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30 Most Popular Movies Right Now: What to Watch In Theaters and Streaming

Discover the top, most popular movies available now! Across theaters, streaming, and on-demand, these are the movies Rotten Tomatoes users are checking out at this very moment, including Challengers (see Zendaya movies ranked ),  The Fall Guy , and Jerry Seinfeld’s  Unfrosted .

Other notable movies on the chart this week include rom-com  The Idea of You  (currently streaming on Prime and in limited theaters), horror films Tarot  and  I Saw the TV Glow , the 2014 Robert Downey Jr.-Robert Duvall drama  The Judge  (now on Netflix), and  Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace (which is back in theaters for its 25th anniversary).

Check back for latest updates to the charts, and also take a look at the most popular TV shows out right now !)

The Fall Guy (2024) 82%

Unfrosted (2024) 40%

Challengers (2024) 89%

The Idea of You (2024) 83%

Tarot (2024) 21%

Civil War (2024) 81%

Late Night with the Devil (2023) 97%

Monkey Man (2024) 89%

I Saw the TV Glow (2024) 88%

Turtles All the Way Down (2024) 86%

Arcadian (2024) 83%

Miller's Girl (2024) 29%

Anyone But You (2023) 54%

Love Lies Bleeding (2024) 94%

LaRoy, Texas (2023) 100%

Abigail (2024) 84%

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) 71%

New Life (2023) 93%

Unsung Hero (2023) 60%

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) 54%

The Judge (2014) 49%

Dune: Part Two (2024) 92%

Boy Kills World (2023) 58%

Arthur the King (2024) 69%

Infested (2023) 97%

Rebel Moon: Part Two - The Scargiver (2024) 16%

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) 52%

In the Land of Saints and Sinners (2023) 83%

Alien (1979) 93%

The Beekeeper (2024) 70%

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6 New Movies Our Critics Are Talking About This Week

Whether you’re a casual moviegoer or an avid buff, our reviewers think these films are worth knowing about.

• Share full article

By The New York Times

CRITIC’S PICK

Going ape for another ‘Apes’ movie.

‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’

The latest in this sci-fi series follows a group of rebels as they face off against an authoritarian ruler who has twisted the peaceful teachings of a previous leader.

From our review:

There’s a knowing sense that all this has happened before, and all this will happen again. That’s what makes “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” powerful, in the end. It probes how the act of co-opting idealisms and converting them to dogmas has occurred many times over. What’s more, it points directly at the immense danger of romanticizing the past, imagining that if we could only reclaim and reframe and resurrect history, our present problems would be solved.

In theaters. Read the full review .

A thermal thriller that’s hot and cold.

‘aggro dr1ft’.

This hallucinatory romp directed by Harmony Korine conveys the journey of an assassin entirely through thermal imaging with added digital effects.

Whether it’s the thermal imaging or the augmentation, the visual style renders eyes practically invisible, leaving the actors without an important means of communication. … That absence might account for why “Aggro Dr1ft” is so unengaging on a narrative level, but the monotony might also have to have something to do with the protagonist, a hit man extraordinaire who is also (gasp) a family man. The world’s greatest assassin has been saddled with the world’s most sophomoric internal monologue. “I am a solitary hero. I am alone. I am a solitary hero. Alone,” he mumbles.

Think ‘On the Road,’ but for Gen-Z.

‘gasoline rainbow’.

Five teenagers embark on a road trip to a “party at the end of the world” and encounter many fellow misfits along the way in the latest from filmmakers Bill and Turner Ross.

There’s an uncommon sweetness to this film, which is less about running away from something and more about discovering the road of life is littered with goodness, if you know where to look. There’s a loose, languorous quality to “Gasoline Rainbow,” which the Rosses shot using a mostly improvised format, a collaboration between actors and filmmakers. It feels like a home movie, or a documentary — a capture of a slice of life in which there’s no plot other than whatever happens on the road ahead.

A destination wedding that goes nowhere.

‘mother of the bride’.

At a surprise last-minute wedding, the mother of the bride (Lana, played by Brooke Shields) gets another surprise when she discovers that her daughter is engaged to the son of her ex-beau, Will (Benjamin Bratt).

“Mother of the Bride” is directed by Mark Waters (“Mean Girls”) with an apparent allergy to verisimilitude. Early on, we are told that the opulent Thai ceremony will be bankrolled by Emma’s company (she’s an intern) and livestreamed to “millions of eyes.” These fantasies of pomp and circumstance often serve to make Lana and Will’s budding romance feel like a B-story to the action — although that may be a blessing when the best screwball gag this movie can muster is a pickleball shot to the groin.

Watch on Netflix . Read the full review .

Chris Pine goes off the deep end.

In Chris Pine’s directorial debut, he plays a pool cleaner who is enlisted to help uncover a mysterious water heist.

The sure-why-not plot, modeled on the California water grab in “Chinatown,” is less interesting than the charismatic cast that rambles along with Pine on his excellent adventure. Pine’s yarn was savaged when it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, but the sour response is a bit like getting mad at a golden retriever for rolling around in the grass.

Small drama, big stars.

Seeking asylum, a young Nigerian woman (Letitia Wright of “Black Panther”) navigates the complications of applying for permanent residency in Ireland in this drama from writer-director Frank Berry. Josh O’Connor of “Challengers” also stars.

At the beauty salon where she works, Aisha’s rightly cagey as she listens to her customers. But at the shelter, she turns warm, when she gives makeovers to fellow immigrants. As he did for his award-winning prison film, “Michael Inside,” Berry used nonprofessional actors with intimate experience of the system — here, Ireland’s International Protection Office, which processes asylum applications — he wanted to depict. It’s a gesture that keeps the film from lapsing into melodrama.

Bonus review: A rural throuple

It’s not immediately apparent how courtly intrigue figures in “A Prince” (in theaters) , Pierre Creton’s spellbinding French pastoral drama, though sex, death and domination hang palpably in the film’s crisp, Normandy air.

Creton looks to the divine powers and chivalric codes that fuel swords-and-shields epics like “Game of Thrones,” but whittles these elements down to a mysterious essence. Eventually, the film shifts into explicitly sexual and mythological terrain with a B.D.S.M. edge.

The story is slippery by design, loosely tracking the gay coming-of-age of an apprentice gardener, Pierre-Joseph. Throughout the film, a series of wordless and seductively austere tableaux, he forms bonds with various individuals in his rural community. Multiple narrators speak in retrospect, as if looking back from the afterlife at the characters onscreen.

Pierre-Joseph eventually comes to form a throuple with Alberto and Adrien, his mentors. The naked bodies of these much older gentleman appear suggestively weathered next to their younger lover’s sprightly form. Yet there is no mention of taboo. That passion could bloom in such spontaneous and unexpected forms is part of this enigmatic film’s potency.

Explore More in TV and Movies

Not sure what to watch next we can help.a.

Andy Serkis, the star of the earlier “Planet of the Apes” movies, and Owen Teague, the new lead, discuss the latest film in the franchise , “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.”

The HBO series “The Sympathizer” is not just a good story, it’s a sharp piece of criticism on Vietnam war movies, our critic writes .

In “Dark Matter,” the new Apple TV+ techno-thriller, a portal to parallel realities allows people to visit new worlds and revisit their own past decisions .

The tennis movie “Challengers” comes to an abrupt stop midmatch, so we don’t know who won. Does that matter? Our critics have thoughts .

If you are overwhelmed by the endless options, don’t despair — we put together the best offerings   on Netflix , Max , Disney+ , Amazon Prime  and Hulu  to make choosing your next binge a little easier.

Sign up for our Watching newsletter  to get recommendations on the best films and TV shows to stream and watch, delivered to your inbox.

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Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, kim's video.

