Last Updated on October 24, 2017 by Larious
YouTube editors, however, every one of them will also cost you a lot that is if you don’t go for the free version of Avid Media Composer. That being said, if you are just starting out, you should start with a software which is not only fairly cheap but is also easy to learn. The video editors mentioned in this section are cheap and easy to learn than those mentioned above. Again, if you want the best of the bunch, choose one from the above, however, I would suggest first you start with any of these and then upgrade yourself as get more comfortable with video editing.
Table of Contents
1. Shotcut
If you are a budding YouTuber and you need a software which is not only free but also doesn’t cut down on features, look no further than Shotcut. Shotcut is an open source and free video editor which provides you with all the editing tool you will ever need. Since the editor is open source and completely free, if you are just starting out, it’s a great place to learn the basics of video editing without investing any money.
Most of the video editors follow the same editing basics, hence once you are ready to move to a professional grade editing software like Premiere Pro or Final Cut, the switch won’t be that hard. The best part about using Shotcut is that despite being free it doesn’t cut down on too many features. The editor supports a wide variety of video and audio formats with a good selection of effects and color correction tools. Also, Shotcut is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux, so no matter which OS you are running, you can install and use Shotcut on your device.
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS, and Linux
Supported Input Formats: Based on FFmpeg hence supports most of the video formats
Supported Output Formats: H.264, WebM, ProRes, MPEG-2, and others
Price: (Free)
2. Hit Film Express
If you are looking for a full professional grade video editor which is also free, Hit Film Express is your best bet. The only con of using this software is the one which is same for any professional grade software, that is, you will have to invest a considerable amount of time in learning it. On the scale of video editor learning process, this one falls on the harder side. However, if you are ready to invest your time, Hit Film Express can become the only editing software that you are ever going to need.
It has everything that you will need to support your expanding editing skills. The editor supports almost every know video and audio format and has over 180 visual effects which you can use. The company also keeps a great selection of free tutorials which can get you started. However, as I said earlier, you will need to invest a considerable amount of time in learning this one. Also, the editor is a little heavy on the resources so you will need a good system to run it smoothly.
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS
Supported Input Formats: MP4, H.264, AVCHD, QuickTime Import, AVI, M2T, M2TS, MTS, MXF (DVCPro HD), DV, HDV, and WMV among others.
Supported Output Formats: MP4, H.264 among others
Price: (Free – Can add extra functionality at $349)
