We list the top 10 best and most free video editors for Linux and Windows. Have a look.
Video editors are costly software, especially those that are more advanced such as Adobe Premiere Pro. However, there are plenty of known/unknown Video Editors available, which are free of cost and open source. Here we list ten free video editors which might be helpful for you and your use case.
Table of Contents
Top 10 Professional and Free Video Editors
1. Blender
Perhaps the most competent editor in this list is Blender. Blender is a free and open-source video editor and 3D modelling software used to create movies, animated films, renders, simulations, motion tracking and many more. It is a popular tool used and contributed by hundreds of people worldwide.
Primarily used by studios and individual artists, professionals and hobbyists, scientists, students, VFX experts, animators, game artists, modders, and the list goes on.
It’s feature list is enormous; however, here are some noteworthy features.
- Modelling
- Sculpting
- Animation & Rigging
- Grease Pencil
- Rendering
- Simulation
- Video Editing
- Scripting
- VFX
- Interface
- Pipeline
2. Lightworks
Lightworks is a freemium video editor capable of editing videos for social media, 4K videos and movies. It has been used in some famous Hollywood movie editing as well. This non-linear video editor is free to download, and you might have to pay for additional features.
Here’s a quick sneak peek of its features:
- Simple & intuitive User Interface
- Access excellent royalty-free audio & video content
- Easy timeline editing & trimming
- Lo-Res Proxy workflows for 4K
- Real-time ready-to-use audio & video FX
- Export video for YouTube/Vimeo, SD/HD, up to 4K
- Broad file format support, including variable frame rate media
- Grade your sequence professionally utilising up to 32bit GPU precision and histogram tool
3. Shotcut
Shotcut is another free, open-source, cross-platform video editor loaded with features. Primary features include support for a wide range of formats; no import required, meaning native timeline editing; Blackmagic Design support for input and preview monitoring; and resolution support to 4k.
Notable features of Shotcut:
- Support for 4K resolutions
- Audio, Video, and Webcam capture
- Wide range of file format support
- $K resolution support
- Plugins
- Audio and Video filters
4. Avidemux
Avidemux is ideal for you if you are just a beginner in Video editing, learning, or a hobbyist. This free and open-source video editor is designed for simple cut, filter and encoding tasks. As a basic video editor, it supports many file formats. Also, you can automate tasks using projects, job queues and powerful scripting capabilities.
5. HitFilm Express
HitFilm Express is an excellent video editor – freely available for download – as the name says – the express version. Loaded with features and developed professionally, HitFilm Express is an ideal video editor for beginners, YouTube creators and movie makers. However, it is only available for Windows and Mac. Linux version is not yet profitable, as per the development team, considering the low user base.
Having said that, if you are still looking for a free and professional video editor, you can try HitFilm express. Please note that you may have to pay if you opt for a different version of the product with more features.
6. DaVinci Resolve
This is the most professional video editor capable of 8K editing. Available for Linux, Mac and Windows, DaVinci Resolve is a Proprietary commercial software. It comes with a studio version, and a paid variant with additional features such as more plugins, addons, etc. However, you can still use the free version of the software, which is more than enough if you are a standard user.
Here’s a quick feature guide.
- Dual Timeline
- Source Tape
- Dedicated Trim Interface
- Intelligent Edit Modes
- Fast Review
- Transform, Retime and Stabilise
- Quick Export
- Media Import
- Portable Editing
- Custom Timeline Settings
- Adjustment Clips
- Facial Recognition
- Speed Warp Retiming
- Image Stabilisation
- Keyframe Curve Editor
- Tape Style Audio Scrubbing
- Faster, Smarter Encoding
7. OpenShot
If you are looking for a simple UI-based free video editor yet powerful, OpenShot is the choice. Designed with a mindset with a low learning curve for video editing – it is available for Windows, Linux and Mac.
Here’s a quick rundown on its features:
- Cross-Platform
- Quickly trim down your videos
- Using the robust animation framework, you can fade, slide, bounce, and animate anything in your video project
- Add as many layers as you need for watermarks, background videos, audio tracks
- Video effects engine, remove the background from your video, invert the colours, adjust brightness
- Audio Waveforms
- Title editor with templates
- Render beautiful 3D animated titles and effects, such as snow, lens flares, or flying text.
- Control the power of time, reversing, slowing down, and speeding up video
- Use a preset or animate the playback speed and direction.
- Drag and drop video, audio, or images from your file manager
- 70+ Languages
- Simple User Interface
If you are a beginner in Video Editing and trying it out the first time, this is the editor you should be using to get a feel of it.
8. KDenlive
KDenlive is a 15+ years old video editor application. It is a free and open-source video editor built upon the QT framework, powered by some of the best FFMpeg, frei0r, movie, ladspa, and sox frameworks. This video editor is for average users with some additional advanced features – but not too much to absorb and learn.
Some of its features include:
- Multi-track video editing
- Use any audio/video format
- Configurable interface and shortcuts
- Titler with 2D Title
- Many effects and transitions
- Audio and video scopes
- Proxy editing
- Automatic backup
- Online resources downloaded directly from UI
- Timeline preview
- Keyframeable effects
- Theme interface
9. Flowblade
“FAST, PRECISE and STABLE” – is the tagline of Flowblade video editor, which explains its target users. Flowblade is a non-linear video editor loaded with features such as –
- Edit tools
- Timeline features
- Compositors
- Filters
- Range log
- Proxy editing
- Batch render queue
- G’mic effects tool
- Audio mixer
- Media relinker
- Titler
- Misc. Features
- Rendering
- MLT supported video and audio codecs
It is only available for Linux Systems and not for Windows or Mac.
10. Olive
Olive is a free non-linear video editor aiming to provide a fully-featured alternative to high-end professional video editing software. It is being developed at the moment and in the ALPHA stage. Looking at the interests, it seems promising, and users are creating videos via Olive. However, being an ALPHA version, it is not recommended for professional work at the moment, but you can still give it a try.
You can download it for Windows, Linux and Mac via the link below.
Wrapping Up
Video editors are complex software. Many professional editors are costly.
With that said, here we featured the top 10 professional video editors in Linux for you. Some are perfect if used rightly and can replace any professional program.
For example, Blender, KDenlive and DaVinci Resolve – are perfect for creating professional-grade videos or movies.
Finally, what are the top professional video editors in Linux, in your opinion? Let me know in the comment box below.
Image Credits: Respective applications.
