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The Rundown
Feb 27, 2019 - Read reviews and buy the best GoPro editing software from top brands. If you're a Windows user, then we think the best free video editing.
Best Overall:Adobe Premiere Pro CC at Adobe, 'Comprehensive and powerful, plus it integrates with Adobe’s cloud platform, Creative Cloud.'
Best for Mac:Final Cut Pro X at iTunes, 'Integrates well with Apple’s hardware and other software, and runs beautifully on Mac computers.'
Best for Beginners:Adobe Premiere Elements at Best Buy, 'Perfect for beginners who may not be as experienced in video editing.'
Best Budget:CyberLink PowerDirector at CyberLink, 'Clean and intuitive, but offers access to plenty of powerful tools.'
Best Free for Windows:Lightworks at Lightworks, 'Known for its intuitive and easy-to-use interface, plus it has great timeline editing tools.'
Best Free for Mac:iMovie at iTunes, 'The overall interface is very well-designed and super easy to use.'
Best Free for Pro Users:DaVinci Resolve at Blackmagic Design, 'Offers a range of professional-level tools and remains totally free for basic use.'
Best for Special Effects:HitFilm Pro at FxHome, 'It’s got a good list of tools for basic video editing, and has a customizable interface.'
Our Top Picks
Best Overall: Adobe Premiere Pro CC
Adobe Premiere Pro is largely considered to be the best video editing software out there, and for good reason. It’s comprehensive and powerful, plus it integrates with Adobe’s cloud platform, Creative Cloud, meaning users get timely updates to their software, access to cloud storage, and more. It’s all very intuitive and easy to use.
Of course, perhaps the main reason for many to subscribe to Creative Cloud is to use Premiere Pro — the software is considered the standard, thanks to features like its huge range of organizational tools, good speed, the fact that it supports unlimited video tracks, excellent video stabilization features, and more. Safe to say, whether you’re editing GoPro footage, or footage from a cinema-level camera, Adobe Premiere Pro CC is the way to go, despite the fact that it is a little pricey. Adobe Premiere Pro CC is available on both Windows and macOS.
Best for Mac: Final Cut Pro X
Mac users who want a powerful video editing tool may want to consider Apple’s own Final Cut Pro for their video editing needs. There are plenty of reasons to go for Final Cut Pro X over other options, namely the fact that it integrates well with Apple’s hardware and other software, and runs beautifully on Mac computers.
There are a ton of unique features, including a magnetic, trackless timeline, excellent organizational tools, and support for 360-degree video and HDR. It’s also a great option for those that have a MacBook Pro with a touch bar because it actually has tools that are compatible with this hardware. Unfortunately, the software is a little pricey compared to some others, but if you have the money to spend, it’s an excellent option.
Best for Beginners: Adobe Premiere Elements
Adobe Premiere Pro is considered to be the standard in video editing, but many may not want or need to subscribe to such high-level software. For those people, there’s a less expensive — but still very comprehensive — version of the software. It’s called Adobe Premiere Elements, and it’s perfect for beginners who may not be as experienced in video editing.
Perhaps the best thing about Adobe Premiere Elements is the fact that it has such a clean interface, and has some more complex features that you can dig into if you want. Notably, the software boasts a number of video effects, plus it has some excellent audio editing features, which is important to consider for any good video. The software isn’t overly limiting either. You’ll still get unlimited video tracks, motion tracking, and support for 4K video. Adobe Premiere Elements is available on both Windows and macOS.
Best Budget: CyberLink PowerDirector
If you’re looking for a comprehensive and high-quality video editing software and don’t want to spend too much cash, then CyberLink PowerDirector may be the software for you. As you would expect from a video editing software in 2019, the interface of PowerDirector is clean and intuitive, but it offers access to plenty of powerful tools. This includes a range of video effects that are available within the software.
On top of the nice interface, CyberLink PowerDirector offers features like multi-cam editing, the ability to edit both 3D and 4K video, and motion tracking. Unfortunately, PowerDirector is only available for Windows, so Mac users will need to look at other options on the list.
Best Free for Windows: Lightworks
Not everyone wants to spend money on their video editing software, but thankfully there’s still some decent free software out there. If you’re a Windows user, then we think the best free video editing software for you is Lightworks. Lightworks is known for its intuitive and easy-to-use interface, plus it has great timeline editing tools, which is always handy in video editing software.