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“Kim’s Video” reaches so hard for quirky profundity that it falls on its face. It’s a real shame because there’s an interesting story buried in this frustrating film. From the ‘80s to when it closed in the ‘00s, Kim’s Video was a vital force for the love of independent cinema. It curated a culture that valued art above everything else, including whether or not some of the VHS tapes they were renting were 100% legal. Personally, my working at video stores in the ‘80s and ‘90s cultivated my love for the form, and I regret the fact that my kids can’t walk the aisles of a place like Kim’s Video, stumbling onto something that might change their life. And it’s fascinating how many former employees of Kim’s are artists now, including the great Robert Greene (“ Procession ”), Sean Price Williams (“ The Sweet East ”), and Alex Ross Perry (“ Listen Up Philip ”), all interviewed in this doc. Where will young directors get the kind of on-job education they did in video stores?

All of this is fertile ground for a film like “Kim’s Video,” but co-director David Redmon (who is credited alongside Ashley Sabin ) can’t find the story he wants to tell. It feels like the idea was to approach a counter-culture mecca like Kim’s Video with a counter-culture style—there’s a reason this was in the NEXT program at Sundance instead of one of the doc ones—but the constant returning to David’s story instead of the store or even founder Yong-man Kim is infuriating. Redmon narrates ALL of “Kim’s Video” as it unfolds, often interjecting film clips that he thinks amplifies his point but feel like the most basic Film 101 choices that only serve to exaggerate what’s happening to him. He didn’t find an ear in a field like “ Blue Velvet ”. He is not like the characters in “ Blow Out ” or “ The Conversation .” Lord help me, he did not do an “ Argo .”

So what did David Redmon do? Here’s where “Kim’s Video” gets weird. What starts as a document of an organization becomes obsessed with what happened after it closed instead of the impact it had when it was open. In 2008, Kim announced that Mondo Kim’s would close and that he would sell the collection, ending up working a deal with the city of Salemi in Sicily, a place that was trying to rebuild a reputation as an artist’s community after being devastated by an earthquake. Promising great things for the collection, Kim agreed, only for it to be basically buried out of sight and used as capital for other art projects but not displayed in any way.

Redmon gets it in his head to “rescue” the collection, traveling to Salemi multiple times to interview politicians and other key figures, washing all of it in the broadest Italian stereotypes one could imagine. He doesn’t just pull out the Scorsese clips, he claims in is narration to be frightened as someone he’s following stops under a bridge, saying, “We’re under a highway—this is where people go to get murdered.” And then nothing happens.

Almost everything that happens in Salemi feels forced into Redmon and Sabin’s filmmaking vision instead of what actually goes down or might be interesting. It’s as if they set out to make a film like what they loved at Kim’s Video and then forced all the square pegs into the round holes in an effort to make that happen. The approach leads to clunky pacing and obfuscation of the real story here. Yes, Kim’s Video was important, and saving its archive is important, but a better film would pull back from the over-played experiences of the person making it to tell the whole story instead bouncing all over the place and injecting clips that serve no purpose other than to call attention to the filmmaker’s alleged knowledge base. Kim’s Video created thousands of film fans, and even a few filmmakers—the film with the same name loses the macro story of why this place mattered in the micro one of the person trying to tell it.

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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Film credits.

Kim's Video (2024)

David Redmon as Self

Yong-man Kim as Self

Vittorio Sgarbi as Self

Isabel Gillies as Self

Robert Greene as Self

Eric Hynes as Self

Lorry Kikta as Self

Ryan Krivoshey as Self

Clayton Patterson as Self

Alex Ross Perry as Self

Sean Price Williams as Self

Anna Thorngate as Self

Enrico Tilotta as Self

Domenico Venuti as Self

• David Redmon
• Ashley Sabin

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How to Record High-Quality Video Reviews (And 4 Examples of Great Ones)

We give you tips on how to record high-quality video reviews along with 4 examples of video reviews made using vocal video to inspire you to make your own..

Steve Norall • May 02, 2023

Video reviews — where customers review a product or a brand via video — are an extremely powerful marketing tool because they are so authentic. However, video reviews have historically been complicated, expensive, and time-consuming to produce.

Brands would usually hire professional videographers, spend hours on location, and then take on a team of expert editors for post-production. This potential cost and effort still prevents lots of businesses from recording their own video reviews to use in their marketing.

Vocal Video’s video review and testimonial recording platform was specifically designed to cut through all of this time and effort. You can produce extremely high quality, genuine video reviews without professional videographers or hours spent editing.

In this article, we’ll give you a brief rundown of how Vocal Video works and show 4 great examples of video reviews created using our platform, to get you inspired to create your own.

If you’d like to try Vocal Video yourself, to see how easy it is to create high quality video reviews, sign up for a free account , or find out more here .

How to Use Vocal Video to Record Your Own High-Quality Video Reviews

The power of online video reviews is that they show your real customers giving their genuine opinion of your brand. Seeing their faces, hearing about the customer experience directly, and watching their enthusiasm for what you do is far more powerful, and feels immediately more relatable, than just reading a written testimonial, for example. Harnessing the social proof of video for your marketing helps improve conversion rates and ultimately make more sales.

At Vocal Video, we know the power of social proof firsthand, and how hard it can be to record these videos. Our founding team spent over 10 years working on SaaS products and we tried a variety of ways of making videos, including spending thousands of dollars on professionally-produced video content (read our full founding story here) .  

Based on our experiences, we have specifically designed Vocal Video to make it easy, fast, and cost-effective to create video reviews and video testimonials without any videography expertise, and whenever you need them. We simplified the video production process to make it accessible to every business.

You just send out a link to a satisfied customer, they click on the link to record a video review for you on their mobile device, laptop, or PC. You don’t need to arrange a time and date with them or send out a film crew.

After recording, a pre-edited, professionally styled video is sent to your Vocal Video account where you can make more edits using our easy in-platform editing tools (this is optional because the pre-edited version is already high-quality). Finally, you can host or embed the polished video without having to export or download it.

On average, it takes less than 15 minutes to set up. Here’s how you can continuously capture and create your own video reviews using Vocal Video in just four steps:

1. Set Up a Simple Process to Collect Videos Directly from Your Customers

The first step in the Vocal Video process is to put together what we call a video collector. This is like a ‘wizard’ that your customer follows to make a video testimonial for you by recording themselves answering a set of questions that you create for them.

Click here to see our article with detailed information and tips on how to design video testimonial questions to get high-quality responses.

To kick start this process, and make it even quicker, you can pick one of our 45 templates designed for a range of use cases, including customer reviews, product reviews, employee testimonials, and more.

The templates give you:

• Suggested copy for a three-step email sequence to request, collect, and follow-up on customers who agree to record video reviews for your brand.
• Three suggested questions for each template (which you can tweak or swap out, as well as adding more).
• A customizable welcome message.
• A suggested thank-you message.

You simply make the changes you want to your chosen template, add your  own brand colors and logo, and include an optional incentive for reviewers who record a video (we offer a monthly cash prize draw, or you can choose to add your own custom incentive).

Finally, you send off an automatically-generated link to your customers pasted into an email, via SMS, in messaging services, or even posted on your social channels.

Once you’ve set up a collector, you get to keep it to use again (or adjust for different campaigns) in the future, making the process even speedier the next time you want to collect video testimonials.  Plus, you can include the video collector link in automated marketing emails to request and collect video reviews.

Click here to find out more about how to collect video testimonials using Vocal Video.

Vocal Video Walks Your Customers Through Recording a Video Review On Your Behalf

The Vocal Video collection process is designed for your customers to record video reviews remotely and in their own time. After you send out the link (as explained above) the recording process is in the customer’s hands.  It is super easy for them to record an authentic review in minutes.

All your respondents have to do is click on the collector link to go to an interface like the one shown below:

The collector is hosted directly on the Vocal Video platform, so customers don’t have to download or sign up for anything to get started with recording. They just use their own mobile device, tablet, laptop, or PC to record the review video.

After that, they are shown prompts including the questions you set when you built the collector (similar to the example below) .  

Once they’ve read the question and are prepared to respond, they simply choose whether they’d like to record their video review as video or audio.

