Best Free Tools for Creating and Editing Videos

[Armindesk]

Hello everyone,

I’m interested in learning more about video editing and creating high-quality videos. There are many free tools available for trimming clips, adding effects, adjusting audio, and converting video formats. I’d like to know which free video editing tools you recommend for beginners and which ones offer the best features.

[VWestlife]

Which questions have searching for previous threads about this topic left unanswered?

[tigerman8u]

My arsenal I have used for years
clever FFmpeg GUI, avidemux., VidCoder, tsMuxerGUI., BDRebuilder, HandBrake, VirtualDub2. I do at times use commercial software but not often.
Depending on what I want to do I choose which one to use. Some of these will do pretty much the same thing.
I do like VidCoder for encoding because it allows you to input the exported file size.
Now if "ProWo" would add that to "clever FFmpeg"

[Alwyn]

If you want to get into real video editing for free, not just recoding or chopping bits out, try a real NLE (non-linear editor) such as Kdenlive. I've never used it but it's free and gets good reviews, and looks like it has a full feature-set.

[Sharc]

@Armindesk: Once you are talking about "high quality" video processing a recommended workflow is to do some processing (for example deinterlacing, denoising, rescaling ....) in AviSynth or Vapoursynth, using it natively or via a supporting GUI, exporting it in a lossless (or quasi-lossless) format which an NLE can open, and eventually do the final artwork like color grading, cutting an splicing, adding transitions plus any other bells and whistles using the convenience of an NLE. Shotcut (free) is an alternative to Kdenlive mentioned by Alwyn.

[HaleyWang0909]

As for free video editing software for beginners, my recommendations are Microsoft Clipchamp, CapCut, MiniTool MovieMaker, and DaVinci Resolve. The first three options are not completely free.
Clipchamp is pre-installed on Windows 11, and it can also be installed on Windows 10. Many tools are free to use. The software offers a wide range of video templates to help beginners create videos easily. The free version exports video up to 1080P resolution without watermarks.
I often use CapCut to edit videos. It has an easy-to-use interface, simple editing tools, ready-made templates, and AI-powered features. Personally, it is a powerful yet simple video editor for beginners. Additionally, it provides an extensive library of effects, filters, transitions, and stickers to enhance and enrich clips. It works on desktop and mobile devices.
MiniTool MovieMaker is a bit similar to Clipchamp, with the same clean layout. I like the software because it offers extensive filters, effects, transitions, text templates, and stickers. It also has a basic keyframe animation tool.
For beginners who aspire to become professional creators, DaVinci Resolve is an excellent and cost-effective choice. First of all, it is completely free and offers a wide range of professional features, such as advanced color grading and audio-post production tools.

For beginners, learning DaVinci Resolve may seem challenging and time-consuming at first. However, with enough time, effort, and dedication, it is absolutely possible to master the software.

[Sharc]

@Armindesk: Now you experience how questionable it usually is to ask for "the best". You get a pletora of responses with personal (subjective) opinions. Try them all, and good luck with your video projects

[VWestlife]

As for free video editing software for beginners, my recommendations are Microsoft Clipchamp

A warning: Clipchamp does not support interlaced video. If you use it to edit interlaced video, you'll get combing artifacts in the output.

And it's terribly slow because everything you do with it gets uploaded to "the cloud". The app for it is really just a glorified web browser interface; it cannot be used offline.