In today's digital world creativity reigns supreme. It offers endless possibilities for individuals and brands to captivate audiences and leave a lasting impression. With social media platforms at the forefront of communication and product consumption, the demand for making videos is stronger than ever before.

When it comes to free video editors, the sheer number of options available on the web can be overwhelming. Some video software is renowned but comes with a hefty price tag. Others are free but may lack quality or have limitations in functionality.

To save you time and effort, we’ve tested the best free video editing tools popular in 2024. Join us as we unveil our results and navigate the world of video editing with confidence.

VSDC Free Video Editor

VSDC Free Video Editor tops the list of the best free editors in 2024. VSDC seems to be an ultimate solution for Windows PC users in search of a reliable and feature-packed video editing software. This powerful tool offers a wide range of editing capabilities, from basic tasks like trimming videos, adding text, and removing soundtracks, to more advanced techniques such as color correction, special effects and text animation.

VSDC Free Video Editor has excellent basic editing tools. You may think: 'Come on, basic’s so boring!' But that's not the case at all. Basic doesn’t always mean uncreative, especially when it comes to numerous tasks you can complete with VSDC’s cutting and splitting tool.

After filming a video, once you stop your camera, it is common to have a large amount of footage. In fact, searching for key moments and milestone frames is an essential part of almost every video editing project. First of all, you may want to remove the unnecessary episodes, and here VSDC gives a helping hand. Furthermore, if you want to add emotional impact and interweave the said key moments into the semantic framework of your film, you may refer to popular artistic techniques, such as J-cuts, L-cuts, cross-fades and cross-dissolves. All of them (and not to forget about dynamic transitions) can be replicated in VSDC for free.

In today's digital world, high-quality video content is not limited to professional videographers, but is also expected from amateur filmmakers, social media specialists and YouTubers. Text intros and tips are crucial elements in creating a polished and engaging final product. With VSDC's comprehensive toolkit for text animation, users can easily create dynamic and visually appealing text effects like glitch, neon, video in text, or get inspired by some ideas they may want to replicate - absolutely free.

Thinking to add a touch of drama, emotion or suspense to your video? Give a try to VSDC free slow mo. Whether you're creating a blockbuster film or a simple home video, the slow motion effect is a powerful tool in the VSDC's arsenal to transform ordinary footage into a captivating work of art.

Color correction plays a pivotal role in video post-production. In response to this, VSDC provides access to a plethora of customizable video effects, transitions, and color filters.VSDC users may enhance the visual aesthetics of their footage manually thanks to color wheels and RGB curves, transparency-based overlays and quick filters. Whereas the built-in LUT editor empowers them to apply pre-made LUTs or create personal custom templates, giving videos a professional touch.

As the metaverse and virtual reality continue to shape the future of digital media, the demand for innovative and captivating visuals is high. Green screen technology (Chroma Key) has become a popular and essential tool in video editing. With the ability to seamlessly replace green backgrounds with any image or video, Chroma Key has transformed the post-production process, allowing creators to push the boundaries of visual storytelling. VSDC offers two Chroma Key options: VSDC free green screen within YUV color space and the premium HSL option.

After all, VSDC Free Video Editor is a powerful tool with a comprehensive toolkit. Once users become familiar with the free version’s interface, menu structure and workflow, they may want to go further and boost their editing skills in VSDC’s premium version. Rather than searching for a new editing tool, users upgrade to VSDC Pro to unlock professional toolkits and advanced VFX within the same software product. Motion tracking, multicam editing, HSL Chroma Key, masking tools, blending modes, AI Art Generator, video stabilization and other professional features come together with hardware acceleration to ensure speedy rendering of your heaviest (and most creative!) projects.

Surprisingly lightweight, VSDC (both free and pro) runs smoothly even on computers with limited RAM and effortlessly opens footage from any device without requiring format conversions.

DaVinci Resolve

DaVinci Resolve from Blackmagic is widely recognized as one of the best free video editing software options available today. The program offers a wide range of features, including advanced video editing tools, a powerful FX system and professional-grade audio features that allow users to bring their unique vision to life. The best part is that it's completely free. That's right, there are no hidden costs or limitations. You can easily download DaVinci Resolve for Mac, Linux or Windows without having to pay anything to Blackmagic.

For those seeking even more, there is an option to upgrade to Resolve Studio for a fee of $295. This solution grants you a perpetual license and free future upgrades. Notably, Resolve Studio also includes Fusion, a remarkable VFX software that serves as an excellent alternative to Adobe After Effects, particularly favored by designers.

While the complexity of DaVinci Resolve may seem daunting, it remains a must-try software for anyone committed to the art of video editing.