They answer each question one-by-one and can play back their responses after each recording to check on how they look and sound. If they don’t like what they see or hear, they can simply re-record.

When they are happy with their recording, they click to finalize the video and it gets automatically sent to you.

2. Receive an Automatically Pre-edited Version of Your Video Review

Once answers to each question have been recorded Vocal Video gathers the video responses together into a single seamless video, automatically adding features including:

• Title cards
• Question cards
• Motion graphics and animations
• A call to action

So, the initial video you receive already includes everything you need to publish it directly on your website, on social media, or any other marketing channels, even before you’ve edited it using our platform’s in-built tools.

3. Use Our In-Built Tools to Edit and Polish Your Video Review

Even though the bulk of the editing work is done for you automatically (as we described above in step 3), Vocal Video also gives you the editing tools you need to add extra polish and even more impact to your video reviews.

The easy to use editing suite, right inside the Vocal Video platform, has been designed for anybody to use, even without any previous video editing experience.

The editing tools let you:

• Change the order of each scene in the video (by dragging and dropping them into place).
• Trim scenes and edit down responses.
• Change colors, branding and logos.
• Alter background music (choose from our free music library or add your own).
• Modulate music and audio volume.
• Edit captions.

In our experience, most of our users can get to grips with our editing tools right away, and even those who need further instructions, take to it in under 15 minutes, without needing to sit through long video tutorials or read huge ‘how to’ documents.

Click here to check out our 7-minute video for everything you need to know about using Vocal Video’s in-platform editing tools.

And Finally, Share Your Video Reviews on All Your Marketing Channels

Vocal Video automatically generates embed codes and share links for your video reviews, which you can use to post to your social media channels, on your website, and wherever else you want to show them online.

Click here to find out more about sharing and embedding Vocal Videos.

Get Inspired: 4 Examples of High-Quality Video Reviews Created Using Vocal Video

For inspiration, we’ve selected four great examples of video reviews created using Vocal Video to show you what you can produce using our innovative platform.

Customer Video Reviews

Famtastic fertility.

This online video review for FAMtastic Fertility, a provider of courses on female fertility, is an excellent example of how to record a customer video review using Vocal Video.

The respondent is eloquent, well put together, and does a very thorough job of giving her opinion about the course she has attended. The questions asked in the video are incisive and have drawn out specific details from the reviewer, making the video very engaging.

The automatically-generated captions, which have been edited (note the addition of the name of the podcast for additional information), make the video more inclusive and accessible.

Product Video Reviews

This is an example of a product review shared on the Fellow.app website. It’s one of six video reviews included on a dedicated reviews page.

All six of the videos together give great social proof of how the Fellow meetings and agenda app works for each of their specific use cases.

Employee Video Reviews

This is an example of how video reviews can be used for recruitment purposes. It shows an employee of the company describing their career path before working at Wonolo as well as describing what they like most about their job. Employees can also create training videos .

The video testimonial is just three minutes long, but there is a clear authenticity — helped along by some great interview questions to tease out good anecdotes.

Event Video Reviews

Google cloud/spotify.

This video review of a Google Cloud event, recorded by Spotify, is a great example of how enterprise companies use Vocal Video. In this case, to promote and review an industry event on Linkedin .

Create High-Quality Video Reviews Using Vocal Video

As you can see from the high-quality examples above, using Vocal Video, you can record a variety of polished video reviews to share on your marketing channels.

Our process has been carefully designed to make it as simple as possible for anyone to collect, record, edit, and share video reviews using only the Vocal Video platform and absolutely no video production expertise or experience.

Steve Norall

Product strategy, marketing, customer success (oh, and CEO too).

Try the faster, easier way to create testimonial videos.

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How to Make a Movie Review

Whether you are an amateur or professional film critic, video editing skills are a must. Learn how to make a video in a few simple steps!

How to review a movie

Many people watch films and like to review them. Moreover, the more reviews the movie has, the better understanding of it can be for the average user. Each reviewer is different from others in some way, be it discussing the specifics of movies, making movie summaries for those who haven't watched it yet; explaining how and which genre features are used, or even focusing on a specific topic based on a particular scene.

Do you have something to say about films that interest you and wonder how to do a movie review? Specific details may vary between genres and depend on the style you're going for in your movie critique, but in general, the following steps can help:

• Start with a short introduction, present yourself, and name the film's title.
• Highlight the features of the movie that made it unique or piqued your interest — the reason why you are reviewing it.
• Describe the main plot without revealing too many spoilers (if necessary, during editing, include a warning and a time stamp to jump to avoid spoilers).
• Evaluate the technical aspects of the film: the acting, the directing style, and the cinematography. You can also pay attention to the score and sound effects if they are important.
• Include favorite quotes or interesting dialogue from the film — some may be useful as recurring gags if they fit your script.
• In the end, summarize your review, highlight key points, express your overall rating of the movie, and whether you would recommend it or not, depending on that.

When all the material has been filmed, there is only one thing left to do, but it may be the most important one – editing. It may seem complicated if you don't have enough experience yet, but if this is the case, our online editing tool will help you out. Working with it is pretty simple:

Open Clideo’s Online Video Editor and click "Get started", then the "+" icon to import media files from your device. You can also upload them from online cloud storage.

You can also use the built-in media libraries to look for audio, images, clips, and other elements that would fit the style of your video or help illustrate your point better.

Edit the video

In the "Canvas" tab, you can change the aspect ratio if needed — for example, 16:9 if you post the video on YouTube, and there are other options as well.

To cut out the excess footage, place the playhead on the starting point of the unwanted part, then click "Split" at the top left of the timeline and repeat at every point where it's required. Then, select them and click "Delete" to remove them.

Splitting will also help when you want to change the look of a certain part of the video, like altering colors, applying blur or transparency, etc. Such adjustments can be made by selecting a file in the timeline and applying one of the options in the tab above.

To add music or sound effects, simply place the audio file above the video fragment where it should play. Then, adjust the sound using the "Volume" slider and apply fade-in and fade-out effects in the options tab if needed.

You can also overlay an image or clip over the main video in the timeline and adjust its position in the preview window. This way, you can fit many fragments into one frame while controlling the layers on the timeline.

If you need to add captions, click + on any preset in the "Text" tab or drag it to the preview or timeline. Then, write the text and edit it according to your taste.

When done, click "Export" and choose your preferred export option.

Save the result

Watch the preview to see if everything looks good in the final video. To add changes, click "Edit", otherwise, download your movie review to your device or cloud storage.

Visit our Help Center for the most recent details about all our tools.

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Best video editing software in 2024

Paid or free, the best video editing software lets you make great home movies for little investment

• Best paid software
• Best free software
• How to choose
• How we test

Using the best video editing software for you is crucial if you’re producing video content. It doesn’t matter whether you’re an amateur filmmaker, experienced cinematographer, or even a burgeoning social media influencer — you’ll need software that has the right tools for the job.

The best video editing software applications are more powerful than they’ve ever been, providing you with tools for doing just about anything to your footage, including applying FX and audio editing. Importantly, though, many video editing applications are extremely user friendly these days, so if you’re put off by steep learning curves, know that isn’t an absolute necessity anymore.

We think the best video editing software for most people is Adobe Premiere Elements. It’s missing a few advanced features found in other software (including its elder sibling, Premiere Pro), but it’s intuitively laid out and easy to pick up and use straight away.

There are plenty more video editing software packages out there though, both paid and free, and we’ll be covering them here. Read on to find the best video editing software for you.

The best video editing software in 2024: Top Picks

These are our top three picks for the title of best video editor in 2024. However, there are more to choose from than just these three, and others may suit your needs better. Read on to see the whole list.

1. Adobe Premiere Pro Premiere Pro is our pick of the best video editing software overall. It's the video editing program used by professionals the world over, thanks to its user-friendly interface and best-in-class feature set. However, because of its price (Premiere Pro starts at $20.99 per month), it's best for those who plan to do a lot of video editing and some people may find Premiere Elements 2022 (below) to be a better fit.

