Video editing software is quickly emerging as a must-have investment in today’s digital world. You don’t need to be a professional videographer or editor to appreciate the features of a great program. Video editing tools are also excellent for things like posting on Instagram, creating product videos, or sharing streams on YouTube.
Fortunately for today’s creatives, video editing software is easy to come by. There are all kinds of great products out there to help you make the most of your clips. Unfortunately, figuring out what kind of tool you should be spending your money on can be a little complicated.
Today, we’re going to be looking at the best video editing software options, to help you make the right choice.
What Makes a Great Video Editing Software?
There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to video editing technology. It all depends on what you’re going to be using your software for. Some people need a video editing solution capable of applying filters to video content and getting rid of unwanted mistakes. Others need a video editor capable of chopping through clips and splicing them together.
A few of the crucial aspects you should look for include:
- Downloadable or online: Some video solutions allow you to upload your content into a browser-based application for editing purposes. Others require a download. Both solutions are suitable for a range of editing needs, but downloadable products are often more comprehensive.
- Ease of use: All editing software will have a learning curve to consider, but some tools are definitely easier to use than others. A great way to make sure you’ll feel comfortable using your chosen software, is to look for tools with plenty of documentation, guides, videos, and community support to help you.
- Available features: What do you need to do with your video editing software? Most solutions will come with a range of features, such as the ability to change aspect ratios, add filters and overlays, or implement text and captions into your videos. Some tools will come with scene transitions, stock audio and other functions too.
- Budget: The more affordable the video conferencing technology, the more likely it is you’ll need to compromise on things like advanced features. It’s important to find something that matches your budget, while still giving you the right functionality.
- File formats: A good video editing software should allow you to access videos in a range of formats and save your finished projects in the right file type. Access to a selection of available format should make it easier to upload your videos to your required platform.
Best Video Editing Software Tools
Now you know the basics of what to look for in your video editing software, let’s take a look at some of the tools most likely to grab your attention in the current landscape.
1. Adobe Premiere Pro
Best for professional editing & best overall video editor
Widely regarded as the industry standard for video editing software, Adobe Premiere Pro has a huge selection of features to choose from. Whether purchased as a standalone product or as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, Premiere Pro is a feature-rich and powerful tool for professionals. Routinely used for the creation of short films, TV shows, and YouTube videos, this app does it all.
Access to a host of smart tools in an ever-evolving portfolio means Premiere Pro users can easily design and edit 4K, 8K, and even VR videos to suit different needs. You can create and change videos in a host of different formats and save your file however you choose. There’s also access to other Creative Cloud apps, so you can easily access photos, effects, and other tools.
Premiere Pro also comes with access to Premiere Rush, an all-in-one app for all devices which allows users to film and edit on their smartphone and publish straight to social channels.
Pricing
Pricing for the Standalone Premiere Pro service starts at around $20.99 per month with an annual commitment, or $31.49 monthly. Alternatively, you can access Premiere Pro as part of the Creative Cloud, with a package starting at $52.99 per month.
Pros
- Extensive professional features for photo editing
- Create and edit your photos in various file formats
- Access all the features of the Creative Cloud for touch-ups
- Frequently updated feature set
- Filters, adjustments, and fixes
Cons
- Takes a while to learn
Starting at
$20.99
Per Month
2. Corel VideoStudio Ultimate
Best video editing software for Corel users
Corel VideoStudio Ultimate, now in the 2022 version, is a simple and immersive video editing tool, ideal for Windows users. The service allows you to transform your movies and clips with intelligent tools, premium effects, video masking, and color grading. You can even implement edits to improve video performance too.
The solid and affordable video editing software features a clean, reliable, and straightforward user interface, making it easier for people from all backgrounds to get started. Once you master the basics, you can explore more advanced tools like 4K video editing, 360-degree videos, and motion tracking. There’s also support for adding music and 3D text for captions.
Though Corel VideoStudio is a little tricky to use at first with layers, if you’ve never used a similar service before, it’s one of the tools available with a much lower learning curve than things like Adobe Premiere Pro.
Pricing
Corel VideoStudio’s pricing starts at around $59.99 thanks to a limited-time 25% off sale. However, the Corel team are constantly implementing new sales to help you save cash.
Starting at
$63.99
One-time purchase
3. Adobe Premiere Elements
Best for beginners
Before you assume we’re just mentioning the same app twice, Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe Premiere Elements are actually two different tools. Premiere Elements offers a convenient and extensive all-in-one video editing experience for today’s professionals, with access to AI through Adobe Sensei technology.
