What Free Video EDITING Software Should You Use for Your Marketing Needs?

If you want to produce professional-looking videos, you need to use software that can help you make that happen. It’s no secret that almost all videos you see by brands on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube were edited in some fashion, which has helped them look as polished as they do.

If you’re working in marketing, you already know that videos are perhaps the most engaging form of media there is – more than photos, infographics, or blogs. That’s because they require less focus and are quicker to consume for most audiences, regardless of age, profession, and level of education.

In fact, if you ask most businesses, they will likely tell you that taking the time to create promotional videos helped them grow their brand more than any other kind of content they posted online. That is why, when you decide to take a similar step, you have to be prepared.

In this article, we will go over some of the best free video editing software on the market so that you can make a choice as to what application to use and which one will best fit your personal needs.

10 Best Free Video Editing Software Platforms to Use

Nowadays, making videos is something that almost everyone does – regardless if it’s professionally or only for fun – from teenagers to influencers and celebrities and also marketers. TikTok has been the fastest growing social media for the last two years, and it’s made up of all videos and no other kinds of content. All of these recent developments and the focus on creating great videos have led to many software companies developing video editing software that’s easy to use, reliable, and that can help anyone turn a phone clip into a professional-looking video.

However, not all applications you will find online are made equal, and most of them will require some kind of payment. That’s why we’ve done our research and managed to gather 10 video editing tools that are not only great to use but also free of charge. For small businesses and content creators, not spending extra money on all sorts of applications is vital, and we’re hopeful that our list will enable you to save some dollars off your budget.

Now, without further ado, let’s get started.

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HitFilm Express

This software has both a free standard version and a paid pro one, which gives you the option to upgrade if you deem it necessary. It works with both Mac and Windows computers, and it leaves no watermarks on the videos you edit with it. In the beginning, HitFilm can be a little tough to work with for people who have zero experience with video editing and are just getting started. It’s typically used to produce movies, so the learning curve is quite steep. However, if you plan on producing video content long-term, it’s definitely worth investing time and effort into learning.

HitFilm has animation tools, enables you to produce cool 3D effects for even YouTube videos, and allows you to create and edit video and audio transitions without composite shots, which saves you a ton of time. Along with that, if you decide to purchase the paid version, you’re getting 4K video, 360-degree editing, and a large variety of special effects.

Highlighted features:

  • Professional video editing with color pickers, cropping tools, and motion tracking
  • Composite shots improvement that enables you to animate two separate shots together when doing video effects
  • An auto-stabilizer that makes shaky footage look smoother
  • Unlimited audio and video timeline track creation
  • A trimmer that enables you to continue making changes to clips, even after adding them to the timeline
  • The option to copy one group of attributes from one clip and apply them to another or to a different project
  • Audio mixer
  • Various options for transitions such as zoom, dissolve and push

Lightworks

In contrast to HitFilm, Lightworks is easy to work with and pretty intuitive, so it’s easy to understand even for people who have never done video editing before. It also has a large collection of incredible video tutorials, making it even more accessible to business owners and other experts who have never worked with videos. It’s available for Mac, Windows, and even Linux users, and it has a free and a pro version, with the free version being more limited compared to others we will offer on this list.

Lightworks also has a good amount of stock music clips and videos that you can use and edit if you want to give a more professional look to your video.

Highlighted features:

  • A simple trim function that lets you edit clips fastly and precisely
  • Speed optimization – you can do editing and add new content
  • Multicam editing lets you sync videos from multiple cameras
  • Real-time project sharing that enables you to share your content with others and work on it simultaneously
  • Support of most video formats
  • Easy to share to most social media networks, including Instagram and YouTube

VideoPad

VideoPad is a great option for all beginners. It’s available for both Mac and Windows OS, and it’s a good option for people who want to create good videos without spending money or dedicating too much of their time. VideoPad is full of easy-to-use features, such as a sound effects library and 3D video editing – that way, you can make your videos more entertaining and visually appealing.