2. CyberLink PowerDirector 365 This video editor is less expensive than Premier Pro, but still has a wealth of cutting-edge features. It's a great choice, especially if you're a Windows user. (The new Mac version is good, but lacks the complete feature-set). PowerDirector 365 starts at $51.99 for an annual subscription.

3. Corel VideoStudio Ultimate Corel VideoStudio Ultimate is powerful but easy-to-learn, and can be used to create simple videos without fuss. That's not to say Corel VideoStudio Ultimate doesn't have a great feature-set: it supports a huge array of tools for when you're ready to make more complex videos. Corel VideoStudio Ultimate costs $99.99.

The best video editing software you can buy today

1. Adobe Premiere Elements 2022

Our expert review:

Specifications

Reasons to buy, reasons to avoid.

When it comes to user-friendliness, sophisticated features and ways to output your video, the best video editing software for most people is the cross-platform Adobe Premiere Elements. 

The program uses Adobe's Sense.ai artificial intelligence to make it easier to perform edits. Its Guided Edits feature remains a great tool for demystifying the entire process for novice filmmakers, and there's now additional support for 4K resolutions and stabilized video, plus tools for selective edits, double-exposure video, and real-time effects. There are also outputs for social media, video reframing and support for vertical videos.

However, it still lacks features such as 360-degree video editing, or support for multicam editing. But Adobe's program is the most well-rounded of all the video editing software we've tested.

Read our full Adobe Premiere Elements review .

2. CyberLink PowerDirector 365

At long last, CyberLink PowerDirector is available for Mac as well as Windows users, bringing a dazzling array of fun, advanced video editing features wrapped in a stunning, easy-to-use package to a new audience. 

CyberLink offers several versions of PowerDirector: PowerDirector Ultra ($99) and PowerDirector Ultimate ($139) are one-time purchases, while PowerDirector 365 ($69.99/year is a subscription model that comes with Shutterstock integration, unlimited access to CyberLink's background music and video editing plugins. (You can find a full comparison here ).

One reason Mac users may want to stick with another program is that the Windows version of PowerDirector 365 has more features and tools than the Mac version. For example, there's no support for importing 360 photos and videos. But there's still enough else here to keep many intrigued.

Read our full review of CyberLink PowerDirector 365 .

3. Corel VideoStudio Ultimate

Corel has long been a competitor to Adobe for video editing software, and continues that rivalry with VideoStudio Ultimate, an outstanding editing package for beginners on the Windows platform.

VideoStudio is a powerful but easy-to-learn app for anyone who wants to make simple videos quickly without fussing around with complex controls. Its spare but inviting interface offers a huge array of tools, including 4K support, 360-degree video editing, multicam support, more than 2,000 effects, enhanced lens-correction tools, and 3D text editing. Our biggest issue is that it's Windows-only and you can't customize your workspace as easily as you can with other programs.

Read our full Corel VideoStudio Ultimate review .

4. VideoPad

VideoPad is fairly unusual among the best video editing software programs in that it works on both Macs and PCs, which broadens its appeal and reach. However, there are more features available for the Windows version than the Mac version.

You can download a non-commercial version of VideoPad for free, but you'll have to put up with some annoying notifications, so we'd recommend the paid version. A Home Edition ($39) and Master's Edition ($69) get rid of those, and offer more features, such as unlimited audio tracks and plugins.

While VideoPad lacks the flashy, whiz-bang appeal of some commercial apps, it’s still a rock-solid choice for simple video editing. The app offers a number of YouTube choices ranging from 480p to 4K, as well as Facebook, Flickr, Dropbox and Google Drive.

Read our full VideoPad review .

5. Final Cut Pro X

Final Cut Pro X and Adobe Premiere Pro are pretty much neck and neck when it comes to feature-rich, professional-level video editing. Both are industry leaders, and it’s hard to say that one is better than the other overall. However, there are some important differences. 

One of those is the pricing model. Unlike Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro isn’t subscription-based. However, it does come with a bit of a hefty price tag. While in the long run it’s certainly cheaper than shelling out each month for a subscription, some users may be hesitant to commit to spending such a large sum. Fortunately, Final Cut Pro also comes with a free 90-day trial, so you’ll have time to play around before making any decisions.

While Premiere Pro works beautifully with Creative Cloud (and if that’s your primary workspace, then we recommend Adobe’s video editing software), Final Cut Pro fits perfectly into the larger Apple ecosystem. It’s built to take advantage of Metal for wicked-fast graphics, and is optimized for Mac Pro. 

There’s no shortage of advanced features, like the Magnetic Timeline, range-of-effect options, and intelligent Smart Conform cropping, which follows dominant motion on screen to ensure nothing essential gets cut. It’s smart, fast, and built for Mac. Unless you’re wed to Creative Cloud, Final Cut Pro has a lot to offer. 

6. Pinnacle Studio

Pinnacle Studio comes to us from the same makers of VideoStudio Ultimate, graphics and media heavy-hitter Corel, so it should come as no surprise that it’s made our list of the best video editing software. It’s built for a more professional audience than VideoStudio and includes support for multicam video, stop-motion video, motion tracking, 360-degree VR, and 4K video. 

Recent updates have brought a much cleaner interface, and the software is now easy and enjoyable to use, although we occasionally ran into some buggy or slow behavior. An initial Home screen includes helpful tutorials, news and feature updates, and add-ons. Three additional modes, Import, Edit, and Export, include all the tools you need to create professional-looking videos. 

Pinnacle also boasts impressive rendering speeds and a large library of effects, plus good audio editing tools. Professional editors will be happy to find a range of pro features, like video masking, clip nesting, LUT presets, and batch processing. 

Fans of Corel will feel right at home with Pinnacle’s newly polished look and wide array of pro-level features. 

7. Filmora9

Filmora9 by Wondershare is one of the best video editing software apps for enthusiastic amateurs and those just starting out. It has a simple, clean, and intuitive interface that’s easy to understand and navigate, and plenty of effects and filters that can be easily applied to footage (YouTubers rejoice). The royalty-free sound library, with effects and music, makes it easy to add emotion and flair.

It lacks many of the pro features you’ll find in Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro, like support for motion tracking, multicam, or VR, but then it’s not made for the same audience or level of knowledge. It also doesn’t carry a professional price tag. There’s a fully-featured free version (with watermark), and the full version costs just $59.99, with no watermark and full user support.

If you’re just getting started with video editing and want to learn the ropes with a super-simple but powerful app that won’t break the bank, Filmora9 is a great option.

The best free video editing software

1. HitFilm Express

Hitfilm Express is one of the best value packages among the best video editing software, not just because it's free to start, but also because you can add on more features at reasonable prices. The program is compatible with both Macs and PCs, and also supports discrete Nvidia and AMD GPUs for threaded rendering and decoding. 

Our favorite new tool of Hitfilm Express is auto-stabilization, which helps smooth out shaky footage. Other new features include WAV audio exports, a crop and pan/zoom effect, a GoPro FX reference effect, a color adjustment effect. While Hitfilm Express can be a little intimidating for beginners, we like its low cost to entry and affordable and scalable features.

Read our full Hitfilm Express review .

2. DaVinci Resolve 17

A powerful pro-level, cross platform app, you’ll want to use DaVinci Resolve on a system with discrete graphics to get the most out of this video editor. The latest version of DaVinci incorporates Fusion, previously a stand-alone application, which brings with it four high-end video-production modules for editing, color correction, audio production, and video effects and motion graphics. 

DaVinci is quite powerful, but has a bit of a learning curve. If its 256-page manual doesn't intimidate you, high-level enthusiasts will find a lot of tools at their disposal.

DaVinci Resolve is now on version 17, and the latest build includes a major upgrade to Fairlight, its audio editing workspace. It also gives free users the ability to collaborate on a project simultaneously — something that you previously had to pay for. Previous versions have included the addition of a Neural Engine that uses machine learning for such things as facial recognition and speed warp and it also has a new Cut Page, a streamlined interface for editors who need to turn projects around quickly. 