Apart from those editing tools, Lightworks also allows you to quickly and easily export your video to services like YouTube and Vimeo, and it can handle 4K video editing. Of course, perhaps the best thing about it is that it’s free. You’ll get a seven-day trial of the software, after which you can register for free to keep using it or upgrade to a “Pro” license to get access to all of the editing tools and export formats.
Best Free for Mac: iMovie
Apple users have their own free video editing software: iMovie. iMovie is built by Apple, and can be downloaded straight from the Mac App Store. iMovie has a lot of great features going for it, namely the fact that the overall interface is very well-designed and super easy to use. In other words, if you’re new to video editing and have a Mac, then iMovie is an excellent option.
While iMovie is free, it does offer some pretty nice advanced features. For example, it has cool color matching features, which helps make for more consistent looks. On top of that, it has a number of awesome audio tools, which helps ensure that your video not only looks good but sounds good, too.
Best Free for Pro Users: DaVinci Resolve
Are you an experienced video editor looking for a free program with more advanced features? DaVinci Resolve offers a range of professional-level tools and remains totally free for basic use, which makes it an excellent choice for those that want something a little more complex.
There are a number of things that make DaVinci Resolve so great. As mentioned, there are hundreds of tools, effects, and features to comb through, along with good color features, special effects, and more. The only downside is that it can be pretty complicated to use, so if you’re new to video editing it’s probably worth sticking with something a little more basic. DaVinci Resolve is compatible with both Windows and macOS operating systems.
Best for Special Effects: HitFilm Pro
For some, special effects are an important component in creating a video that's ready to upload or release. If this is part of your editing style, software like HitFilm Pro may well be the way to go.
There are a few reasons HitFilm Pro is such great video editing software. For starters, it’s got a good list of tools for basic video editing, and has a customizable interface, meaning you can tweak it to your needs. Where HitFilm Pro really shines, however, is in special effects — it boasts hundreds of effects and presets to dig into, including effects in 3D. HitFilm Pro is available for both Windows and macOS.
Our writers spent 4 hours researching the most popular GoPro editing software on the market. Before making their final recommendations, they considered 10 different software overall, screened options from 9 different brands and manufacturers, read over 30 user reviews (both positive and negative) and tested 3 of the software themselves. All of this research adds up to recommendations you can trust.
Edit Video on Your PC
Nothing makes an impression like moving pictures with sound. That's why digital video continues to grow in importance online. Couple that trend with the ever-increasing availability of devices capable of high-resolution video recording—phones, GoPros, DSLRs—and the case for ever-more powerful video editing software becomes clear. Further, the software must be usable by nonprofessionals, and it has to keep up with newer formats such as HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) and 360-degree VR video, and it has to be able to handle 4K and higher resolution.
Increasingly, new capabilities trickle down from professional-level software to the consumer category. That's a good thing for nonprofessional movie editors, since the more consumer-oriented software tends to make easier procedures that can sometimes be pretty tricky in the pro-level software. Read on for a survey of the latest trends in video editing software along with our top picks in the field.
Multicam, Motion Tracking, and Yet More Motion
Advanced abilities continue to make their way into accessible, affordable, and consumer-friendly video editing software as each new generation of software is released. For example, multicam editing, which lets you switch among camera angles of the same scene shot with multiple video cameras, used to be a feature relegated to pro-level software. Now this and many other advanced effects are available in programs designed for use by nonprofessional enthusiasts.
Another impressive effect that has made its way into consumer-level video editing software is motion tracking, which lets you attach an object or effect to something moving in your video. You might use it to put a blur over the face of someone you don't want to show up in your video. You specify the target face, and the app takes care of the rest, tracking the face and moving the effect to follow it. This used to be the sole province of special effects software such as Adobe After Effects. Corel VideoStudio was the first of the consumer products to include motion tracking, and it still leads the pack in the depth and usability of its motion-tracking tool, though several others now include the capability.
The 4K Video Factor
Support for 4K video source content has become pretty standard in video editing software, but the support varies among the products. For example, some but not all of the applications can import Sony XAVC and XAVC-S formats, which are used by Sony's popular DSLRs, mirrorless cameras, camcorders, and professional video cameras. The same holds true for the H.265 High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard. Most of the applications here now can import and export HEVC, though there are still a few holdouts.
360-Degree VR Support
Several of the products here (Adobe Premiere Elements is a notable exception) still support 3D video editing if that's your thing, though the this has been replaced by 360-degree VR footage like that shot by the Samsung Gear 360 as the current home-theater fad. As is often the case, our Editors' Choice, CyberLink PowerDirector was the first product in this group to offer support for this new kind of video media.
