Level | Products | Input formats | Output formats | Pros | Cons |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
For beginners | Windows Movie Maker | ASF, AVI, DVR-MS, M1V, MP2, MP2V, MPE, MPEG, MPG, MPV2, WM, WMV | Windows Media Video (WMV) or DV AVI | Free, meets your basic editing demands | Service discontinued; No support for modern file formats |
VideoPad Video Editor | avi, wmv, mpv, divx and many more | WMV, AVI | Intuitive interface | Certain features become unavailable when using the free version of the software over a longer period of time. | |
Avidemux | AVI, MPEG, MOV, MP4, etc | AVI, MPEG, DIVX, XVID, MP4, etc | Has solid encoding options and its interface is user-friendly. | There are no video effects or transitions. | |
OpenShot | QuickTime, AVI, WMV, MPEG, etc | mpeg, avi, mp4, mov, etc | Free as well as powerful | Need to install add-ons if the OS you are using doesn't meet the software's system requirements. | |
VSDC Video Editor | AVI, QuickTime (MP4/M4V, 3GP/2G2, MOV, QT), HDVideo/AVCHD (MTS, M2TS, TS, MOD, TOD), WindowsMedia (WMV, ASF, DVR-MS), DVD/VOB, VCD/SVCD, etc | AVI, DVD, VCD/SVCD, MPEG, MP4, M4V, MOV, 3GP/3G2, WMV, MKV, RM/RMVB, FLV, SWF, AMV, MTV | Intuitive interface, friendly to beginners. | Technical support is not free. | |
For amateurs and pros | Kdenlive | QuickTime, AVI, WMV, MPEG, etc | mpeg, avi, mp4, mov, etc | Allows you to extend your capability with free add-ons. | No technical support. |
Blender | latest audio and video formats | .MOV, .MPEG4, .MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, WebM. | A lot of advanced features, perfect for advanced users | Learning curve is steeper for beginners; Very limited learning resources. | |
DaVinci Resolve | ARI, MTS, MXF, AVI, CIN, DNG, DPX, CDX, MP4, MXF, EXR, MOV | ARI, MTS, MXF, AVI, CIN, DNG, DPX, CDX, MP4, MXF, EXR, MOV | Stunning image quality. Color correction and audio editing are also excellent in Davinci Resolve. | Learning curve is steeper for beginners. | |
HitFilm Express | AVCHD, AVI, DV, MP4, MPEG, MOV, MMV | AVI, MP4 | Offers a wide spectrum of transitions and video effects | Feature limited while exporting video files, not friendly to beginners. | |
Lightworks | latest audio and video formats | mp4, MXF, Quicktime, AVI, mts, mpg, m2t | Has a free version | Not for beginners |