Adobe Sensei means you can easily edit and organize your video content with AI suggestions to help eliminate dark spots, blurry parts, and other errors in your video. Designed to bring all kinds of video content to life, Adobe Premiere Elements has built-in effects, animations, artistic elements, and a host of other amazing features to explore.
Though it does take a while to get your head around all the functionality available from Premiere Elements there are a lot of documents and guides to help you.
Pricing
Not available as part of Creative Cloud, Adobe Premiere Elements starts at around $99.99. You can also get the service combined with Photoshop Elements at a discount.
4. CyberLink PowerDirector 365
Best for ease of use
Cyberlink PowerDirector is one of the most popular video editing software solutions on the market today. If you’re looking to edit components of professional videos, or you want to make your YouTube clips look more amazing, this could be the tool for you. The software comes with tons of great tools for cutting, refining, and adding effects to your content.
Offering an intuitive workflow, so anyone can access advanced features and bring their videos to life, the Cyberlink solution is a great choice for a range of users. You’ll even have access to advanced features like intuitive motion tracking, mask designer tools and dynamic keyframe controls.
Customizable vector shapes mean you can add various unique customizations to your videos, while animated titles help you to attract audience attention. You can even change the aspect ratio of videos rapidly for easier uploading to social media channels.
Pricing
PowerDirector from Cyberlink starts with a subscription cost of $19.99 per month. You can access a free trial to check out some of the services, but there’s no full free version.
| Not provided by vendor
5. Wondershare Filmora
Best for editing on a budget
Ideal for creating social media and online videos, Wondershare Filmora is an easy-to-use and reliable video editing tool. Despite a relatively low price tag, Filmora is surprisingly feature-rich, with access to things like motion tracking and custom animations to bring your videos to life. If you’re creating content for YouTube, you can even use suggested effects, filters and titles.
Filmora comes with access to a robust library of sound effects and videos to give your content more of an impact. Plus, there are tools to simplify uploading to different social platforms too. Auto reframing functionality allows you to instantly redesign your video in specific aspect radios.
The free version of Filmora includes most of the same tools as the premium version, but there is a watermark. Still, we’d recommend checking out the free version to see what you get.
Pricing
Pricing starts at around $51.99 per year if you want to be able to access constant updates and new versions of the software, or you can buy one version outright.
Pros
- Easy to use for beginners
- Tons of great tools for social media videos
- Easy to resize and adapt your content for different platforms
- Extensive free version for testing functionality
- Lots of animations, filters, and effects
Cons
- May be a little limited for more professional videos
Starting at
$19.99
Per Month
6. Clipchamp
Best for team projects
Clipchamp has a unique approach to video creation in a digital world, with tools like ClipChamp Teams, so collaborators can work together on the same piece of content without having to waste any time. The solution is easy to use and brimming with helpful features, like access to solutions like the Facebook Video Ad Marker to help you create social media ads.
Customizable video templates are included within the application, so you can start creating even when you’re struggling to think of ideas. Simple add text to your canvas and implement your content, and you’ll be ready to go. With a clean and simple interface, ClipChamp takes the stress out of creating videos for today’s busy business marketing managers.
Trim and cut, split, and combine, flip and mirror, and rotation features mean you can adjust your videos however you choose. To take your videos to the next level, there’s access to color editing options, filters, and text-adding capabilities too.
Pricing
There’s a free version of Clipchamp supporting 480p exports. The cheapest paid plan is $9 per month for 720 exports, or you can pay $19 per month for full HD exports. The Business Platinum version of the package at $39 pre month is the most advanced.
7. Pinnacle Studio Ultimate
Best video editing software with add-on options
Now in version 25, Pinnacle Studio Ultimate is an ideal video editing solution for beginners and intermediate users searching for fast and effective video editing software. The program, which comes to us from Corel, makes it easy to advance your editing skills with state-of-the-art advanced tools. You can create 360 videos, access video masking, and use smart object tracking to maintain focus.
The Ultimate solution comes with powerful color grading, dynamic split-screen videos for eye-catching advertisements, stop motion animation, and even screen recording. You can also experiment with a host of editing tools like motion tracking, video stabilization, multicam editing, keyframe controls, and title editing.
One of the most advanced video editing solutions not offered by Adobe, Pinnacle will help all kinds of branded content make the right impression in the video landscape.