Other programs have jumped on board with 360 VR support, including Adobe Premiere, Apple Final Cut Pro X, and Magix Movie Edit Pro. Support varies, with some apps including 360-compatible titles, stabilization, and motion tracking. PowerDirector is notable for including those last two. Final Cut offers a useful tool that removes the camera and tripod from the image, often an issue with 360-degree footage.
Video Editing 101
Of course, none of the extras matter if an app can't do the most basic editing tasks. At this point, however, all of the products included here do a good job of letting you join, trim, and split video clips. They also let you make use of special effects such as animated transitions, picture-in-picture (PiP), chroma-key (the technique that lets you place a subject against any background, often known as green screening), and filters that enhance colors or apply creative effects and distortions. With most of them you can add a multitude of timeline tracks that can accommodate video clips, effects, audio, and text overlays.
A tool coming to the latest versions of video editing applications is support for seamless transitions. Picture a scene showing people at a beach, and suddenly the sky zooms in and your in Rome or Paris, but it looks like you're in the same place because the transition glued the two scenes together using the sky. There are plenty of other examples of seamless transition; this magnificent video shows a good selection of them, and is partly responsible for starting the trend.
Color, LUTs and CLUTs
One of the capabilities that has been making its way into consumer-level video editing software is more-detailed color grading. Color wheels, curves, and histograms give editors control over the intensity of every shade. Related to this is support for LUTs (lookup tables), also known as CLUTs (color lookup tables). This staple of pro-level software lets you quickly change the look of a video to give it a specific mood. For example, think of the dark blue look of thriller movies like The Revenant. You can download LUTs for free from several sites or use those included with some video software to give your video a specific look. One well-known LUT type is the kind that can make a daytime scene look like it was shot at night.
Where the Action Is
Many video editing apps now include tools that cater to users of action cameras such as the GoPro Hero7 Black. For example, several offer automated freeze-frame along with speedup, slowdown, and reverse time effects. CyberLink PowerDirector's Action Camera Center pulls together freeze frame with stabilization, slo-mo, and fish-eye correction, and color correction for underwater footage. Magix Movie Edit Pro Premium includes the third-party NewBlue ActionCam Package of effects. And Wondershare Filmora lets you subscribe to new effect packs on an ongoing basis.
Titles That Zing
I've been seeing a lot of attention paid to creating title effects in the applications over the past year. Apple Final Cut Pro X has added 3D title creation, which is pretty spiffy, letting you extrude 2D titles and rotate them on three axes. Corel VideoStudio in its latest version also adds 3D Titling, though not as powerful as Apple's. PowerDirector's Title Designer offers transparency, gradient color, border, blur level, and reflection in titles; Magix has impressive title templates, complete with animations. Premiere Elements offers a nifty title effect in which your video fills the text characters, and Corel recently followed suit in VideoStudio 2019. Look for an application that lets you edit titles in WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) mode, so that you can type, format, and time it right over the video preview.
Gathering Speed
Video editing is one of the most computing-intensive activities around, so you'll want the best laptop or desktop you can afford if you're serious about cutting your own movies. Most applications help speed up the editing process by creating a proxy file of lower resolution, so that normal editing and previewing aren't slowed down by the huge full-resolution files.
Particularly intensive is the process of rendering your finished product into a standard video file that will by playable on the target device of choice, be that an HDTV, a laptop, or a smartphone. Most of the software can take advantage of your computer's graphics processor to speed this up. Be sure to check the performance section in each review linked here to see how speedy or slow the application is. In rendering speed testing, CyberLink and Pinnacle have been my perennial champs.
Other measures of performance include startup time and simple stability. Again, video editing is a taxing activity for any computer, involving many components. In the past, video editing programs took longer than most other apps to start up, and unexpected shutdowns were unfortunately common, even in top apps from top developers such as Adobe and Apple. The stability situation has greatly improved, but the complexity of the process, which increases as more powerful effects are added, means crashes will likely never be fully eliminated, and they often raise their ugly heads after a program update, as I found with the latest version of Pinnacle Studio.
Free Video Editing Software
If you don't want to invest a lot of money and effort into your video editing exploits, there are a few free options. Of course, if you use a Mac, the excellent iMovie comes with it. For PC users, Windows 10's Photos app (as of the Fall Creators Update) lets you join, trim, and even add background music, 3D animated effects, and titles to video.