Read our full DaVinci Resolve 17 review . 

3. Lightworks

If you want proof of the regard in which Lightworks is held, consider that the Pro version has been used to create multiple award-winning movies including Pulp Fiction, The Wolf of Wall Street and Jerry Maguire.

Even the free version has a wide range of fairly advanced tools, including some impressive audio-editing options, VFX, color adjustments and more. Against that, output maxes out at 720p — which may work if you're just making a home movie to share with relatives, but not for anything more serious. 

Upgrade to the Pro version for $24/month or $240/year and you'll unlock 4K output plus a raft of other features including to the Boris Graffiti plugin, extra import features, advanced project sharing, timeline rendering and more. Or, for a one-off fee of $390, you can buy it outright and get all of the above plus Boris FX. 

The interface may take a little getting used to compared to some programs, but it's still simple enough for a novice to master with a little help from the many tutorials and as a further bonus it works with almost every platform, including Windows, Mac and Linux.  

Read our full Lightworks review .

4. Apple iMovie

Apple iMovie is the best video editing software for novice filmmakers on Macs, combining professional trailers and themes, abundant special effects and an easy-to-learn interface. In addition, it's free, so this is a great place to start, or if you need to do simple video edits. iMovie now supports 4K editing and sharing, as well as extended handling to video shot at 1080p and 60 fps. Recent updates tweaked the interface and added Touch Bar support for the latest MacBooks.

One of the other benefits of iMovie is that you can work on the same project on either a Mac laptop or desktop, then switch over to your iPad to continue your editing. It's a very handy feature for those who need the flexibility.

Read our full Apple iMovie review .

VSDC has a hybrid layout that incorporates controls for both creating and editing video projects, along with links to instructional videos, which are a big help when navigating through its interface. VSDC is a non-linear editor, which gives you some more flexibility when editing, but that means it has a bigger learning curve than more traditional video editing software.

VSDC is not bad for basic edits, but its interface has a learning curve, and it lacks a few popular features. VSDC is also a Windows-only program. If you upgrade to the pro version of VSDC for $20 (good for one year for two machines), you get additional features such as technical support, a full multimedia suite, advanced settings, hardware acceleration, sub-pixel resolution, a masking tool, chroma key functionality and a visible audio waveform. The latest version, VSDC 7.1, upgrades the GUI and LUT editors and adds new effects and custom shortcuts, among other things.

Read our full VSDC review .

Shotcut is a free, open-source, cross-platform video editor for Windows, Mac and Linux that works with a variety of video resolutions and more esoteric codecs. The platform-agnostic Shotcut appeals to prosumer and enthusiast filmmakers with its broad format support and abundant audio and video effects and editing features. However, its learning curve might be a bit much for novice users, and it lacks an easy way to share videos to popular social media sites.

We like that Shotcut's interface starts out sparsely populated; you can add windows as you see fit, though it can get cluttered quickly. In addition to being cross-platform, Shotcut also works pretty well on systems that don't have discrete graphics, making it more accessible to those who don't have thousands to spend on the latest GPUs. 

It's also regularly updated with new features. Recent updates included a 15-band (graphic) equalizer plus notes and voiceover options, so updates aren't just big fixes.

Read our full Shotcut review .

7. Movie Maker online

Movie Maker Online is just that: a web-based video editing program, which means that you can use it on any computer with a web browser. That gives it an advantage over some of the best free video editing software packages, as there's no need for you to have a super-fast machine or lots of hard drive space. 

It also includes free music and stock photos you can add to your video, plus there's the ability to add transitions and some basic effects. But don't expect HitFilm levels of sophistication. Movie Maker Online's interface is a bit confusing — for instance, the timeline runs vertically rather than horizontally — and there are other restrictions, such as the fact that you can only export in MP4 format. The ads are intrusive, too, but for making short films without much fuss it's certainly worth a look.

Read our full Moviemaker Online review .

How to choose the best video editing software for you

Free or Fee?

There’s no reason for the occasional video jockey to fork over any cash, as there are plenty of free apps available for both Windows and Mac. In fact we also have a list of the best free video editing software . But while the deciding factors for free and paid software may appear to be based on cold hard cash, that’s not the whole story.

People who are looking for a more powerful editor with a variety of built-in resources, responsive technical support and more would be better off dropping some cash on something from this list of the best video editing software.

However, there’s a third option: you can download software such as VideoPad or HitFilm (which offer all of the basics) for free, and then purchase additional features à la carte as your experience and needs grow.

How we test video editing software

In order to compile our list of the best video editing software, we tested more than a dozen programs — paid and free — on consumer Mac and Windows laptops for more than 100 hours, to see which are the best for editing, as well as sharing your videos with friends and family.

We evaluated all of the software based on functionality, ease of use, performance, sharing options and new features in the latest versions. We also judged the packages based on real-life uses for a number of categories, including best overall, best free app, best for beginners, best for YouTube maestros, best for Mac users and best for Windows platforms.

Performance results are important, but they’re not critical components of software evaluations, because depending on your hardware setup, your mileage will vary. By comparison, ease of use, interface and features carry more weight than export clock speed. Nonetheless, as a single measure among many, speed testing provides valuable comparative information.

As several of the programs on this page have been updated with newer versions since their initial review, we are currently in the process of re-testing them. At the same time, we are upgrading our testing platforms, from laptops with integrated graphics to those with discrete GPUs. This will better reflect the improvement in performance from apps that can take advantage of discrete graphics cards. Stay tuned for the results — we'll update this list of the best video editing software once we have them.

We have a wide range of buying guides to help you make the right decisions. If you're not keen on paying for your software just yet, why not read our guide to the best free video editing software . For workflows on the move, we also have a guide to the best video editing apps . If you're also looking to edit stills, make sure you check out our photography guides, including the best photo editing software , best free photo editing software and best photo editing apps . Need somewhere to store all those large RAW files? You'll want to read our guide to the best photo storage and sharing sites . And if you want to upgrade your gear, make sure you read our round up of the best cameras you can buy today.

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Jackie is an obsessive, insomniac tech writer and editor in northern California. A wildlife advocate, cat fan, and photo app fanatic, her specialties include cross-platform hardware and software, art, design, photography, video, and a wide range of creative and productivity apps and systems. Formerly senior editor at Macworld and creativity editor at The Next Web, Jackie now writes for a variety of consumer tech publications.

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• richw46 I own both Adobe Premiere Elements 2022 and VisualStudio Pro 2022. Both are limited in what they can do and are really horrible, especially Visual Studio Pro. Support for both is as bad as the software. Visual Studio crashed my new Lenovo laptop so many times that Visual Studio stopped working, so I ripped it out and bought Premiere Elements 2022. It's not as functional as my very old version of Nero Platinum 11 I bought in 2011 (but that won't run on WIN10). Premiere has crashed a few times and sometimes the editing video window disappears but it does work. The sound disappeared after a crash and I had to disable the microphone input to get the sound to return. Neither software has much in the way of making DVD intro videos or very many sample templates. Editing of the templates is limited so not a lot of custom work. If all you want to do is make simple .mp4 videos then this will probably work. The biggest problem I've encountered so far is trying to import more than 69 (Apple) .mov HEVC files into a project in Premiere. The import throws an error saying I don't have the necessary HEVC files. However, I can open a new project and import the ones that were rejected in the other import. I reported this to Adobe support, spent 3+ hours in a chat session and all I got was them changing permission on a hidden system folder from TrustedInstaller to 'everyone' so they could delete ALL my HEVC files (instead of using the Uninstall feature in Apps & Features), which caused the software to stop importing any HEVC files and 4 other apps to crash and need to be reinstalled or repaired. They didn't have the Microsoft HEVC install (99 cents at Microsoft) to replace it so they downloaded a freebie from a site in Columbia SA. They have promised to call and connect me with a higher level techie. All of the .mov files were recorded using the same iPhone 12 with no changes to the default settings. This new Lenovo laptop has the necessary HEVC files, but Adobe support thinks the problem is with my laptop, not their software. Corel wouldn't refund my money and support replies to emails were up to 2 weeks apart. I finally told them to stop and leave me alone. I'm thinking about asking for my money back from Adobe now. My advice is to avoid both. I'm considering buying the Cyberlink Power Director 20 Ultimate now. Fingers crossed. Reply
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Best free video editing software (2024)

Find the best free video editing software for your next project

• Top video editors
• Best free video editing software

The best free video editing software puts professional post-production tools into everyone’s hands at zero cost. 

