What could be nicer than having the best software to organize your media content? The difference between open source and other software is that open source allows coding changes to personalize your experience. Essentially, video editing is the process of modifying video pictures. Find out the best Open Source Video Editors to do all that in an instant!
| 1 - OpenShot | 2 - Shotcut |
| 3 - Lightworks | 4 - Blender |
| 5 - Kdenlive | 6 - Olive |
| 7 - VLC | 8 - NATRON |
| 9 - Flowbade | 10 - Avidemux |
Filmora Free Video Editor is an easy-to-use editor for creating videos. Instead of coding to change the video, Filmora offers various functions and video effects to realize the video upgrade. Furthermore, built-in AI tools will bring more convenience to you.
10 Best Open Source Video Editors in 2024 [Free]
Check out this list of best open source video editors that you can use to produce long-form content for YouTube, your online marketplace, or several other venues when you're on a small budget:
Secure Download1. OpenShot
OpenShot is a free and open-source video editor with no premium features. In contrast, the website provides a donation option. You may use the complete range of functions without paying anything. This works with all versions of Windows, including Windows 7, Mac OS 10.15, and most Linux variants.
For a free site, it also has a fairly large variety of graphic effects, ranging from title themes and video transitions to 3D animations. OpenShot also differs from many other video editors in that it is updated regularly.
Unlike some other systems, OpenShot has had many major versions in 2021 alone, which addressed issues and added new capabilities. However, many users have reported substantial slowdowns when using OpenShot, so remember to look out for any efficiency difficulties.
Pros
- Easy-to-use interface
- Unlimited layers
- Super engaging
Cons
- It sometimes lags, which is inconvenient
2. Shotcut
Shotcut is a cross-platform, open-source video editing software with a large library of instructional videos. It also works with FFmpeg, 4K, ProRes, and DNxHD, among other formats. However, because Shotcut was created for Linux, many users may find the UI a little strange. Regardless, it's still a fantastic editor.
Shotcut also has a lot of sound editing capabilities, so it's great for audiophiles. Customers may change bass and treble, construct bandpass filters, alter gain, apply dynamic compression, and more with its array of audio fine-tuning options. FFmpeg, the dominant multimedia foundation, provides shortcut support for the newest video and audio codecs.
The native timeline editing enables customers to instantly add video files into their project folder instead of using a media library. A project uses multi-format timelines to mix up resolutions and frames per second.
Pros
- Excellent editing features
- Offers decoding and encoding features
- Multi-format timeline
Cons
- Takes a good chunk of space on your computer
3. Lightworks
Another famous video editor that can be downloaded for free is Lightworks. Lightworks is compatible with most major operating systems and devices, such as Mac, Windows, and Linux. Nevertheless, because there is no Lightworks application for iOS or Android, the system is only available on the PC at this time.
Lightworks is a powerful platform, featuring transitions, timeline-based editing, cloud and local storing, and no watermarks on the final video, yet being completely free to use. As a result, several additional features are only available with a Lightworks subscription account.
The premium edition of Lightworks charges $23.99 monthly, $239.99 annually, or $389.99 for a lifetime membership for a single user. In less than two years, the annual and monthly choices would cost more than a lifetime membership, so if you want to use Lightworks for a lot longer, you should select for lifetime access.
Pros
- A nice video editor with a lot of options
- Ideal tool for YouTube video makers who wish to edit their videos regularly
- Offers smooth service
Cons
- Only one option to save the project to MP4
Create AI-Generated Video with Filmora
4. Blender
Blender is a free, open-source content creation program on Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows systems. Unlike many other open-source editing software, Blender has no paid memberships or add-ons.
Blender differentiates apart from other software in the domain of 3D editing. Customers may sketch directly in a 3D environment by opening the 3D viewport, providing artists greater freedom than ever to tinker with both 2D and 3D concepts.
Blender also has an animated pose editor and non-linear animator features for autonomous motion and a fairly strong set of animation editing capabilities. Designers and other experienced users may use Python scripting to modify the program and expand its native toolset.
Blender has benefited from donations by hundreds of everyday users who have added several additional capabilities as an open-source platform. It is among the most comprehensive and adaptable free video editors presently accessible.
Pros
- Almost limitless customization
- Good enough to be used by experts
- Optimal features for beginner users
Cons
- Buggy format support
5. Kdenlive
Kdenlive is an open-source video editor that runs on the KDE windows desktop and is developed on Microsoft and Linux. The program provides several editorial and management features based on a specific application for executing editing tasks.
KDEnlive supports all FFmpeg-compatible formats, including MOV, AVI, WMV, MPEG, XviD, and FLV. It also has experimental support for AVCHD and covers 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratios for PAL, NTSC, and other HD standards using HDV. You may also transfer the files to a DVD or export them to DV devices with KDEnlive.