Lightworks

Another decent solution from the list of the best free video editors in 2024 is Lightworks.

It is an excellent free video editing software that offers a wide range of editing tools. With its advanced editing capabilities, users can experiment with different cuts, transitions, FXs and filters to create a dynamic and engaging final product. However, if you require more advanced features, you will need to upgrade to the paid version for additional benefits.

Lightworks Pro has upgraded its FX engine to support OpenFX, which allows for a wider range of visual effects plugins. The software also includes NewBlue's Titler Pro for 2D/3D titling and motion graphics and Essentials video tools for footage correction and sharpening.

Movavi

Movavi Video Editor is a user-friendly video editing software designed for both beginners and advanced users. It offers a powerful toolset, including pro-features like video stabilization, color correction, and special effects.

Movavi Video Editor is available in both trial and premium versions. The trial version offers basic video editing tools, including trimming and cutting, as well as some special effects and filters. Nevertheless, Movavi’s freemium solution does have certain limitations to be aware of. These include restrictions on maximum video resolution, limited export options, a relatively smaller FX library, and a watermark on final projects.

Movavi Video Editor has a simple and intuitive interface, making it easy to use even for those who are new to video editing. It supports a wide range of video file formats, including popular formats like MP4, AVI, and MOV. Note, the program offers powerful AI features, including AI background removal, AI noise removal and AI upscaling which can save you valuable time and effort.

Hitfilm

Hitfilm (formerly known as Hitfilm Express) used to be a popular choice for professional video editors, offering a range of features and capabilities. The rebranding of Hitfilm introduces two subscription tiers, which means the free version is no longer as comprehensive compared to other paid tools. Many effects are now watermarked on the free version.

Nevertheless the free plan has some exciting options to offer. 120+ visual effects, including 360° video effects, blurs, keying, and transitions give users a wide range of options to enhance their videos.

You can access the full suite of HitFilm's features by paying for the Pro version, which costs $12.99 per month, or the Creator version, which costs $7.99 per month and unlocks fewer features.

Wrapping up

Availability of free video editors makes it possible to produce professional-looking films, tutorials, vlogs, and other video content without having to spend a fortune on expensive programs.

Normally, creating a quality video is a complex process. A truly exceptional video content takes more than just correct footage, a good video editor and time to put it all together. It also requires unique editing ideas that will make your video stand out from the rest. Our YouTube channel offers a range of tutorials that can help you discover fresh VFX tips and techniques. Give them a try and watch as your creative visions take shape before your eyes.

We’re thrilled to introduce VSDC 8.1. The new version primarily caters to professional videographers, graphic designers, and artists, however, everyday video creators will benefit from the update as well. VSDC 8.1 brings multicam editing mode, advanced gradient fill options for free shapes, curve lines, a long-awaited scrolling text effect, and several usability improvements.

Let’s have an overview of the new tools and features.

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Multicam editing

The Multicam editing mode is designed for video creators who shoot with multiple cameras. It allows for switching between different camera angles and makes it easy to capture the perfect shot.

From the technical perspective, Multicam helps synchronize audio and video from all resources on the timeline. This way, you can conveniently switch between tracks while editing and choose the parts that should go in. Previously, such projects would require manual synchronization which is inefficient and time-consuming.

Curve lines

Curve lines are a new graphic object type available in VSDC. Similar to free shapes, curve lines are custom-shaped lines consisting of control points and splines. You can use them to draw object outlines, underline a piece of text, highlight any area on the scene, or design unique animations.

Curve lines can be filled with a solid color, a gradient, or an imported image pattern. Here is what different options look like:

Gradient fill for free shapes

The gradient fill feature has been expanded for free shapes as well. From now on, if you’re using free shapes in a video, you can assign color tone values to each point, and create a vibrant gradient fill or even a gradient glow effect. This feature brings endless opportunities to create unique backgrounds, logo animations, intros, and more.

Tracking point upgrades

Tracking point tool, the animation feature introduced in VSDC 7.2, has been upgraded in two ways. First, you can use free shape outlines as a designated trajectory for tracking points. Second, you can assign a color value for the tracking point to pass along as it’s moving along its trajectory. This feature is helpful when you need to gradually fill an object with a certain color or achieve a glowing gradient look.

New text features

For those frequently working with text, there are three noteworthy updates.

Scrolling text effect

Whether you need to add a news ticker, or closing and opening credits to your video, with VSDC 8.1, you’ll be able to use a designated effect for that. It allows for creating scrolling text, setting up movement direction, and adjusting the angle and speed.

Curve line wrapping

Additionally, it has become possible to wrap text around curve lines. This feature comes in handy for logo animations and captioning smaller, oddly shaped objects in the video.

