer First as well.
And in the last one, we had Windows Movie Maker,
which still seems to be an obvious choice for people
when they're looking for Windows video editing software,
but it's now no longer officially supported.
So you actually can't download it anymore.
So that's why it's not on our list.
Now, after testing all of these, my top two picks are VSDC
and DaVinci Resolve.
Now, for someone who's just starting out with video editing,
I really like that VSDC is really easy to use.
It's pretty intuitive.
It runs really, really well,
and you don't need to have the latest and greatest system
to be able to run everything in it,
but if you do have a decent system,
it's gonna take use of that hardware
and accelerate everything for you.
So, for someone that's an absolute beginner
up to maybe intermediate, or someone
that's not looking for all the additional bells and whistles
and isn't looking to do any professional projects,
just wants to edit basic videos or YouTube videos,
then this will be perfect for you.
And DaVinci Resolve is something that's really a no-brainer.
It is more complicated to use.
It is actually professional video editing software
that they use to cut feature films
and color grade feature films.
So it is an awesome feature set
that you're getting for nothing.
So it is definitely worth using and worth learning
if you're looking to create more advanced videos
or if you're just starting out and you're looking
for the best free piece of software to learn
that is scalable,
because you can move up to the paid version as well,
then I would recommend DaVinci Resolve.
The feature set is just insane.
The performance that you'll get editing both consumer grade
and professional video files is just insane.
Now, if I had to pick a winner
for best overall free video editing software on Windows,
it's going to go to DaVinci Resolve.
Really, there is nothing better in the free category
for video editing software, but it could probably be
a bit too advanced for someone
that is an absolute beginner for video editing,
and for them, I recommend VSDC.
And with the free version of DaVinci Resolve,
there really aren't too many limitations.
Obviously, there is a paid version as well,
which we will cover a bit later on,
but you're not really missing out on too much
in the free version, which is what makes this so amazing.
So the next category we're going to look at
is the sub-$200 category.
So, in here, what you'll normally find with these pieces
of software is that they are not
cut down pieces of software.
Normally, these are a full end-to-end editing solution,
meaning that you won't have to pay any additional fees
to remove things like watermarks
or to pay for additional features.
So, typically, everything in here, as I said,
will work as a full end-to-end solution.
So the reason we picked $200 as the cutoff
and sub $200 for this category
is because there's a lot of software
that sits around that $150- to $199-price point,
and above that,
there's actually a pretty decent gap between the $200
and some of the other more professional options.
So that's why we picked $200.
So, let's jump in and see
what editing software is in this category.
So in here, you've got software like VSDC Pro,
so the paid version.
You've got Film Aura, WeVideo,
and that's the paid version of it,
the watermark-free version, Magix Movie Edit Pro Premium,
Adobe Premiere Elements, CyberLink PowerDirector,
Camtasia, and Lightworks Pro.
So all of these pieces of software,
whether they're subscription-based or not,
will not cost you more than $200 for the year
or $200 outright to purchase this software.
Now, moving into this price bracket,
the free options still apply.
One of them that stacks up is DaVinci Resolve.
It's super powerful, as we've just covered
when we spoke about it in the free software
for professional video editing and for someone looking
for the most advanced piece
of video editing software that is free,
but now we'll be looking at the other options here as well
that weren't available in the free space.
My top three picks are Adobe Premiere Elements,
CyberLink PowerDirector, and WeVideo.
Now, while Film Aura and VSDC Pro aren't
in my top three picks here, if you try my top three picks
and you aren't a big fan,
then I would recommend to check out those next,
because they are still a solid solution for editing videos.
They are rather powerful as well.
So WeVideo is a subscription-based
online cloud-based editing solution,
meaning that it all runs in your web browser.
There's no software to download and install.
It's amazing for collaborative video editing
where you can upload your files and have people
from anywhere in the world working with you,
helping you edit your projects down.
It also means you can edit your videos
on systems that don't need to be powerful at all,
'cause all the processing is done on the cloud.
So, as I said, it is subscription-based,
meaning that you'll be paying per month
to be able to access and to be able to use the application.
But it only comes in at around five dollars per month
if you wanna export up to 720p video files,
and if you want the top plan at around eight dollars,
that'll give you access to 40k and 1080p exports as well.
So, amazing.
I really like that Adobe Premiere Elements
is essentially just a cut-down version of the professional
Adobe Premiere Pro, which makes it a great option
for someone that's starting out video editing
and wanting to come into the game at that $99-price point
for Premiere Elements with the option in mind
or with the goal in mind to upgrade later
to Adobe Premiere Pro, if that's what you're after.
You don't have to.
It will still do everything that you want.
There's a great range of file types and compatibility.
The performance is all there.
It is a solid editing solution,
but having that logical step up or logical progression
to the professional version is a great thing to have
if you're looking to advance your video editing.
And I really like CyberLink PowerDirector,
how it's not just video editing.
It's also got a built-in screen recorder
that works really, really well.
It ties directly into your GPU,
so it's really powerful,
and your render times are really fast.
It's got things like 360 video editing built in,
so at that $65-price point for CyberLink PowerDirector,
it is a really solid solution for video editing on Windows.
So, if I had to pick a winner out of these three,
WeVideo, Adobe Premiere Elements,
and CyberLink PowerDirector for the sub-$200 category,
I would pick Adobe Premiere Elements.
That would be my recommendation,
because it has that logical step up to Adobe Premiere Pro.
If you learn one, you can easily move to the other,
which is really, really powerful.
Now, obviously, with all video editing software,
it's really important to keep in mind
that they are just tools to get the job done.
As I've said, there's for's and against
for all of these pieces of video editing software,
and what works best for you
might be totally different to someone else.
So wherever possible, download the trial versions.