Its common functions include preview pane, multitrack recording, artistic effects, tilting functions, video and audio thumbnails, flexible layouts, and desktop compatibility. This software supports various audio/video/image formats, including MPEG, avi, dv, vob, wav, and mp3.
Pros
- It includes light graffiti
- It has an audio spectrum and spectrogram
- An abundance of top-notch features
Cons
- Mostly for professional use
6. Olive
Olive is a total redesign from the bottom up, with cutting-edge tools to assist you in creating the greatest videos imaginable. Olive 0.2 offers node-based compositing that is both powerful and versatile.
Node editing is a type of visual programming that allows you to customize how Olive produces your video completely. OpenColorIO provides end-to-end color control for the applications.
This should help users match video from many cameras and export your movie to whichever color space you require if you're delivering to broadcast TV online. It has a powerful, fast disk cache to ensure the cleanest possible playback. It operates quietly in the background to render pictures ahead of time, so they're available whenever you need them.
Pros
- Decent interface
- User-friendly application
- Quick and powerful disk cache
Cons
- Lacks some high-end features
7. VLC
VLC media player is cross-platform open-source multimedia which is extremely popular, and for a good reason: it's entirely free, it endorses almost every file type without any need for additional file formats, it can maximize audio and video playback for your gadget, it appears to support streaming, and it can be stretched nearly endlessly with downloadable plugins.
VLC Media Player supports MPEG and DivX streaming. ZIP files may also be played without extracting them one by one. After the download is complete, you may manually boost the volume of a movie up to 200 percent if it is too quiet. VLC Media Player also can look for album covers. Several films may be played one after the other using the playlist feature.
Pros
- A life-saver for many
- Supports a large variety of formats
- Highly customizable
Cons
- Editing metadata isn't as straightforward as in different editors
8. Natron
On the surface, Natron appears to be a versatile and straightforward multi-platform node-based platform with a robust GUI interface. Although Natron appears to be a basic compositing program, it contains layers of intricacy that will allow your imagination to soar to new heights.
Natron's Roto and Rotopaint toolkits are versatile, allowing for the creation of endless layers of masks, mattes, and forms. Natron features a strong 2D and Planar tracker that may help you cut down on the number of hours you spend rotoscoping to fulfill personal or business deadlines.
It includes several powerful keying and matte generating tools created by the core OFX software engineers and various tools created by the open-source plugin development community.
Pros
- Smooth functionality
- 2D tracking tools
- Offers decent editing tools
Cons
- Lacks 3D tracking tools
9. Flowblade
Flowbade is a multitrack non-linear video editor for Linux distributed under the GPL 3. You can make movies out of video clips, audio snippets, and graphics files using Flowblade Movie Editor.
Clips may be clipped at certain frames, filters can be applied to clips, and compositor elements can be used to generate multilayer composite pictures.
The toolbox, ordering, the default tool, and key timeline behaviors are all user adjustable in Flowblade. There is a drag and drop option on the interface for the video files to be imported.
Pros
- Decent default settings to accommodate users
- A good amount of editing features
- 40+ pattern wipes
Cons
- It sometimes lags on heavy videos
Professional Video Editor
Filmora is an expert in editing videos with your creation. You can use powerful tools to make your video like a masterpiece.
10. Avidemux
Avidemux is a free video editor for Windows, Mac, and Linux that doesn't aim to be a full-fledged timeline-based video editing software. Rather, it's made to make a few minor modifications and then splits out a new file.
You may import your source video and pick the start and finish frames to chop off segments. You may add filters to enhance the video by sharpening the picture or decreasing noise.
Some of the aesthetic options include color effects and borders, while others enhance the clip by sharpening the image or reducing noise. You may even add other clips to the end of your existing one, although this type of work would be better suited to a complete non-linear editor.
If you don't need to make any changes to the video, Avidemux may come in handy; as part of its exporting process, it allows you to do so.
Pros
- Decent aesthetic options for video editing
- Edit multiple videos at the same time
- Multiple stickers to add to your videos
Cons
- Lags sometimes
FAQs About Open Source Video Editor
- What is an open-source video editor?
Open-source video editing software includes source code that allows you to tailor the application to your requirements. Everyone with a basic understanding of coding and video editing skills will almost certainly want to utilize an open-source video editor.
- Does OpenShot have a watermark?
Openshot is a free, open-source video editing program with no watermark. As a result, although being a completely free tool, it's doesn't advertise its brand on your final video. Even though the marketplace is filled with open video editing tools, most of them leave a big watermark on your movie project.
Conclusion
All of the video editors on this shortlist offer fantastic features and are completely free to use. They all have advantages and disadvantages, and you must choose depending on your requirements and usage.
We can't state that VLC is excellent for users and Shotcut and OpenShot are fantastic for desktops, as much as we'd like to. Based on what you want to get out of it, you must choose the correct tool. And here, we hope the Open Source Video Editors reviewed will help you massively.