You don’t need to invest in the best video editing software to make a movie, learn how to edit, or create unmissable clips for social media. You can find loads of editing apps packing Hollywood-grade post-production tools - and they’re totally free. Some of our picks have even been used to cut big-screen movies, TV shows, and top YouTube channels. 

Like the best video editing software for beginners and mobile video editing apps , free video editors are great when you’re starting out, working to a budget, or just trying something new. To help you find the right one for you, we’ve tested out the best free video editing software. As part of our review process, we’ve explored the user interface and experience, and the full editing process. We’ve also checked extras like built-in VFX software, platform availability, performance, and any pricing upgrades. 

TODAY'S TOP 3 VIDEO EDITORS

Looking for a premium video editor? We’ve tested, reviewed, and rated the best paid-for video editor apps - perfect for professional editing into the home or studio.

Adobe Premiere Pro: best video editor overall  

Adobe Premiere Pro is an industry-standard video editing program that's really easy to use. And it seamlessly integrates with Adobe apps like After Effects, when you subscribe to Creative Cloud. In our 5-star review, we found it’s a stable video editing powerhouse with a huge list of features designed to help you intuitively build professional-grade projects. See our guide How to download Adobe Premiere Pro for free or with Creative Cloud

CyberLink PowerDirector: best value video editor

PowerDirector is a premium video editor that keeps costs low, with lifetime and subscription pricing models. It’s a feature-packed tool that caters to beginners, intermediates and pros alike. Testing the software, we found you can create anything from a simple cut to a really complex project filled with effects, titles, slick transitions and effects.

Apple Final Cut Pro: best video editor for Mac

It may be aimed squarely at the professional end of the market, but Apple Final Cut Pro is an easy video editing software tool, and its 'trackless' timeline is super intuitive. You pay for it once upfront, so it could be very affordable long-term. Reviewing the tool positively, we called it an incredibly powerful piece of video editing software.

Best free video editing software in 2024

1. DaVinci Resolve

Our expert review:

Specifications

Reasons to buy, reasons to avoid.

As the best free video editing software overall, Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve is a tough video editor to beat. Not only for the vast number of features it comes with, from high-end video editing capabilities to a powerful node-based special effects system, extensive color correction features, and professional-level audio tools, but the whole thing is available for free. Yes, you read that right. There are no strings attached. You can download it for Mac, Linux, or Windows, and you’ll owe Blackmagic nothing.

Earning 4.5 stars in our review, we hailed the video editor best for pros and those serious about editing as "incredibly powerful, it’s updated regularly, and to top it all, it’s free. It puts a lot of competing software to shame. The only downside is so much power leads to a complex interface. But if you’re serious about video editing, this shouldn’t overwhelm you."

You can also get the more powerful Resolve Studio for a fee - of $295 for a perpetual license, with all future upgrades free from then on. The software even includes its own VFX software, Fusion - one of the best Adobe After Effects alternatives for designers. 

So what’s stopping everybody from using it? Well, it’s a very complex piece of software that could potentially intimidate newcomers to this profession. But if you’re serious about video editing, you should most definitely take this software out for a spin. You very likely won’t regret it.

Read our full DaVinci Resolve review

• Download DaVinci Resolve here

2. Lightworks

Lightworks is some of the best free video editing software - and it comes with a bit of a pedigree. Go to their website, and you’ll see how proud they are of the numerous professional feature films that have been cut with it. 

But this is with the Pro version. The Free option offers you the same interface but has a more limited selection of tools. It was something we highlighted in our review, noting that "Lightworks is a great free video editor with numerous tools to satisfy most casual video editors, although if you want more advanced features, you’ll need to pay for the privilege."

Still, don’t let that dissuade you: most of the pro features really are destined for professional users, and if you’re an amateur, enthusiast, or just starting out, you’ll have a great time learning the ropes with it. 

Everything is pretty intuitive, and the new contextual help windows guide you through your first steps effectively.

The only major downside to the free version is an inability to export your finished product beyond 720p. We’d understand if 4K was deemed a pro feature, but 1080p? Really? 

See how a video editor best for beginners and pros stacks up against its premium rival in Adobe Premiere Pro vs Lightworks . 

Read our full Lightworks review

• Download Lightworks here

Top tool HitFilm is powerful, professional, and one of the best free video editing software for Windows 11 , Windows 10 , and Mac. There are subscription tiers which include higher-end tools, and also grant you access to an extensive media library, 

But you can learn to ignore all the red ‘upgrade’ buttons peppered throughout the interface, and get on with creating your videos.

If you’re new to software for video editing, you’ll appreciate all the tutorials on offer straight from inside one of the best free video editor apps. Existing users will find most of the tools they’re used to, albeit across a revamped interface (and a new name - gone is HitFilm Express, simply replaced with HitFilm).

The only downside we feel with the latest version (2022.1) is that there doesn’t seem to be many new features, or at least many new features that don’t try to entice you to upgrade to one of the subscription tiers. 

Still, that doesn’t take away from the powerful features already present, which you can still use to create simple or impressive videos, all for free. Now that’s a price you can’t beat. The only thing to bear in mind is that HitFilm needs a computer with a bit of oomph, and one of the more recent operating systems , be it Windows or Mac.

Read our full HitFilm review

• Download HitFilm here

One of the best free video editing software tools that's open-source and multiplatform is Shotcut.

Many of the best free video editor apps can leave a lot to be desired, adding veracity to the old adage that “you get what you pay for”. Shotcut however bucks that trend. Yes there are a few niggling glitches and design decisions, but that’s true for any software - paid or free.

While testing the software, our review praised it as "a strong contender in the video editing field, Shotcut might not wow you with a dazzling interface, but everything you need to edit a simple video is right there for the taking."

As it currently stands, Shotcut is a very robust and stable video editing package (it only crashed on us when trying the newest VoiceOver feature). And it's packed with numerous features, including markers, time remapping and a generous use of keyframing abilities. Having said that, during our own tests on Mac, the voiceover tool repeatedly crashed. From what we understand of the implementation, it feels a little convoluted. But we’d choose convoluted over crashes any day.

The interface itself is pretty flexible, allowing you to move sections around and even turn them into floating windows - essentially it will try its best to help you work the way you like to. If you’re in the market for a top free video editor, certainly give this one a go.

Read our full Shotcut review

• Download Shotcut here

5. ACDSee Luxea Video Editor

While ACDSee has a long and storied history with a host of creative apps, its free video editing software for Windows 11, Windows 10, and Mac might not be on your radar. But it should be. 

Luxea Video Editor is one of the most accessible video editing software tools on the market. It likely won’t suffice for professional videographers and editors, who may swiftly outgrow the software. But it’s perfect for beginners and intermediates who need to create great-looking, professional videos and social media content fast. 

However, that low barrier to entry is deceptive. Under the hood, Luxea is absolutely packed with advanced features, from stock design assets to VFX tools and color grading. And, like the main tool, these are incredibly simple to apply to your footage, even if you’ve never tried it before. Luxea might not deliver Hollywood-grade tools - no Best Picture winner is likely to be created here - but their inclusion and operation is very impressive for a free video editor. 

We also found ACDSee’s offering excelled at video editing on low-end PCs and laptops. System requirements are fairly low, and we had no trouble with the tool when we tested it on a basic home laptop. 

The free version retains all the features of the premium, paid-for upgrades (available on a monthly/annual subscription, or a lifetime license). The only downside is that Luxea adds an intro and outro to all exported videos.