Long-form text object scrolling

Finally, for text objects containing long-form copy, vertical and horizontal scrolling is now available, so it’s more convenient to make text edits right on the scene.

Usability optimization

Enhancing the usability of VSDC remains one of our main objectives, and with the new version, we’ve added a few novelties to make editing more convenient and efficient.

Resource file thumbnails

A minor, yet important update is the new view mode for files in the Resource window. Instead of seeing just file names, from now on, you will see video and image thumbnails, so finding the right file becomes easier.

Linked objects

It has become possible to link separate audio and video tracks together on the timeline. This is convenient when you want to reconnect previously split files or when you want to link an array of tracks on the timeline in a certain order and edit them as a whole. To link files, just select them, make a right mouse button click, and proceed to Group -> Link objects.

RGB control sliders for Lift, Gamma, and Gain

The Lift, Gamma, and Gain color wheels have received control sliders. Instead of manually adjusting RGB values, sliders allow you to increase or decrease them for the selected color wheel simultaneously.

Timeline zoom hotkeys

When working on big, file-heavy projects, it’s often necessary to zoom the timeline in and out. To make zooming more intuitive, we’ve introduced a new hotkey combination: Ctrl + Shift + Mouse wheel. Scroll the mouse wheel up to zoom the timeline in, and down to zoom it out.

WebP format for snapshots

Previously, PNG was the default format for snapshotting in VSDC, but with the release of the new version, PNG has been replaced by WebP. WebP files are more lightweight and tend to be a better option for snapshots. That said, it’s still possible to switch back to PNG if needed.

It’s time to upgrade to VSDC 8.1

VSDC 8.1 is already available, so we encourage you to upgrade your current version of VSDC. Should you have any questions, we’ll be happy to help you via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via Facebook DM and Twitter.

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We are thrilled to unveil the highly anticipated VSDC video editor 8.2 update. Our team has been hard at work, ensuring that this release is packed with exciting features and enhancements to elevate your editing experience.

The highlights of the new version are Vectorscope, proxy file support, and color keyframes.

Let’s explore each part of this update in more detail.

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Color keyframes

Starting version 8.2, VSDC includes a new feature for color correction that allows you to assign colors to created keyframes when working with effects that have a color parameter. Once you apply an effect to an object on the scene, you can add keyframes on the timeline and assign colors to them. The algorithm will then automatically calculate the linear color gradient, ensuring smooth transitions between colors or from one keyframe to another.

Proxy file support

Proxy file support has been added to VSDC, providing improved software performance and smoother editing. This feature benefits all video creators, but especially those working on low-end PCs or editing high-resolution files. With proxy support, you can now create lightweight proxy media copies of your high-resolution videos, which are used during the editing process. This means that all effects and edits are applied to a lighter-weight file, preventing processor overload and software lag. However, when it comes time to export your project, the effects and edits are seamlessly applied to the original high-resolution video.

Resource and effects preview

In the new version, you have the ability to preview resources and effects directly within the Source window. This feature enables you to see how templates and effects will appear on your objects before applying them, helping you choose the ideal effect for your project. Furthermore, you can conveniently preview all available resources in the Source window, allowing you to easily select the required file from a variety of uploaded resources.

Vectorscope histogram

We are excited to introduce a new tool called Vectorscope, which is now available in the Scopes window. The Vectorscope is a circular diagram specifically designed for analyzing color, hue, and saturation levels in an image. Using the radius line of the vectorscope, you can easily adjust the hues that are most appropriate for skin tones. This allows for precise color correction and ensures that the skin tones in your video or image are accurate and natural-looking.

Dedicated audio playback volume window

We have enhanced the timeline functionality by introducing a dedicated audio playback volume window. This improvement enables you to monitor the changes in sound in real time after applying effects and compare them with other audio files. The tool proves to be immensely helpful in monitoring the volume level within your project and achieving the desired outcome.

Text stretching between two curves

In the latest revision, we have introduced an update to the text functionality, expanding its capabilities. Now, in addition to aligning text to a single curve line, you can stretch text between two curve lines. This new feature provides you with complete control over shaping your designs and enables you to create distinct logos, banners, or titles.

Updated Perspective effect

In the updated Perspective effect you can bind your image to tracking points, animate them to create dynamic visual compositions, distortions and transformations.

Audio spectrum object now includes an “echo” parameter

Audio spectrum received a new parameter which helps create an echo effect on the audio wave enhancing the visualization of the sound.

Updated Water effect

This effect has been well known since the first versions of VSDC. Now, in addition to creating raindrops on an image, you can simulate a realistic wave using tracking points.

