5 Best Free Video Editors for YouTube in 2024 (2024)

HitFilm: A Free Video Editor That You Can Upgrade

HitFilm has lots of features any YouTuber will love. Some of the more advanced capabilities, like chroma key and picture-in-picture, will cost you, but they're decently priced. Plus, there's still a lot to like with this free YouTube video editor, even if you never buy an add-on.

Here are some of HitFilms' best features I uncovered while using it: auto-save as frequently as every minute, dozens of keyboard shortcuts, colored labels (for 3D effects, text, models, composite shots, images, and more), and the option to crop a clip and animate it to control which part is visible.

You can also set a custom maximum undo level, access several default template options, including 1080p Full HD, mix and balance audio, use a helpful select tool to grab everything before or after the play head, and add unlimited video and audio tracks.

This free video editor was designed for Windows 11/10 64-bit and macOS 13/12/11. The minimum RAM requirement is 8 GB, but they recommend 16 GB.

CapCut: A YouTube Editor Full of Free Assets

CapCut is from by the same company that owns the wildly popular TikTok app. It was released in 2020, so it's much newer than some of these other options. However, it's very capable of making great YouTube videos.

Here are a few of the most important features to consider: over 30 text-to-speech voices for reading captions, five export resolutions including 4K, extract audio from video files, a huge number of keyboard shortcuts, auto-save, motion tracking, several layout options to take advantage of multiple monitors, advanced text tools, and countless music and sound effects, plus stickers, effects, transitions, and filters that you can quickly apply to your video.

I tested CapCut on Windows, but it also runs on macOS. There's also a web version and mobile apps.

Clipchamp: Online YouTube Editor for Simple Projects

Microsoft's Clipchamp has you covered if you're only interested in a quick editor for your YouTube video. It lives entirely online (and is built-in to Windows 11), so no software download is required. Plus, it couldn't be easier to use.

This free video editing website can produce HD videos, export to MP4, and accept audio, video, and pictures. Some things I like about it for YouTube videos specifically, is that it lets you create voiceovers just by entering text, change the speed of any video clip, resize or crop videos to fit the screen, rotate and flip videos, pick from around a dozen filters, fade in and out any video/audio file, and use transitions between files.

You can add content to your video by uploading the files to the Clipchamp website from your phone or computer, by importing them from cloud storage services (e.g., Google Photos, Google Drive, Box, Dropbox, or OneDrive), or by recording your screen or webcam. Drag them onto the timeline to arrange the files and clip out what you don't need.

Because this editor is online, it works with all operating systems. Quick signup is supported via a Google, Microsoft, Facebook, or Dropbox account.

Lightworks: An Easy-to-Use YouTube Video Editor

Lightworks is an award-winning video editor that's completely free. One major limitation that might make you pause is that it doesn't include all the export formats supported in Lightworks Pro.

I think this choice is perfect for YouTubers for many reasons: add your voice directly to the timeline, import videos in batches, build macros for quicker editing, preview fonts in real time, export videos up to 720p, and publish directly to your YouTube account.

Some of this program's other features include drag-and-drop support, "fit to fill," full-screen mode, customizable layouts, precise trimming via the keyboard, multicam clip switching, auto-sync on import, transitions and filters, batch export, and playback comparison of two sources.

I love that there are video tutorials and an active community forum (LWKS Forum). I can see this being super helpful for anyone new to using this program.

The official list of operating systems it runs on includes Windows 10, Windows 8, macOS 10.11 or higher, and Ubuntu and other Linux versions. It's recommended that you have at least 4 GB of RAM.

FilmoraGo: Feature-Rich YouTube Editing App

Another free editing app I enjoyed using for YouTube videos is FilmoraGo. It manages to be fairly easy to use while also packing some great features like a built-in library of music, video transitions, and basic video editing tools.

YouTube editors will also like these features: export to 720p, add your own voice directly from your phone, overlay another video for a picture-in-picture effect, send the video directly to YouTube when finished, instantly apply a theme to the whole video, use your own music, the presets, or the free downloadables, include clip transitions (bounce, distort, roll, push, etc.), import files from Facebook/Instagram or Google, crop clips 16:9 or blur/cut the edges, overlay objects like leaves and hearts, add titles with fun styles, adjust the speed of a clip, rotate videos, and adjust brightness, temperature, vignette, contrast, and more.

FilmoraGo runs on Android and iOS. There's a desktop version of Filmora, too, which I also like, but it leaves a large watermark across the middle of the video unless you pay to have it removed.

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