Read our full ACDSee Luxea Video Editor review  

• Download Luxea Video Editor here

6. Clipchamp

Clipchamp is a free online video editor - so you can run it in your browser without needing some heavy duty video editing PC. A Windows desktop app is also available. 

The Microsoft -owned app is a seriously easy-to-use tool. It takes more than a few UI design cues from Canva, and that’s no bad thing. It’s largely built for those new to the art of editing, and those who need to crank out fresh content fast. Editing is simple - if you’ve never tried video editing before, it’s a strong place to start. But there’s multi-track support for more complex projects. 

Clipchamp’s real magic is in its templates. This makes it really simple to cook up videos for just about every social media platform - worth a look if you’re in marketing, or a content creator. Especially since videos aren’t watermarked and support full HD exports. You can even create GIFs with videos less than 15 seconds. 

The stock libraries are full of image, video, and music assets, but to get the gold, you’ll need a monthly or annual subscription. The software lacks the power to take on full-fat video editors. And it can be difficult gaining granular control over projects. But for anyone boosting their video output quickly and efficiently, Clipchamp has a lot going for it. 

Read our full Clipchamp review  

• Download Clipchamp here

7. Apple iMovie

Apple iMovie for Mac used to be a great piece of free video editor app for consumers with little to no knowledge of video editing. But the feature list that made this true, has remained virtually static for years, and that’s become its biggest drawback: it’s been too long since iMovie's last major update.

Of course you can still edit your videos with it, using its sleek and simple interface, and its compatibility with iMovie for iOS and even Final Cut Pro makes it possible to start editing on your phone, and seamlessly continue to your Mac. That’s a big selling point, but is it enough?

The video editing software is free for all Mac users, and if you’re curious about the art, you can do so much worse. But you can also do better.

See how the program compares to Apple's pro tool in our guide Apple iMovie vs Apple Final Cut Pro .

Read our full Apple iMovie review

• Download Apple iMovie here

8. Adobe Premiere Rush

Adobe Premiere Rush is a fun useful tool if you’re in the market for the best free video editing software for Windows, Mac, iOS, or Android.

On the free Premiere Rush starter plan, you can create and share as many videos as you like, but you're limited to the free features. Premium features are locked away behind a paid-for Creative Cloud subscription. 

As you'd expect from Adobe, whose industry-standard Premiere Pro has grown to define the bar for modern video editors, using Premiere Rush is a sleek, simple experience. In our hands-on review, we noted the video app "sports a nice, clean interface with very simple editing features. A snappy clipper that's perfect for making short videos for social media." 

And that's the main appeal of Adobe Premiere Rush - the clue is in the name. The video editing tool is designed to work across multiple platforms: start on an iPhone, continue on a PC, polish on Android, and fine-tune on a Mac. 

As everything is stored online, you can easily jump from one device to another (as long as they’re linked to the same Creative Cloud account, of course). This offers great flexibility and an efficient workflow. If you upgrade to the full experience, you'll find a good range of tools, from color correction to titles, overlays, transitions, and even time remapping. Think of it like Adobe’s answer to Apple’s iMovie, and you won’t be far off. 

We'd like to see more features rolled out for free users. And we were baffled when we discovedred that certain tools are locked to certain platforms. For instance, you get a contextual menu to edit clips in your timeline, but only on an iOS device. 

But overall, we can't complain. It’s easy to use, with a simple interface, and pricing options are clear. The tool is only marred by the occasional odd glitch we encountered when a clip refused to be deselected for some reason, preventing us from selecting another to make changes to it. Although frustrating, restarting the app fixed that, and we only encountered it twice while trying the software out.

Read our full Adobe Premiere Rush review

• Download Adobe Premiere Rush here

9. Canva Video

Canva Video is deliciously simple free video editing software ideal for marketing teams, small businesses, and online influencers looking to cut clips in seconds. It’s not a fully fledged free video editor, like DaVinci Resolve or Lightworks - don’t expect Hollywood-level editing tools, features, and effects here. You can only export movies to MP4 and GIF for a start. 

What Canva Video excels at is helping beginners (or those in a serious rush) create professional-looking short videos and social media assets that can be shared with ease. The interface is near-identical to the company’s popular online graphic design tool, which relies on dragging, dropping, and resizing pre-built, customizable elements onto the canvas. If you’ve so much as glanced at editing software in the last twenty years, you’ll be fairly familiar with the layout and operation (in some ways, it reminded us of a modern version of Windows Movie Maker). 

The free video editor app won’t satisfy experienced editors or those in need of the industry-standard powers of Premiere Pro or Final Cut. It’s far too basic to deliver those results, even with a Pro or Enterprise subscription. But as a quick and dirty tool for creating visual media and animations for your social networks, it’s one of the best.

Read our full Canva Video review  

• Download Canva Video Editor here

10. Adobe Express Video Editor

The Adobe Express free online video editor is cut from the same (or, at least, near-identical) cloth as Canva Video. And while close enough in operation, it’s not quite as fluid as its rival. 

Don’t be fooled by the Adobe moniker - this is no substitute for Premiere Pro, Premiere Elements , or even the mobile video editor Premiere Rush. Like Canva’s free video editor app, it’s best used for cutting together short, simple clips for social media or for creating slideshow presentations. 

On that score, the free video editing software - which is only available on the web and can’t be accessed in the strictly design-focused Adobe Express mobile apps - wins ample plaudits. 

During our time with the free video editor, we found it ideal for beginners and time-poor professionals who need visual content fast. With an incredibly simple interface, and Adobe’s refined user experience, the cloud-based program makes it supremely easy to edit your footage, add titles, music, and even voiceover narration. 

However, in a bid to streamline and simplify, we occasionally found the process clunky - and actually uploading and processing videos makes a mockery of the name ‘Express’. 

Still, the free version houses a nice selection of stock images, music samples, and graphics to help your movies pop off the screen. If you choose to take out an Adobe Creative Cloud Express subscription (and power-users may find that essential after a time), you’ll also unlock a wider library of Adobe Stock assets.

Read our full Adobe Express Video Editor review  

• Download Adobe Express video editor here

11. OpenShot

Open-source, free video editor OpenShot is capable of working on Windows, Linux, and (via the Daily Build workaround) Macs.

In our hands-on review, we said it “mostly goes from strength to strength with each new release,” but that some elements can be confusing, with “puzzling ways of doing things.”

The interface is quite original, and is extremely flexible and customisable, to boot. You’ll have an increasing number of effects, many of which are useful in any workflow. Animation is extremely flexible and many parameters are keyframable. The latest version also lets you drop emojis over your videos, making it one of the best free video editor apps for Instagram and other strongly visual social media platforms - it adds a bit of character to videos, at least. 

It’s not all smiley faces, though. One of the biggest problems is with the transitions, which still don’t work right. We found them to be pretty complex, too. 

Elsewhere, the software for editing videos seems to have trouble letting Mac users actually edit those videos. At present, the official build has issues, requiring Apple users to use the latest Daily Build. 

However, the software is capable of handling most video formats, and the new improvements to the timeline make editing quicker and more enjoyable than before.

You can’t beat it on price, but you can certainly beat it on features. It really depends what you’re looking for and the extent of the tools you need to build your video.

Read our full OpenShot review

• Download OpenShot here

12. Microsoft Video Editor

Microsoft Video Editor is an editing tool that comes bundled with your PC, as part of the Photos app. You might think it’s weird that there's free video editing tool nestled inside an app focused on cataloging and colour correcting your images, but that’s what we have.

And really, Microsoft's alternative to Apple iMovie pretty basic. You can import video clips (although not those in a modern format like HEVC - you can only work with those if you pay for the privilege - turns out the best things in life aren’t for free), trim them, split them, add effects, a title, that kind of thing.

The interface feels very outdated at best, and cumbersome at worst. But still it is possible for you to produce something with it that’s half decent. There’s even the possibility to create vertical projects (9:16 instead of 16:9 for instance). But to be fair, there are free competing products that are better and offer more, like not charging for using modern formats. 