You can also add special effects, texts, transitions, and overlays, as well as use sound effects and color adjustment. Your finished videos can easily get exported to Google Drive or directly to social media networks such as YouTube, Facebook and others.
The only drawback to this otherwise fantastic software is that it’s too simple for professionals who want to and can do heavy editing. It doesn’t have a ton of advanced features. However, for beginners, features such as improving colors, adding light effects, and overlaying images and text are enough to make the software worth it.

Highlighted features:

  • Built-in double screen (one for viewing selected clips and one to view the complete sequence) that makes it easy for you to edit long-form videos
  • Pre-made transitions that you can customize but make your videos look more polished
  • Ability to export presets so that you can create video files for specific platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram. Then you can also post them directly from the software.
  • Social media publishing and sharing tools
  • An extensive library of visual effects and video transitions that you can use to customize videos
  • Video optimization tools

DaVinci Resolve

DaVinci Resolve is a professional video editing software that has features such as 8K editing, visual effects, color correction, audio post-production, and more. It’s why it’s the application most used by professional editors of television shows, commercials, and even movies.

DaVinci lets you edit both online and offline, and it has a high-performance playback engine that saves you time when you’re editing videos and trimming clips. For beginners, the vast number of tools and features that DaVinci offers might be overwhelming, but for more advanced users, it’s the tool to have.

Highlighted features:

  • Dual time that allows users to navigate quickly between cutting and trimming
  • A special trim interface that enables you to edit in detail
  • Auto-editing that automatically syncs video and audio clips
  • Built-in tools for picture-in-picture effects, stabilization, retiming, dynamic zoom, audio, and text
  • Facial recognition detects faces in your videos and creates smart bins based on the people in each shot
  • Motion estimation features that realistically speed up or slow down clips

VSDC Free Video Editor

There’s no better option for video editing for Windows than the VSDC video editor. It’s a free, no watermark video editing software available only for computers that use Windows OS, and its free version comes with many of the key features you need to do different kinds of editing – including a mask tool and functionality for green-screen video effects. Typically, users who love GoPro also use this software to edit their clips.

If you decide to pay $19.99 for the pro version, you will also get access to many more tools, such as video stabilization, 3D diagram templates, direct social media publishing, and robust post-production effects.

Highlighted features:

  • Many transitional effects
  • Easy-to-navigate image filters, similar to what you’re used to using on Instagram
  • Color-correction tools
  • Mask tools that enable you to highlight or hide specific elements
  • Social media links for sharing on different platforms

OpenShot

OpenShot is a piece of software that’s easy to navigate and use, great for entry-level and intermediate editors, and available for all possible OS – Linux, Windows, and Mac. It has an intuitive interface and a minimalistic design that’s preferred by many marketers, as it makes editing quicker.

OpenShot is a terrific option for marketers and is the best for clip scaling, trimming, resizing, snapping, and rotation. It also has time mapping, audio editing, and real-time preview, basically, all you need to create an excellent video for marketing purposes.

Highlighted features:

  • Customizable title-card templates
  • Unlimited layers for background videos, watermarks, and audio tracks
  • Drag-and-drop functionality that lets you quickly add image, video, and audio files
  • Digital video effects, including gamma, hue, greyscale, brightness, and chroma key compositing for green-screen effects
  • Powerful key-frame animation capabilities if you want to create animated videos

Shotcut

Shotcut is an open-source, cross-platform video editing tool with an extensive collection of online video tutorials. It supports most video formats, including rare ones such as 4K, FFmpeg, and DNxHD. It was originally designed to be used on Linux OS, so the interface is not the easiest to adapt to. Still, it’s a great option.

It gives you extensive audio editing options, so it’s perfect for ASMR content. Also, if your videos focus more on the music, it lets you edit bass and treble, create bandpass filters, add dynamic compression, and more.