There are also some free video apps on the Windows Store, including Movie Moments, PowerDirector Mobile, Movie Maker, and Magix Movie Edit Touch. Some of these are quite basic, but the Magix app is fairly capable, with clip joining, transitions, and effects, in a very touch-friendly interface.
Free video editing software often comes with legal and technical limitations, however. Some widely used codecs require licensing fees on the part of the software maker, meaning they can't offer free software that can handle these standard file formats. That said, the impressive open-source Shotcut does a lot of the same things that the paid applications in this roundup do, including things like chroma-keying and picture-in-picture. Shotcut is completely open-source and free, while another free option, Lightworks has paid options that remove a 720p output resolution limit. Note also that both Shotcut and Lightworks run on Linux as well as Windows and Mac.
What About Apple?
Though Mac users don't have the sheer number of software choices available for PCs, Apple fans interested in editing video are well served, by four products in particular. At the entry level, the surprisingly capable and enjoyable-to-use iMovie comes free with every Mac sold since at least 2011. iMovie only offers two video tracks, but does good job with chroma-keying, and its Trailers feature makes it easy to produce slick, Hollywood-style productions.
In the midrange, there's Adobe Premiere Elements, which is cross-platform between Macs and PCs, and offers a lot more features and lots of help with creating effects. Professionals and prosumers have powerful, though pricey options in Final Cut Pro X and Adobe Premiere Pro. Final Cut is a deceptively simple application that resembles iMovie in its interface and ease of use, but it offers massively deep capabilities, and many third-party apps integrate with it for even more power. It also makes excellent use of the Touch Bar on the latest MacBook Pro, as shown in photo above. Premiere Pro uses a more traditional timeline and adds a large ecosystem of companion apps and plug-ins. It also excels in collaboration features.
Audio Editing
We still live in the days of talkies, so you want to be able to edit the audio in your digital moves as well as the images. Most of the products included here offer canned background music, and many, such as Pinnacle Studio, can even tailor the soundtrack to the exact length of your movie. All of these programs can separate audio and video tracks, and most can clean up background noise and add environmental audio effects such as concert hall reverb. A couple of the products have an auto-ducking feature, which lowers background music during dialog—a definite pro-level plus.
What's Not Here
There are more video editing software applications than we can fit into this roundup of the best options, which includes only software rated three stars and higher. The best known among them is probably Vegas Movie Studio, which was recently acquired by Magix from Sony. Sony's product used a very cluttered interface that more resembled high-end professional video editing software from the early days of the craft. Magix has made some progress in simplifying it and bringing it up to par with the competition, but more work is needed for it to be included here.
Another program, VSDC Video Editor Pro, simply has too outdated an interface, making common tasks difficult. Longtime pro video editors will note the absence of Avid Media Composer, which is simply too unwieldy for PCMag's primarily consumer audience. There are a couple of more interesting applications—NCH VideoPad and AVS Video Editor among them—that we simply haven't tested yet.
The Finish Line
The video editing application you choose depends on your budget, the equipment you're using, and how serious you are. Fortunately, you're spoiled for choice with the products available. Peruse our in-depth reviews of enthusiast-level video editing software reviews linked below to see which is the right one for you.
One final note about the features table at the top of this story: Check marks represent differentiating, above-the-call-of-duty features, rather than essential ones. So, just because Nero Video and Wondershare Filmora don't have any checks, it doesn't mean they're not good choices. In fact, both offer decent basic editing on a budget.
Best Video Editing Software Featured in This Roundup:
Adobe Premiere Pro CC Review
MSRP: $19.99
Pros: Clear, flexible interface. Lots of organizational tools. Responsive speed. Ultimate power in video editing. Rich ecosystem of video production apps. Excellent stabilization. Unlimited multi-cam angles.
Cons: No keyword tagging for media. Some techniques require additional applications such as After Effects or SpeedGrade.
Bottom Line: An expansive professional-level digital video editing program, Premiere Pro CC has everything today's pro video editor needs, particularly when it comes to collaboration.
Read Review
CyberLink PowerDirector Review
MSRP: $129.99
Pros: Fast rendering. Clear interface. Loads of effects. The most 360-degree video capabilities of any video editor. Multicam editing. 3D and 4K capability. Motion tracking. Screen recording.
Cons: No trimming in source panel. Number of options can make interface overwhelming. Weak color matching.
Bottom Line: PowerDirector is one of the fastest and most capable consumer-level video editing apps for Windows around, and the first to support 360-degree VR footage.
