When it comes to video editing, professionals may look for powerful features such as multi camera editing, chroma key, color grading or audio mixing tools. While many others, novices and casual users, only want to cut or trim video and apply some filters and transitions to get things done. That’s where free (or cheap) video editing software come in. Don’t forget that these programs are free or cheap, they can’t be compared with other professional video editing suites you’ve seen somewhere on the net.
In today’s article, I will share with you top 3 best free (or cheap) video editing software with tons of ready-made filters, text credits and transitions you can use on Windows/ Mac or Linux. They are easy to use, short learning curve and powerful enough to transform your raw footage into stunning clips to share with friends on YouTube, Facebook or Instagram.
The Best Free (or Cheap) Video Editing Software For Novices and Casual Users
1. Filmora Video Editor (Windows/ Mac)
Filmora video editor is the most simple to use program I recommend you to use if you don’t want to spend weeks learning how to edit a video with difficult suite like Adobe Premiere Pro or VEGAS Pro, the most professional video editing software in the world. With Filmora Video Editor, you are able to cut, trim, crop video and add opening text titles and transitions between clips easily. There are tons of filters and special effects you can download for free at their online store too.
Filmora Video Editor is a cross platform program, means you can use on both Windows and Mac. It’s an powerful and elegant video editor which support 4K editing and dozen of output formats that you will love to use. Though this video editor can be downloaded and used completely free of charge, the outputs in free edition will be watermarked. To remove it, you’ll need to upgrade to pro version at the price tag $39.95 per license. Read our detail review of Filmora Video Editor to learn more about it here!
2. VSDC Free Video Editor – For Windows
VSDC is a completely free yet powerful video editing software for novices and casual users. VSDC has everything you need to edit video, support 4K editing, chroma key, tons of filters and special effects. Most importantly, this free video editor does not leave a watermark on the outputs like Filmora Video Editor. You can use it as long as you want. There is no feature limitation too.
The only downside of VSDC is its lacks of technical support from the developer as it is free. And the learning curve takes more time than other classic timeline video editors. However, once you managed to use it, the reward is great. Take a look at our detail review of VSDC Free Video Editor here!
3. Lightworks 14 – Free for Windows, Mac and Linux
Lightworks has been known as a simple to use film editing programs for professionals. Its pro version is as famous as the most powerful editing suite i.e Adobe Premiere Pro, Hitfilm or VEGAS Pro. Many Hollywood famous films were edited by Lightworks. If you are looking for a simple to use program that can help you approach the film editing industry, Lightworks is no doubt a great option to go.
Lightworks is free to download and use on multiple platforms i.e Windows, Mac or Linux. It has tons of filters and special effects to apply into your video quickly. However, the only thing we don’t like is the limitation of video output which is set at maximum 720p only. To learn more about Lightworks, take a look at this review!
How To Choose?
The easiest way to see if a program is suitable for you and your hard ware or not is to test it yourself. Don’t hesitate to download all the above mentioned programs to your computer and test them carefully. They are worth to try! If you have any question about them, don’t hesitate to ask us any time.
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Good luck!
Elearning Supporter 
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