If you own a high-end DSLR camera and you’re a professional photographer, you don’t have to use a video editing tool. The DSLR may have inbuilt utilities to enhance the quality of the images or videos. Before capturing the video, you may have fine-tuned the camera settings as to get the most out of your camera.
If you are using a cheap digital camera or your smartphone to capture images and videos, you’ll have to use a video editing software to make the raw video look better.
Various companies have launched video editing software for Windows OS and MAC OS. Some software requires users to complete a video editing course or spend some time in learning the features of the program.
Some tools are designed for beginners. These programs have intuitive options that display the result of the filter and effect on the fly so that you can quickly figure out what the option does. They also provide a tool to undo/redo the last operation so that you can learn from the mistakes.
Below we’ve covered the best video editing software for Windows, Linux and MAC OS powered computers. Our list covers the 2 most powerful video editing software for professional tasks and 3 free tools that have more than enough features for a free user.
The great thing about the software we’ve shared here is that you don’t have to complete any course or waste time in learning the features. You can begin using the tools right from the word go.
5 Best video software 2017 (paid and free)
1Adobe Premiere Pro CC
Adobe Premiere Pro is the most powerful video editing software for Windows and MAC operating systems.
The software enables you to edit VR, AR, 360-degree, and 3D videos. If you have recorded 4K videos with your smartphone, you can edit them too with this great software.
Adobe Premiere Pro offers a powerful non-linear interface for editing videos. The software’s interface is divided into multiple sections and it boasts black color background and gray color texts to make sure that your eyes don’t hurt while editing a video. The program has over 200 features.
The software is compatible with other Adobe products. If you’re using Adobe Premiere Pro for professional tasks, you can share your workspace with other users.
Premiere Pro from Adobe supports every file format you have heard of. Likewise, you can export the edited video to one of the many supported video formats. It provides several motion graphics templates and supports direct publishing to various websites. Adobe is updating the Premiere Pro software on regular basis. Hence, the software will support next-generation processors and graphics cards.
If you’re using an OLD PC, make sure that it features 64-bit AMD Phenom 2 or Intel Core 2 processor and 4 RAM to use this video editor.
The Adobe video editing software is a part of Adobe Creative Cloud Package. The subscription costs of Adobe CC starts at $12.
Also read: Best webcam software with amazing effects and filters
2Apple Final Cut Pro
If you’re searching for the best video editing software for MAC, you should buy and download Apple Final Cut Pro.
FCP is a powerful program developed and maintained by Apple. It is designed to work with Apple’s Macintosh operating system only.
The software offers plenty of audio and video effects. It allows you work with videos with keyboard shortcuts. Like Adobe’s video editor, the software lets you edit 4K resolution videos. It supports multi-cam editing.
The video editing interface of Apple Final Cut Pro is divided into various sections. Each section features different tools that make editing videos an easy task for beginners or advanced users.
FCP enable users to merge and split videos. It provides a timeline interface through which you can change the video frame position or add a new clip between two frames.
The software features 90+ audio and video filters. It lets you import videos captured with a DSLR or digital camera.
The video editing software runs on computers or MacBooks with 4GB RAM, 256 megabytes video memory, and Intel 3000 series HD graphics chipset. The price of Apple Final Cut Pro software is 300 USD.
3KDENLive
KDENLIVE is the best free video editing software. This tool allows you to arrange frames/audio tracks, group and ungroup video clips. It features two color themes, light and dark. It comes with an option to change the default look and feel.
KDenLive comes with a configuration wizard tool that enables you to set default video profile, the device for recording videos, and video recording format. Before completing the setup, the installation wizard of this program checks your system to make sure that it has FFMPEG and FFPLAY encoders. If you haven’t installed these two encoders, KDENLIVE will install them for you.
To import videos from DVD, this software provides DVD wizard tool. KDENLIVE allows users to download new render and project profiles. It has an option to bookmark effects. It can export your videos to the following popular formats:
- DIVX, HDV, AVI.
- QuickTime, H.264, Pro Res, DNXHD.
Like other video editing software we’ve mentioned in this article, KDenLive offers many audio and video filters. It supports Windows, Mac, and Linux OS.
Because the numerous features Kdenlive offers, you can use it for personal or professional purposes.
Also see: Best DVD burning software for Windows
4AVS Video Editor
AVS doesn’t have a great user interface but it is an incredibly powerful video editor. AVS allows users to export videos in 30+ file formats. It comes with the video stabilization function that fixes shaky video frames.
The software features 200+ filters and it lets you create slideshow videos from images. The video editor enables users to import videos from external devices such as camcorders, DSLR camera, etc.
AVS lets users create and save video editing projects. It provides an option to capture a screenshot of a specific frame. AVS Video editor features 2D graphical elements, with which you can highlight objects in the videos.
The software allows you to record your voice and add it to the video as a voice-over. You can control the video playback speed and the video color, brightness, gamma, or contrast with the AVS VC.
AVS has a tool to adjust colors and white balance of a video clip. You can configure it to work in two modes – single and multi-process. AVS uses an internal caching solution to make video editing headache-free experience for the user. It works on computers equipped with 2GB RAM, AMD, or Intel processor.
Must check: Best free image hosting sites
5Light works Video editor
The software allows you to backup the current project as an archive file. You can specify the program’s output location or share the project with your co-workers or friends with Lightworks.
Lightworks lets users edit certain frame of a video and move controls displayed on the main interface as per their requirements. It can import videos of 18+ formats.
The free edition of Lightworks software lets you export files to H.264 and MPEG file formats. It allows you to save videos in formats supported by video streaming websites such as YouTube, Vimeo, etc. It enables you to work with 4K videos. The Pro edition all major file formats and has many interesting features.
Lightworks video editing software has a simple interface. You can install it on computers running the Windows, MAC, or Linux operating systems.
Adobe Premiere Pro, KDenLive, LightWorks, AVS and Final Cut Pro are the best video editing software of 2017.