Ultimately, it's fine for what it does. And it's one of the best free video editing software for low-end PCs. But there's a good reason we dubbed the tool Windows Movie Maker without any of the charm (or nostalgia, for that matter). 

Read our full Microsoft Video Editor 2022 review

• Download Microsoft Photos here

Best free video editing software: FAQs

How to choose the best free video editing software for you.

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

When choosing which free video editing software is best for you, there are several key factors to consider. 

What kind of video do you intend to make, and where is it for? There’s a world of difference between quick editing of home videos you’ll watch on TV and editing something for Netflix or cinema distribution.

If you plan to use the software for commercial use, watch out for licensing rights (for stock assets, for example) and ideally opt for free video editing software without watermarks.

You’ll need to consider what formats the software needs to export in, what level of quality it needs to output, such as HD, 4K, or 8K , and whether it can deliver the kind of VFX software you want to use, if required. If you’ll be collaborating, your app will need to be compatible with the other people’s apps too. 

What kind of computer are you running your software?

Video editing is pretty resource-intensive. You can get free video editors for low-end PCs. But for flawless performance from editing to rendering, you'll want a powerful rig to run the software. While a good graphics card and plenty of RAM is important, when it comes to GPU vs CPU for video editing software, CPU is the more important of the two. 

if your PC specs are low, take a look at the best video editing computers , best video editing Macs , and best laptops for video editing .  

Are you an experienced video editor, or would a simpler app that takes you step by step through the whole process be more helpful? Do you want to have complete control over every pixel, or would you rather let the computer do most of the work? How future-proof do you need your app to be?

Remember that most, if not all, free video editing apps are limited while not all high-end editors are unaffordable. Think about whether a free-to-use option is best for you or if it's worth paying a little more for a bit more functionality. Can your chosen app grow with your imagination?

If you don't need a fully featured video editor, then it's worth looking at EZGif . When you need to crop a video to a specific aspect ratio, this simple online tool could be just what you need. It's not suitable for very large files, but you can set the dimensions, select from a list of presets, and position the crop area yourself.

Which free video editing software do YouTubers use?

Generally speaking YouTubers tend to go for simple, effective and affordable apps. One of the best free apps is Lightworks, which you can get for Windows, Mac and Linux devices. It has integrated YouTube exporting and a bunch of really impressive real-time effects. It looks absolutely terrifying compared to something like Microsoft Photos but it doesn’t take long to learn and it’s a really good editing app.

There are lots of other good options too. The free app DaVinci Resolve is very good, especially on colour correction, while HitFilm is especially powerful and good for both beginners and experienced editors once you get past the learning curve. 

See our guide What do YouTubers use to edit videos? for more advice and software recommendations.

Is free video editing software good enough?

It can be. Movies made in Apple’s iMovie have wowed crowds at film festivals over the years, and some people have made perfectly good movies using just it and an iPhone.

There are many decent free video apps out there, but there are a few things to consider. Performance, especially encoding and exporting, isn’t always up there with the big hitters, and you’ll often find that features are only available if you buy in-app purchases or just aren’t there at all. Some stick an enormous watermark over everything you output; few offer any kind of technical support. Pro-level features are rarely offered because these apps aren’t designed for video pros.

It’s worth being a bit pedantic here and differentiating between free commercial software and free open-source software. The former is often a cut-down version of a full product offered for free in the hope you’ll buy its big brother. The latter is usually a full product made available by individuals or teams of volunteers with no expectation of any financial reward. While open source acts can sometimes lack the polish and/or user-friendliness of commercial software they may well deliver all the features you need without requiring you to spend any money.

Why should I care about free software for editing video?

wiVideo is the new rock’n’roll: where children used to dream of being rock stars, but now they dream of being YouTube vloggers. Meanwhile, video has become the lingua franca of the internet, from viral clips and video responses to indie films and glossy corporate presentations.

The one thing they almost all have in common is editing. That could be simple trimming to cut a clip at the appropriate place, or it could involve mixing multiple clips together, changing the soundtrack, and adding a whole bunch of special effects. To do these things you’ll need a video editing app.

Should I pay for a premium video editor?

To state the blindingly obvious, premium video editors tend to have advantages that free ones don’t. Those advantages tend to come in the form of resources: resources to develop apps that squeeze the most performance out of high-end hardware, resources to develop better effects, resources to fix show-stopping bugs, resources to make sure the app works on the latest hardware, resources to polish the interface and create help files and how-tos and all the other things you’d expect from professional software. But of course, that comes at a price.

If you’re a pro, time is money so you spend money to save time, whether that’s the time it takes to render your footage or the time you can’t afford to spend shouting when the app doesn’t do exactly what you want or crashes mid-edit.

Free apps are aimed at a more forgiving and less demanding kind of user. That’s not to say they can’t do great things. They can. But they often take a hand-holding approach that focuses on the basics and doesn’t give you access to the fine detail. They might take a good-enough approach to performance rather than a “Steven Spielberg needs this NOW!” no-compromise approach, and their effects may be simpler than the pro ones.

What video editing software features should I look out for?

That depends on the kind of editing you’d like to do. For example, you might not need much in the way of visual effects if you’re just splicing together clips from Uncle George’s 90th birthday party. But there are some key things to consider.

First up, what formats and resolutions does the app support? Can it use the footage from your camera without converting? Can it export to the places you want to share your finished footage?

Do you need features such as green screen or picture in picture (if you’re a YouTuber, the answers to those to are probably yes)? Can you share directly with social media, if that’s your thing?

How many tracks can you use? Can you pull in footage and audio from multiple files, swapping between them as needed, or will you need to do some pre-production first because the app can only handle a couple of tracks at once?

Does the app have any smart features to make everyday editing easier, such as smart trimming of clips or simple editing modes? Is it easy to add titles, transitions between scenes or to adjust the colours?

If it’s a mobile app, can you transfer your project to continue editing in a desktop equivalent of the app?

Which video editors do professionals use?

That depends on your definition of 'professionals' and the industry or sector you’re thinking of. Go to Hollywood or a major TV studio and the editing’s almost certainly being done in Avid Media Composer Ultimate.

In ad agencies, indie film studios and businesses making YouTube films you’re more likely to see Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple Final Cut Pro and associated apps such as Adobe’s After Effects, a motion graphics and visual effects app - see above for how well we rate those. These are very, very good tools designed to run on very, very good computers. 

How we test free video editing software

We've tested, reviewed, and rated hundreds of paid-for and free video editors and production tools, so readers can make an informed choice. That includes trying out the best Adobe Premiere Pro alternatives and the best VFX software . We've also compared popular software like Adobe Premiere Pro vs Apple Final Cut Pro , and Adobe Premiere Pro vs Lightworks . 

Free video editing software may not be as involved as paid ones, but many of the best ones are still full of features that are worth taking a deep dive. So, when testing free video editing software, we go beyond its most basic and most used features.

Naturally, we still start with its user interface, checking to see just how easy (or how difficult) it is to use and navigate for beginners as well as expert users. After all, even pros need a seamless, unencumbered workflow so they can focus more on the creative process. 

We take stock of its available tools, testing the important ones to see how they fare against those on paid-for video editors like Premiere Pro, as well as check out the filters and effects on hand. We also make a note of just how many of them are free and how many are stuck behind a paywall. A number of free apps typically come bundled with bloatware, so we make sure to mention in our review if that specific app comes with it.

Finally, we test its exporting prowess, from how efficient it exports a video to how many video formats it has available. 

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Daryl had been freelancing for 3 years before joining TechRadar, now reporting on everything software-related. In his spare time, he's written a book, ' The Making of Tomb Raider '. His second book, ' 50 Years of Boss Fights ', came out in June 2024, and has a newsletter, ' Springboard '. He's usually found playing games old and new on his Steam Deck and MacBook Pro. If you have a story about an updated app, one that's about to launch, or just anything Software-related, drop him a line.

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