Read Review
Corel VideoStudio Ultimate Review
MSRP: $99.99
Pros: Wide selection of fun video-creation tools. Clear, simple interface. Fast rendering. Support for 360-degree VR, 4K Ultra HD, and 3D media. Multipoint Motion tracking. Multicam editing. HTML5 video page creation. Stop-motion tool.
Cons: No keyword tagging for media.
Bottom Line: Corel VideoStudio remains one of the most feature-packed consumer video editing packages around. The 2019 update adds powerful color-grading tools, seamless transitions, and text masks.
Read Review
Pinnacle Studio Ultimate Review
MSRP: $129.95
Pros: Clear interface. Edits 360-degree VR content. Fast rendering performance in testing. Tons of effects. Multicam editing. 4K and H.265 support. Tagging and star ratings for media. Good audio tools.
Cons: Motion tracking issues on one test PC. Occasional crashes in testing. Uneven 360-degree VR implementation.
Bottom Line: Pinnacle Studio is a fast, full-featured, near-professional-level video-editing application with support for 360-degree VR, 3D, and multicam edits. New color grading and four-point editing make it even more appealing, though our testing uncovered some instabilities.
Read Review
Magix Movie Edit Pro Premium Review
MSRP: $129.99
Pros: Lots of video effects. Multicam. Good titling tools. Trailer-like movie templates. Solid audio editing tools. Strong disc authoring. Fast rendering. Good stability. 360-degree media support.
Cons: Not much help with difficult procedures. Lacks import and organization tools. Extra costs and coded downloads for some video formats.
Bottom Line: Now with faster rendering, Movie Edit Pro offers solid stability, up-to-date support for 4K, 360-degree, and multicam editing, but it trails other video editing software in ease-of-use.
Read Review
Adobe Premiere Elements Review
MSRP: $99.99
Pros: Clear, simple interface. Guided Edits ease basic and advanced projects. Lots of video effects. Solid text tools. Powerful Audio editing. Good control over stabilization. 4K support.
Cons: No 360-degree VR or 3D editing. No multicam feature or screen recording capability. Slow rendering speeds. No HEVC support in Windows.
Bottom Line: Adobe's consumer video editing app adds a new start page, Auto Creations, a redesigned quick-editing interface, and faster performance.
Read Review
Wondershare Filmora Review
MSRP: $59.99
Pros: Pleasing interface. Inexpensive. Lots of effects and overlays. Good title tool.
Cons: Action Cam and Cutter modes only allow one clip at a time. No search for effects or transitions. No motion tracking. No DVD menu or chapter authoring. Not a touch-friendly interface.
Bottom Line: Wondershare's Filmora video editing software may not have multicam or the hottest new VR tools, but it does have a pleasing interface and lots of effects.
Read Review
Apple Final Cut Pro X Review
MSRP: $299.99
Pros: Magnetic, trackless timeline. Superior organization tools, including libraries, ratings, tagging, auto analysis for faces, scenes. Support for 360-degree footage and HDR. Multicam support. Fast performance. MacBook Touch Bar support.
Cons: Nontraditional timeline-editing may turn off longtime editors. Can't import projects from previous versions without a third-party plug-in. No stabilization or motion tracking for 360-degree video.
Bottom Line: Apple's professional-level video editing software, Final Cut Pro X, brings a wealth of power in an interface simple for pros and consumers alike. Recent highlights include rich support for 360-degree content and improved stability.
Read Review
Nero Video Review
MSRP: $49.99
Pros: Inexpensive. Plenty of video effects. Good audio tools. Solid file format support, including H.265. Compatible with 4K content. Burns DVD, Blu-ray, and AVCHD.
Cons: Light on features. Outdated, unconventional interface. No 360 or 3D support. No motion tracking. No direct output to social networks.
Bottom Line: For less money than the competition, Nero offers a wide array of enthusiast-level video editing capabilities, but the interface is dated and it trails in support for new formats and techniques.
Read Review
Apple iMovie Review
MSRP: $0.00
Pros: Beautifully simple interface. Color matching for consistent movie looks. Classy themes. Great chroma-keying tool. Lots of audio tools. Theater feature shares movies to all your Apple gear.
Cons: Not as flexible as some PC video editors. In the name of simplicity, some useful controls are missing. Does not support tagging. Lacks multicam or motion tracking capabilities. Limited to two video tracks.
Bottom Line: Apple's excellent entry-level desktop video editing application can turn your footage and photos into impressive productions.