Give as many as you can a go,
and see which one works best for you, for your workflow,
and for the type of videos you're creating,
because they are essentially just tools to edit video,
tools to get the job done.
So if you take that approach when you're looking at videos,
look for the best tool for you.
Obviously then if you're looking
for a cloud-based editing solution,
then the no-brainer answer there is WeVideo,
or if you're really interested in doing 360 videos
and doing them well,
then PowerDirector may be the option for you.
But overall, my recommendation
in this category is Adobe Premiere Elements.
Okay, so now onto the final category,
which is $200-plus.
So in this category, we're really looking
at all the professional-grade editing packages.
So the biggest things that you'll usually find
with these pieces of editing software
is you'll have more control over your edit,
so you'll have much more advanced feature set.
You'll have much more advanced tools
in regards to color correction.
You usually have a much large range of file types
or Codecs that you can use in your projects.
These software applications will be much more robust
and solid for longer-form projects like documentaries.
They're going to not crash as much
and be much more friendly to working with multiple editors
or a team to help you create your videos.
So this is really where you're going to get
all the advanced bells and whistles,
things like stabilizers built in,
better text effects, better animations,
better graphics integrations.
This is all the professional software.
Now, it's important to note with these once again
that some of these are subscription-based,
like you've got Avid Media Composer,
which is around $50 per month,
and you've got Adobe Premiere Pro,
which is around $20 per month, and the others are paid.
So HitFilm Pro sells for 349, VEGAS Pro Edit at 399,
and DaVinci Resolve Studio currently selling for 299.
Now, after testing all of these,
my top two picks here
are Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve Studio.
Now, with DaVinci Resolve, we're already said
it's an amazing pice of software for free.
So the biggest differences that you get
with the paid version include more GPU effects
or effects that are going to utilize your video card
for faster rendering and better performance,
but also things like true 4k and higher than 4k resolutions
that you can edit for your projects.
There's also a heap more really advanced color correction
tools and features that they've got in there as well.
Adobe Premiere Pro is probably the most popular
video editing application in this category.
It seems to be one that, if you mention
video editing software on Windows or Mac, that a lot
of people would have at least heard of Adobe Premiere Pro.
And that's for good reason.
It has an amazing feature set.
The color correction
and color tools in there are really, really good.
It is amazing to work with teams as well
to simply share the video projects
or use the Adobe Cloud to work with your team remotely.
It is a really solid solution for professional
video editing but also for smaller project as well.
There's a lot of people that are starting out their
YouTube channels and jumping straight into Adobe Premiere.
Now, picking a winner in this category
out of DaVinci Resolve and Adobe Premiere Pro is probably
the hardest decision out of all the other ones previous.
I have been a long-time Adobe Premiere user,
after I was an Avid user for many years before that.
So I went to Avid, to Premiere.
Now I'm using Final Cut a lot as well,
but I'm really, really impressed with DaVinci Resolve.
But I feel that Adobe Premiere Pro
is still the more complete package at this point.
So my recommendation in this category
will go to Adobe Premiere Pro.
I really like the integration that you have
with the rest of the Adobe Suite.
A lot of people are turned off by the subscription model,
that is is $20 a month, but really,
if you're taking your video editing seriously
and you buy the whole package and you get Photoshop
and After Effects and everything built in,
then it is a solid solution to allow you to do everything.
Your motion graphics, your video editing,
your color, all in one place.
So for that, it's really, really powerful,
and that's why it's my pick.
So I understand that all of that
is definitely a lot to take in,
but before we wrap up with my top three tips
for editing faster in any software,
let's do a quick recap.
Out of all the free video editing software on Windows,
and there is a heap of them, we narrowed it down to two,
VSDC and to DaVinci Resolve, with my pick
or my recommendation being DaVinci Resolve.
And then in the sub-$200 category,
we narrowed all the options down to WeVideo,
CyberLink PowerDirector, and Adobe Premiere Elements
with my recommendation going to Adobe Premiere Elements,
and then in the $200-plus category,
so this is where all the professional video editing
software is, we narrowed it down
to Adobe Premiere Pre and DaVinci Resolve Studio,
with my pick going to Adobe Premiere Pro.
Okay, so my top three tips
to help you edit your videos faster.
The first one is to be aware
that your editing actually starts in your filming.
So when you're filming,
make sure that you're not filming a heap of extra footage
that you know you're not ever going to use
or is not ever going to make the cut for your final edit.
So be conservative with the footage
that you're actually capturing,
because then less footage in your editing
means that you'll be able to edit faster
because you've got less footage to go through.
So, consider your editing while you're filming,
and that alone will help you edit faster
because you've got less footage to deal with.
Tip number two is when you're filming, once again,
make sure that you're only moving onto the next section
or next dot point, next paragraph,
when you've nailed the last take
or when you're happy with the last take.
So make your best take the last one.
And then in your video editing,
instead of working from left to right,
edit backwards and edit from right to left.
So that way, you'll always hit that best take first,
and then you can go back through, remove all the mistakes,
and then you'll get the next best take.
So it makes it a much faster way
to edit down a heap of footage to just the best takes
or just the content really, really fast.
And tip number three is to save all your effects,
your color corrections and everything 'til last.
Most people get excited and wanna jump straight in
and start applying effects and making their footage
look good before they've actually gone through the process
of editing their footage down.
So all this does it put your computer or your iPad
or your Android device, whatever you're editing on,
under a heap of load and slows down the entire process.
So focus on cutting all of that footage
down to something small and manageable first,
and then you can start making it look good
by applying your color corrections and effects.
So, don't do that stuff until later.
Now, these are just three tips from our full
video editing process guide called The Primal Video Method.
There's a link to where you can watch the video
talking through the entire method onscreen now
and also a direct link to where you can download
the .pdf version as well.
I'll see you soon.