Free and Legal Video Editing Software

This time I want to discuss free and legal video editing software that we can use to edit the videos we want.

I have tried some software, and here is a list of free and legal video editing software.

 

1. Hitfilm Express 2017 (Windows and Mac)

Hitfilm Express 2017 is a video editing and compositing software. So it’s like a combination of Adobe Premiere and After Effects which are combined in one software. When in video editing mode, they want to do compositing. We only need to add the compositing TAB without leaving the Hitfilm software.

The maximum resolution that Hitfilm Express 2017 can handle is 4K UHD. Quite high for free and legal software.

Currently, I use this software more often than any other software.

 Download link, here.

The file formats that Hitfilm Express 2017 supports are:

AVI, M2T, M2TS, MTS, MXF (DVCPro HD), DV, HDV, WMV, MOV and MP4.

The following are the computer specifications needed to run Hitfilm Express 2017:

– Windows PC – 64-bit version of Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 10 – Apple Mac – OS X 10.10 Yosemite, OS X 10.11 El Capitan or macOS 10.12 Sierra – Internet connection required for online activation and web services – Intel Core i3, Core i5, Core i7 or AMD equivalent – 4 GB RAM (8 GB or more recommended) – Graphics processor with at least 512 MB video memory. – 2GB or more recommended for 4K UHD. – Earliest graphics cards HitFilm supports: – NVIDIA GeForce 9 Series (2008) – AMD Radeon HD 5000 Series (2009) – Intel HD Graphics 4000 (GT2) (2012)

2. Shotcut (Linux, Windows, and Mac)

Besides Hitfilm Express 2017, I also use Shotcut software. Compared to Hitfilm Express 2017 software is that it can handle almost all types of video files because Shotcut has an independent codec that does not depend on the codecs installed on the operating system.

The audio effect features are more complete than Hitfilm Express 2017.

Shotcut is also capable of handling videos with 4K resolution. 

Download link, here.

The following are the computer specifications needed to run Shotcut software:

– Operating system: 64-bit Windows 7 – 10, Apple OS X 10.8 – 10.10, or 64-bit Linux with at least Glibc 2.13.

– CPU: x86-64 Intel or AMD; at least one 2 GHz core for SD, 2 cores for HD, and 4 cores for 4K.

– GPU: OpenGL 2.0 that works correctly and is compatible. On Windows, you can also use a card with good, compatible DirectX 9 or 11 drivers. We do not have a list.

– RAM: At least 4 GB for SD, 8 GB for HD, and 16 GB for 4K.

– Hard drive: yes, get one; the bigger, the better.

3. Kdenlive (Linux, Windows, and Mac)

This software was created initially for Linux, later developed for Mac and finally available for Windows.

Its features are quite complete. There are vectorscope, histogram, waveform, RGB parade, and audiometer.

Kdenlive also supports videos with 4K resolution.

Like Shotcut software, almost all types of video files can be handled by this kDenlive software. Making it easier for us to import videos without having to convert videos.

For those who use Linux, it is recommended to use this software. The Windows version is still a beta version, and the Mac version is out of date.

Download link, here.

4. Davinci Resolve 14 (Linux, Windows, and Mac)

Initially, the Davinci Resolve software was a color grading software. Starting from version 12.5, video editing features are added.

The maximum resolution that Davinci Resolve can handle is 4K UHD resolution.

 Download link, here.

The minimum specifications for running Davinci Resolve 14 are:

– intel i7

– 32 GB DDR4 3200 SDRAM

– VGA with 8 GB memory

– Windows 10 Professional (for Windows version)

5. Blender (Linux, Windows and Mac)

Generally, Blender is known as software for creating 3D images, but many don’t know that Blender has a video editing feature.

Blender supports many video formats: MPEG-1 (.mpg, .mpeg), MPEG-2 (.dvd, .vob, .mpg, .mpeg), MPEG-4 DivX (.mp4, .mpg, .mpeg), AVI (.avi), Quicktime (.mov), DV (.dv), H.264 (.avi), Xvid (.avi), Matroska (.mkv) and Flash (.flv).

Download link, here.

The following are the minimum computer specifications needed to run the Blender software:

Minimum (basic usage) hardware:

– 32-bit dual-core 2Ghz CPU with SSE2 support. – 2 GB RAM – 24 bits 1280 × 768 display – Mouse or trackpad – OpenGL 2.1 compatible graphics with 512 MB RAM

6. IVSEdits LE (Windows)

IvsEdits LE software can handle videos with 4K resolution. The video files that ivsEdits LE can handle are MXF, MOV, MP4, MOV, WMV, AVI, MPG, M2T, and VOB.

Download link, here.