Highlighted features:

  • Support for many video and audio formats via FFmpeg
  • Native timeline editing, which enables users to import video files directly into their project file
  • Support for AV1 encoding and decoding
  • Advanced audio filters like bass, treble, and balance
  • Multiformat timeline for matching and mixing resolutions and frame rates within a project

Vimeo Create

Vimeo Create is an incredible software that’s free and that you can directly connect to your Shopify store to immediately turn your existing product text and images into polished ecommerce videos. No experience and no video editing skills are needed – all you need to do is answer a few questions about your product and then add your logo and footage, as well as choose the style. Vimeo Create then automatically takes your input and edits a video automatically. The AI also suggests music, themes, colors, and fonts.

It’s great for creating videos at scale, and you can manage, host and distribute all your videos on Vimeo since it’s an all-in-one-solution.

Highlighted features:

  • A ton of templates to choose from
  • Facial recognition, effects, filters, and auto-cropping
  • Professional auto-editing ability
  • Library of licensed music you can use
  • Unlimited stock of images you can use
  • Ability to share the videos across many marketing channels

KineMaster

Most people use their phones for everything, and that includes video editing. KineMaster is the best on-the-go video editing software out there. With it, you can quickly shoot footage and then edit it from your tablet or phone. Unlike most mobile software, it doesn’t sacrifice advanced features to make things more simple but does the exact opposite.

By using KineMaster, you can slice, crop, cut, and combine videos quickly. It has more than 2,500 downloadable transitions and effects. You can make filters and color adjustments and make your clips stand out from the competition. It also has an option that enables you to share your work on all social media platforms quickly.

Highlighted features:

  • Ability to export and edit videos in 4K/60 fps
  • Reverse tool to make in-camera transitions, focal shifts, and other edits
  • Eight blending options for creating artistic videos
  • Videos can be stored and shared
  • Store for downloading stickers, effects, fonts, and more

Movie Maker Online

Movie Maker Online is perhaps the most recognizable online video editor to date. It’s a great budget option for people that want to make videos; however, it does come with its drawbacks. The tool is paid for with advertising, so you need to go around the ads while editing. It also has a maximum of 10-minute video duration, which is not much but should be enough for marketing purposes.

The interface is also not the best. However, Movie Maker Online gives you all the tools you need to make a basic video for free and without downloading any software. It also lets you access free images, music, and clips that you can use to enhance your content.

Highlighted features:

  • Free and browser-based
  • It can be used on any device
  • Royalty-free photos, sound effects, and music
  • Great for creating quick videos as it allows you to trim, combine and adjust clips

How to Choose the Best Editor For You

There are a ton of video editing software platforms that you can use, and that are currently advertised on the market. The biggest advantage of going for free desktop software instead of a mobile app is that software typically has more advanced features than even the paid version of the mobile apps.

However, if you’re downloading software for editing videos for TikTok or YouTube, there are a few things you should consider:

Experience: You need to think about how easy it is to learn to use a particular program. Look for applications that have express editing modes so that you can do your job easily. Along with that, having free templates is also a bonus that will make you more efficient.
Features: You need to check whether the software you’ve chosen has all the necessary tools. You don’t want to end up having to use multiple tools to create one simple video.
Hidden costs: Some apps market themselves as “free,” but as you start using them, you figure out that you need to pay for most essential features. Read reviews and make sure the software you’ve chosen offers all the features you need from the get-go.
Export options: You will make your job easier if the tool you’ve chosen allows you to directly post the videos you make on the platform you want to publish them on. If not, the second best option is for the tool to have great export options that allow you to download the videos on a drive or directly on your device.
Requirements: Editing software can be available only for some OS and for computers that cover certain requirements. That’s why, before investing your time and potential money, you should check if your device can be used for the program you’ve chosen.

Before You Go

Choosing the video editing software that you will use largely depends on your needs and your skills when it comes to video editing. Our advice is to try at least two or three tools before settling on the one which you think best fits you. Hopefully, you found this article enlightening and helpful; for more of the same, make sure to follow us on social media and keep reading our blogs.

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