10-bit compression in AVC and HEVC codecs added

Updated AVC and HEVC codecs now support 10-bit compression. This enhancement brings significant improvements to the color rendition of exported projects, resulting in higher-quality videos.

Parameters can now be edited along either the X or the Y axis independently

Independent editing of parameters along the X and Y axis is an important improvement. You can hold down the Shift key and work on either of the axes separately ensuring precise control over your edits.

VSDC 8.2 is already out

It’s time to download the new version and test it for yourself. VSDC 8.2 is already available on our official website, and we can’t wait to hear what you think about it.

Should you have any questions, we’ll be happy to help you via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via Facebook DM and Twitter.

Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get notified about updates!

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If you’re a video creator, there are three reasons why it’s crucial to learn color correction. First, it will help you enhance your videos and make them look professional. Second, it will allow you to color-match several clips so they look more consistent. Finally, color correction can help you fix overexposed, underexposed, and washy footage — all three being the result of poor lighting conditions or wrong camera settings.

However, when you’re just getting started, you might not be ready to commit to purchasing expensive programs. Thankfully, there is free software you can use to practice.

For this article, we’ve reviewed 5 video editors for color correction. These editors include all the essential tools for both primary and secondary color correction, as well as other features to help you create a beautiful movie. And the best part is, they happen to be free.

Let’s get started.

VSDC Free Video Editor

VSDC is a free video editor for Windows PC. It works well for basic editing, as well as professional-level montage with effects. In addition to the video editing feature set, it includes add-ons like a video recorder, a screen recorder, and a voice recorder. VSDC offers both primary and secondary color correction tools.

When talking about color correction, creators usually refer to primary color correction and secondary color correction. Primary color correction implies “broad strokes,” or adjustments that affect the overall video aesthetics. Such adjustments include white balance, brightness and contrast levels, and color tone correction. In VSDC, you can perform primary color correction using the Lift, Gamma & Gain color wheels, black & white balance points, RGB and Hue & Saturation curves, as well as manual color controls (brightness, contrast, gamma, saturation, temperature, etc.).

This means that you can fix overexposed or underexposed videos, correct highlights, midtones, and shadows, and just quickly enhance the way your video looks. To analyze the color distribution and perform clip color match, you can use the dedicated Color scopes window.

For secondary color correction, which implies correcting isolated colors or scopes of color tones, you can use the built-in LUT editor. For example, you can adjust a specific color tone on the video by making it more saturated or less powerful — this works well for artifacts and skin tone correction. Also, you can entirely swap certain colors in the video or make them change dynamically.

VSDC has a Pro version if you’re interested in using tools like masking, video stabilizer, or motion tracking. However, if you’re only looking for video color correction software, all the features are free, and you’ll be able to export your footage in up to 4K quality without format or duration limits.

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Davinci Resolve

Davinci Resolve is an award-winning video color correction software. It will work for you if you intend to become a video editing professional, and if you own a powerful computer. While being the most sophisticated tool on the list, Davinci demands a lot of resources, and you should keep that in mind before considering this program.

Just like VSDC, Davinci Resolve is likely to take you a couple of days to get comfortable with, but as soon as you get the hang of it, you’ll probably want to look no further.

The primary color correction instrument in Davinci Resolve is a set of color wheels that help you work with highlights, midtones, and shadows: Lift, Gamma, Gain & Offset. You can also quickly adjust brightness (luma) and contrast levels in the video.

Two features that make Davinci unique are nodes and stills. Nodes allow you to encapsulate all the applied color correction operations within a node, save it and apply it to multiple clips as a whole. Stills allow you to use videos or images you like as a reference, copy their color distribution schemes, and apply them to your video. While clip color matching, you can use color scopes and compare the colors of your video and the screengrab used for reference.

If you have a powerful enough machine, and you’re serious about mastering color correction, Davinci Resolve is certainly worth trying. It works on both Windows and Mac OS, places no significant restrictions, or watermarks at the export, and allows you to save videos in up to 1080p.

Lightworks

Lightworks is another well-known NLE used by professional filmmakers. This video editor is lightweight, cross-platform (works on Windows, Mac, and Linux), and it has an excellent selection of intuitive tools for both color correction and color grading.

Even if you have zero to no experience, Lightworks makes primary color correction simple. One of its main tabs, named VFX, offers a choice of several tools: Balance, Main, RGB, HSV, and Curves. As a rule, you want to start by setting a white, black, and gray balance for your footage. From there, you can manually set up the saturation, gamma, contrast, brightness, and gain values. Finally, you can use the curves to work with color channels, and wheels to work with highlights, midtones, and shadows. To perform clip color matching and ensure that the light and balance are consistent across every clip, you can use different types of color scopes.