The following are the computer specifications needed to run the ivsEdits LE software:

– Operating systems: Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10 (32bit versions are compatible, 64bit versions strongly recommended) – CPU: Quad / Six / Eight / Ten Cores, Intel Core i5, Intel Core i7, Intel Xeon E5 V2 / V3 / V4. – GPU: ATI / AMD Radeon Fury, RX 480, R9, R7, HD6850-6950-7770-78X0-79X0 or Nvidia GT / GTX / TITAN etc. – System Memory: 4GB or Higher. The faster the better (currently suggested DDR4 @ 2666MHz CL13)

7. VideoPad (Windows and Mac)

This Videopad software is also capable of handling videos with 4K resolution. Video files that Videopad can handle are avi, mpg, WMV, DivX, Xvid, mp4, mov, VOB, ogm, H.264, RM.

Download link, here.

Videopad does not write the minimum hardware specifications, only writing the operating system used is Windows 64 bit (Windows 10, XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 8.1) and Mac OS X 10.5 or above.

8. Openshot  (Linux, Windows and Mac)

In 2008, Openshot was created as a video editing software for the Linux operating system. Currently, it is also available for Windows and Mac operating systems.

OpenShot can handle a wide variety of video formats and supports videos with 4K UHD resolution.

 Download link, here.

The following are the computer specifications needed to run the OpenShot software:

– 64-bit Operating System (Linux, OS X, Windows 7/8/10) – Multi-core processor with 64-bit support – 4GB of RAM (16GB recommended) – 500 MB of hard-disk space for installation – Optional: Solid-state drive (SSD), if utilizing disk-caching (and an additional 10GB of hard-disk space)

9. Lightworks  (Linux, Windows and Mac)

This software has complete features and is easy to use as a video editing software. Unfortunately, the free version can only render at a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels and MP4 format.

Download link, here.

The following are the computer specifications needed to run the Lightworks software:

– Intel i7 chipset or faster, fast AMD chipset – 3GB RAM or higher – Two high-resolution displays (1920 x1080) or above – PCI Express graphics card (NVIDIA or ATI) with 1GB or higher and support for DirectX 9 (Windows only) – Separate media and system drives (these can be internal or external as long as the interface is suitably fast – Compatible sound card – 200MB Disk space for Lightworks installation.

10. Go Pro Studio  (Windows and Mac)

This Video Editing software output from Go Pro supports 4K UHD resolution. With a simple but attractive appearance, you can make simple videos for Youtube and other social media needs.

Download link, here.

The computer specifications required to run Go Pro Studio are:

– Intel i3

– 4GB RAM

– 512 MB VGA memory

– 64 bit Windows 10 in desktop mode only or Mac OS 10.10.X or later

– 1280 x 800 resolution display 

11. Windows Movie Maker  (Windows)

This Microsoft program is also able to edit videos. Only possible for one video track. Available when installing Microsoft Windows.

11. Flexclip (Web-based)

Unlike all the software previously mentioned, Flexclip is a web-based video editing software, so it doesn’t require high computer specifications to do video editing but requires an internet connection. The internet speed needed depends on the size of the video file you want to edit. The larger the video file to be edited, the better it is to use a fast internet connection.

For the free version, the exported resolution is limited to 480p (852 x 480 pixels). But this resolution is sufficient for the needs of making promotional videos for Instagram, Twitter, and mobile Facebook (access from HP).

Then the video duration is limited to 1 minute, but this is enough for Instagram.

There are various video format templates, 16: 9 ratio (Youtube, etc), 1: 1 ratio (Instagram), 9:16 ratio (Facebook car and IGTV), 4: 5 ratio, and 21: 9 ratio (Widescreen)

In Flexclip, several video templates are based on categories, including weddings, birthdays, business, sports, etc. So we can choose the template or start editing from blank, alias without a template.

There are lots of stock videos, photos, and music on the Flexclip website. We have to choose which video roughly matches the theme we are going to make. Then we need to enter the text with the various animations that are available.

Its use is very easy, just click-click, click-click select the existing media, or upload the results from our camera.

If you need Full HD resolution (1,920 x 1,080 pixels), you can subscribe to the Business type at the cost of USD 29.99 per month with a monthly payment system. The Plus-type subscription costs USD 15.99 per month with a monthly payment system too.

If the subscription is paid for a year at once, then the monthly fee goes down. For business types, from USD 29.99 to USD 19.99, and for the Plus type, it is down from USD 15.99 to USD 7.99.

Conclusion

In this blog post, we wrote about Free and Legal Video Editing Software and some of the top options available for those looking for a solution.

This is the end of this blog post. Thank you for reading, and I hope it was helpful!