Pricing
Pinnacle Studio Ultimate is surprisingly affordable at only $129.95. You only need to pay for your software once, so there’s no subscription headache to worry about.
8. Final Cut Pro X
Best for Mac users
Final Cut Pro X is a video editing tool created by the Apple team – so you’ll need a Mac to access it. The solution provides everything users need for professional video editing, including a high-performance engine for editing, audio, and motion graphics.
Apple’s video editing solution comes with a one-time purchase option, so you can avoid spending a fortune on recurring payments. Magnetic timelines and grouping tools are also a huge benefit of this system, as they make it easier to manage your creative works.
There are tons of great tools to choose from within Final Cut Pro X, including a host of filters, audio effects, and proxy creation, so you can view your video on third-party devices. Accelerated performance with Metal also means you can code your videos faster too.
Pricing
Final Cut Pro X is an app on the Apple store available for a single one-time purchase of $299. Although this might sound quite expensive at first, you only have to pay once.
9. Apple iMovie
Best free video editing app for Apple users
If you’re looking for a simple approach to video editing that works seamlessly with your existing iOS or Mac device, iMovie is a great choice. This simple and effective product is free to use, and it’s great for creating high-quality Hollywood-style videos with ease. You can even design and edit 4K video clips on your smartphone.
The iMovie solution makes it quick and easy to manage edits across multiple devices, so you can start on your iPhone, move to your iPad and end up on your desktop. The software includes a series of high-fidelity filters for a more memorable finish, extra-special effects, and more than 80 smart soundtracks.
iMovie also comes with watermarks, background color selection, captioning, and text boxes, so you can bring your content to life in a variety of different ways. With an easy-to-use interface that doesn’t take long to learn, this app is sure to appeal to countless creatives.
Pricing
Free for Mac users
10. Vimeo Create
Best for quick editing
Offering a host of simple editing features for social media videos and clips, the Vimeo Create application is a convenient, web-based editor. For beginners, there’s not much of a learning curve to worry about, so you can jump in and start creating straight away. Vimeo’s solution doesn’t have the power of a desktop solution, but you can access it on any computer, which is convenient.
There are templates, so you don’t have to start creating from scratch, and you can customize various aspects of your video. Vimeo gives you the freedom to add unique fonts, change the layout of your content, add a logo, or customize your colors. You can also upload your finished videos straight to the social media platform of your choice, with formatting for every channel.
Although you can’t mess around with things like layers on Vimeo Create, you can access unique features, like marketing tools to help you track the impact of your video.
Pricing
To access Vimeo Create, you’ll need Vimeo Plus, starting at $7 per month when you pay annually or $12 per month when billed monthly
Video Editing Software FAQ
Q: What is video editing software?
Video editing software is any tool that allows users to adjust aspects of a video file. The right solution for you might include things like filters, aspect ratio changing, or cropping features. Advanced tools include things like motion tracking and 360-degree videos.
Q: What’s the best video editing software for professionals?
Most professionals prefer to use Adobe products for video editing, like Adobe Premiere Pro. Although these solutions can be a little complicated, they also offer the widest selection of features and the most versatility for professional videographers.
If you’re a frequent user of Corel ecosystem it also makes sense to consider Corel VideoStudio which offers similarly advanced functionalities.
Q: What’s the best video editing software for beginners?
It all depends on your personal preferences. For simple and effective team video projects, ClipChamp is an excellent solution. Adobe Premier Elements is also geared towards fledgling video editors, while Wondershare Filmora is another popular choice among beginners, thanks to its intuitive interface.
Q: Do you need both video and photo editing software?
If you’re planning on working with static images and videos, you’ll need two separate pieces of software. You might decide to solve this problem by buying something like the Creative Cloud package from Adobe – a one-stop-shop solution for creatives, or you could choose from two totally separate brands for video and photo editing.
Q: Are there free versions of video software available?
There are a handful of free options for video editing out there, though many will be limited in what they can do. Some products come with a host of features available to free users, but there are also watermarks and branding on your finished content which might make it look less professional. Often, it’s best to use a free version of a software to test it, then upgrade to a paid product.
Best Video Editing Software – That’s a Wrap
The best video editing software for your needs will truly depend on what you want to do with your creative content. With tons of amazing options to choose from, ranging from simple, free solutions, to comprehensive paid tools, there’s no doubt you’ll find the service you need.
