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5 free video editing software for Windows

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Davinci Resolve
Hitfilm Express
Shotcut
Lightworks
VideoPad Video Editor

With smartphones becoming more versatile every day, dedicated video creation tools are less important. Today there are many free applications that you can use to create videos. In this article, we have compiled a list of the best Windows software that will help you with video editing without applying any watermarks..

Davinci Resolve

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Davinci Resolve is a professional video editor from Black Magic Design. It is a free version of the Davinci Resolve Studio tool used in Hollywood to create special effects. This program should interest you if you need to edit videos at a professional level. You get a timeline, advanced media management, plugins, and more.

Because DaVinci Resolve is designed for professionals in the first place, it is far from the easiest. You will need to spend some time studying it. DaVinci Resolve can be overwhelming if you just need to crop a specific section before sharing it with your friends. But it's a great tool if you want to create a professional video. The free version has most of the same features as the paid version. The only exception is the ability to save video in 3840 × 2160 resolution, as well as some additional filters..

Hitfilm Express

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Hitfilm Express is a professional-grade video editing tool. It is used primarily for special effects, but also includes many basic editing functions. It's a great choice if you want to get started learning visual effects.

In comparison with Davinci, the Hitfilm Express interface looks simpler and easier to understand. But here you will have to spend time learning, especially if you have never worked with such programs before..

64-bit versions of Windows 8 and higher are supported, there is a version for Mac. The program is more demanding on the characteristics of the computer than many other editors. Therefore, make sure that your PC or Mac has sufficient performance: a processor starting from Intel Core i3, 4 GB of RAM (8 GB is recommended), a video card from 2 GB.

Shotcut

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Shotcut  is an open source cross-platform video editor. The program is available for computers running Windows, Linux and iOS. Although the application is free, it has a set of quite impressive professional features for processing: color grading, support for 4K resolution, video compilation by track, deinterlacing, loading MLT XML files as a clip, and much more.

Shotcut supports almost all popular formats today. It doesn't matter what the source of your video is. You can shoot it with a professional camera or smartphone, download it from the Internet or record it from your TV. Most likely, Shotcut will allow you to edit the video. After that, you can choose the format for saving the video file. The app works with both 32-bit and 64-bit systems.

Lightworks

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Lightworks  - slightly different from the tools described above in the flexibility of settings. You can make it work exactly the way you want it to. The app is powerful enough even to handle Hollywood movies. It was used to create the paintings "The King's Speech!", "The Wolf of Wall Street", "Bruce Almighty". And these are just a few examples. But Lightworks also has a good set of basic editing features.

You can use Lightworks in free or paid (subscription). The free version has some limitations. It contains basic editing functions, all imported file formats are supported, but export is limited only to MPEG4 / H.264 format with resolutions up to 720p. You also won't have access to advanced features like FX plugins and timeline when rendering.

VideoPad Video Editor

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VideoPad Video Editor  is specially designed for home use. It has a simple interface and many useful features, but there are tools for advanced users too. For example, audio mixing, video speed change, color correction, etc. are available. Supports import and export of the most common formats.

VideoPad is available for Windows 7 and up. Only 64-bit is supported. Also, the program can be used on Android and Mac OS (10.5 and higher). It is also worth mentioning that this is the only program in the review that has an interface in Russian.


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