Additionally, the free version of Lightworks supports third-party LUTs and plugins. You can use them both for color correction and color grading purposes (if you’re curious about the difference between the two, scroll down to the end of the article).

Although Lightworks offers a fully functioning free version of its video editor, some features, including advanced color correction features, advanced scopes, and premium filters, are behind the paywall. The good news is that the paid version starts at $9.99 per month which is still more affordable than high-end video editing software like Adobe Premiere.

If you choose to stick with the free version of Lightworks, it will allow you to edit videos at zero cost with no watermarks at the export. The only significant limitation is a 720p resolution cap.

Hitfilm (formerly Hitfilm Express)

Hitfilm is widely known as a VFX editor. It brings an array of built-in special effects and a variety of add-on integration options. However, you can also use Hitfilm to perform color correction on your footage before playing with the special effects it has to offer.

The key color correction tools available in Hitfilm are curves, color scopes, presets, and Hue & RGB keys. With this program, you can perform all the essential correction steps, from gauging color component information with different scope types – to achieving a nearly cinema-level look with coloring presets.

One useful feature that makes Hitfilm stand out is the use of video masking for color correction. This means that you can apply color correction to a selected object or area by creating a new layer with a mask for it. This trick comes in handy when you need to correct the skin color tone of an actor or remove artifacts.

Hitfilm works on Windows 10, 11 and MacOS 10.15. The free version allows you to export videos in HD quality, use professional visual effects, and benefit from proxy files. Some advanced color correction features belong to the paid version of Hitfilm; it’s available on a subscription basis and starts at $7.5 per month.

iMovie

iMovie is an easy-to-use editor for Mac OS. It provides basic color correction tools that will work if you’re getting started and need to quickly adjust the look of your video without dealing with color wheels and RGB curves. iMovie comes preinstalled on Mac computers and it’s completely free.

Color correction tools in iMovie can be divided into two groups: automatic adjustment and manual adjustment. The automatic adjustment toolset allows you to enhance video colors based on the skin tone, use the white balance picker, and match color tones in several clips. This third option comes in handy if you’re merging multiple videos shot in dramatically different light conditions. iMovie helps fine-tune the contrast and brightness settings and match all videos to the clip of your choice.

Essentially, automatic color correction tools in iMovie improve the contrast and remove a color cast in the video to make it look more professional. Manual color correction tools allow you to adjust shadows, contrast values, highlights, color saturation, and temperature values using sliders.

While iMovie doesn’t include color wheels, curves, or LUTs, its automatic adjustment algorithm can be sufficient for basic-level color correction.

What’s the difference between color correction and color grading?

Although in both cases you get to work with the colors of the video, color correction and color grading are two different techniques. When you perform color correction, it typically means that you want to enhance the video by making it look more natural and vibrant. If you’re merging several pieces of footage shot in different lighting conditions, color correction also means color-matching clips and making sure they have the same level of brightness, contrast, and gamma.

Color grading is also aimed at enhancing your video, but this technique doesn’t mean just color balance adjustment. Instead, editors use color grading to create a certain mood and visual aesthetics, express their artistic vision, so that the colors in the video become a part of the story. Color grading often means using filters and changing color tones; it always comes after color correction.

Some great examples of unique, memorable color grading works are Melancholia (dramatic cool color tones), Sin City (black-and-white effect, plus color isolation used to create a resemblance with a comic book), Batman (dimmed colors, dark tones), and, of course, movies like La La Land, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Scott Pilgrim.

Which software is best for video color correction?

There’s no short answer to this question, and here is why. Technically speaking, color correction tools – such as color wheels, black-and-white balance pickers, HSL curves, and contrast, brightness & gamma controls – are either very similar or the same, regardless of the video editing software. As long as you understand the main principles of color correction, and how each of these tools works, you can perform it in any program.

So how do you choose a program for video color correction? For starters, you can narrow your search by looking at system requirements. For example, if your computer is low on RAM, you may need to eliminate Davinci Resolve because it requires a powerful machine to perform well; or if you’re a Mac user, you’ll have to eliminate VSDC because this video editing software only works on Windows PC.

Next, think of other tools or effects you might need for your projects. For example, if you’re planning to use special effects a lot, no video editing software beats Hitfilm. If you need elaborated audio editing tools, Lightworks might be an excellent choice.

Once you have 2-3 options left, go ahead and test the remaining programs. Only then will you be able to choose the software you’re comfortable with. And if you fail to find everything you need in a single program, it’s a common practice to use several solutions for video editing.