Best Free Video Editing Software 2017

In this blog post we will once again be looking at some of the best free video editing softwares available I have actually compiled.

#1 HITFILM 4 EXPRESS

HITFILM 4 EXPRESS is probably the best video editing program available today. It is a non-linear editor developed by FXHOME that is compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems.

Non-linear basically means it has a time line with multiple video and audio tracks so that you can stack and combine multiple video clips, audio, images and other things.

The interface is very user friendly and reminds me of many commercial editing programs like Adobe Premiere Pro.

HITFILM also supports special effects and add-ons, some of which are free and others you can buy from HITFILM through their software. Kind of like buying in-app purchases in a mobile application.

To download HITFILM 4 EXPRESS, go to hitfilm.com/express and click on get started now button then click on get hitfilm express free and create an account. If you are signing up for the first time, it will ask you to share hitfilm on one of your social media accounts such as twitter or Facebook.

Once you have registered, you will be send an email to the download. Then simply download the software and install it which is a fairly straight forward process.

When you open hitfilm for the first time, you will want to activate it to get access to all the features such as exporting your project as an MP4 or AVI file.

To do this, simply click on the ACTIVATE & UNLOCK button then login with your account you created before downloading. Once you are done, just click on the New button on the upper left corner to begin editing.

SUMMARY: HITFILM 4 EXPRESS

Pros (RATING: 9/10)

Non Linear Editor
Extensive Special Effects Support
User-Friendly Interface

Cons

Poor Format Support (Project files may need converting to different formats)

#2 DAVINCI RESOLVE

Davinci Resolve is a non-linear editor originally developed as a color grading system back in the 2000s. It is available for both Windows and Mac computers.

Resolve was originally created by Davinci sisters but it is now developed by Black Magic Design.

In some ways I prefer davinci resolve because the interface feels a bit more familiar than the hitfilm express interface but overall as standard NLE video editing program, they are pretty much equal. However hitfilm does offer more features with its special effects, add-ons and it exports Mp4 rather than Mov as Davinci Resolve does.

To get Davinci Resolve, go to blackmagicdesign.com and click on the download button then choose your operating system. After that enter in your details and when you are done, click register and download. Then download the Zip file.

Once the file is downloaded, head over to the containing folder and extract the zip file and then activate the installer.

When you open the software for the first time, you can explore a tour of the features and also setup your initial settings through a quick setup guide.

Once you are in the actual program, just click on the new project button on the lower right corner to begin editing.

SUMMARY: DAVINCI RESOLVE

Pros (RATING: 8.5/10)

Non- Linear Editor
User-Friendly Interface
Easy To Use

Cons

Poor Format Support
Limited Special Effects Support

#3 VSDC Free Video Editor

In the last year, they have actually made some decent improvement to their software including a new interface and also removing the adware that they previously had bundled in their installer.

VSDC Free Video Editor is a non-linear editor for windows only developed by Flash integro.

One good thing about VSDC is that it also has webcam and screen capture features in addition to its video editor which makes it more of a video editing suite than just an editor.

Although its screen capture feature is not very advance, it is still usable for capturing your desktop possibly some gaming.

The editor also supports a number of video and audio effects such as transitions and filters as well as 2k and 4k ultra high definition editing and exporting videos in various formats.

To download VSDC, just go videosoftdev.com/free-video-editor and click on the download video editor then simply download the installer and follow the instructions after the download is complete.

There is no registration or anything like that required

SUMMARY: VSDC FREE VIDEO EDITOR

Pros (RATING: 7/10)

Non-linear editor
Screen capture capability

Cons

Sometime crashes while exporting
Interface can be a bit confusing

#4 BLENDER

Blender is actually open source, 3D modeling and animation program developed by the Blender foundation which can also be setup for also non- linear editing.

It is available for Windows, Mac and Linux. Blender is however a bit more complex than hitfilm or davinci as it is not properly setup out of the box. You have to make quite a bit adjustments to turn blender into a proper video editor with efficient work flow.

If there is any advice I could give the developers is that they should have a feature to quickly transition the interface from a graphics and 3D modelling editor to a proper NLE video editor but if you enjoy a bit of a challenge then blender is something to consider.

However even if you decide to go with some other video editing software, blender is still a useful tool to have in your kit because you can download templates and make some really cool 3D graphics with blender which may be useful if you want to make an intro for YouTube videos for example.

SUMMARY: BLENDER

Pros (RATING: 7/10)

Non-linear editor
Excellent graphics support

Cons

Poor video editing interface out of the box
Harder to learn than other editors
Requires a lot of tweaking to work for editing

#5 Windows Movie Maker

Window movie maker is really easy to use and it is still fairly useful for simple video editing like if you only need to make the occasional video and you don’t really feel like investing a lot of time into learning how to use one of the most advanced editors in this review.

I actually still use movie maker from time to time to convert videos encoded in odd format to full HD MP4 files.

Windows movie maker is part of a software bundle called windows essentials 2012.

To download movie maker, simply type download windows movie maker into google then go to one of the first results which should be on Microsoft.com.

Scroll down a bit, there should be a link on the right with the text get it now. Just click on that and download the file.

The Mac counterpart for movie maker would be iMovie which should be installed on most Mac computers by default.

For Linux users I will recommend checking out open shots, Pitivi and CINELERRA in addition to blender.

SUMMARY: WINDOWS MOVIE MAKER

Pros (RATING: 6.5/10)

Excellent format support
Easy to learn

Cons

Limited features
Not an NLE editor
No more updates after January 2017

Personally I use adobe premiere pro for most of my editing and adobe after effect for some of the transitions and other graphics.

You can get Premier pro for $20 per month or the entire app collection including Photoshop and after effects for $50 per month.

If you found this review helpful please don’t hesitate to share with friends because it means a lot to me. If you have any questions or suggestions, you can let me know down in the comment section below.

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