15 Best Free Video Editors for YouTube Video Making

If you are YouTuber, you must be already looking for some easy-to-use, affordable video editors for making your next YouTube video. What if you do not need to spend a dime to get the best tools for video editing? We have sorted out the best free video editing tools for different purposes that will be useful for your vlog making.

Let us walk you through our list of the best YouTube video-making tools you can get for free, at absolutely zero cost.

Best Free Professional Video Editors

There are many video editors for Youtube available, both paid and unpaid. Yet, for most of them, like Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro, you have to pay before using. But, there are also certain free tools for editings like DaVinci Resolve that give you almost similar experience and professional tools to edit your YouTube videos on Windows and Mac.

DaVinci Resolve

You can use DaVinci Resolve for professional editing. It is a tool used for post-production by Hollywood professionals. Some of them are color correction, visual effects, and motion graphics. You need a strong graphics card on your PC for this YouTube editing software. DaVinci Resolve is available for Mac, Windows. and Linux.

The YouTube editing software has a modern user interface. You can easily learn to edit in this software even if you are a beginner. All the video editing tasks are available on a single screen and you do not require extra apps for different tasks. Whatsmore, the video quality will be retained throughout the editing.

Key Features: professional editing tool| Color correction | Fairlight audio | Media and delivery | Multi-user collaboration

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux

Download: DaVinci Resolve (Free)

HitFilm Express

HitFilm Express is a video editor for YouTube with a professional-grade VFX tool. You will get everything here in order to make great YouTube content and gaming videos. Without a budget, you can freely use this tool that is well suited for beginners as well as film students, gamers, and YouTubers.

The video editing software for YouTube has a built-in voice recorder and 410+ effects and presets. The tool is available for both Windows and Mac. You also get free video tutorials and projects on their website.

You can download the HitFilm express at zero cost. But by paying as low as $9, you get extra perks and tools. There will be no watermarks left on your edited videos as well.

Key Features: Advanced Tracking | Screen simulation | Footage distortions | Lighting effects | Iconic titles

Platforms: Windows, Mac

Download: HitFilm Express (Freemium)

Best Free Video Trimmers

If you are a real beginner in video editing, or just want to trim the video before uploading it to YouTube, you just need the trimming tools. There are many free-to-use video trimmers available. Some of them are listed below.

ShotCut

ShotCut is free and open-source which you can use across multiple platforms. You don’t have to import files as in ShotCut, there are native editing, multi-format timeliness, and resolutions. Besides, you can simply drag and drop files to it.

ShotCut can capture your screen or web camera to make videos and add clips to the projects. The video editing software for YouTube supports resolutions up to 4K. Apart from basic video trimming, ShotCut also lets you edit videos with multiple tracks as well.

Key Features: Video compositing across video tracks | Auto-rotate | fade in/out | Eyedropper tool

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux

Download: ShotCut (Free)

Avidemux

Avidemux is a free video editor in which you can do all the basic edits like cutting, filtering, and encoding tasks. You can automate the tasks in Avidemux by using projects, job queues, and scripting capabilities.

The video trimming software is available for Linux, Mac, and Windows. You can use this YouTube editing software to compress videos and sync audio tracks too.

Key Features: Cutting | Copy portions | Filtering | Save small parts | Encoding | Audio filters

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux

Download: Avidemux (Free)

Best Free Video Compressors and Encoders

Sometimes, the final output of your edited video might weigh gigabytes. If your internet connectivity is not that fast, it will take hours to upload the entire video. To save you some time, you can losslessly compress the video into a lightweight file. There are tons of free video converters and compressors like Handbrake you can make use of for this purpose.

HandBrake

HandBrake is a free video compressor that supports a wide range of codecs. You can use this video compressing tool for converting video from any format to a YouTube-supported format. Moreover, it is free and open-source.

The installation process is very simple. Besides, HandBrake has easy-to-understand features. It converts videos with various codecs to make them compatible with all your devices. You can use HandBrake to rip and convert video files across different supported devices.

Key Features: Video conversion presets | Basic video manipulation | Live video preview | Input sources support

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux

Download: HanBrake (Free)

Shutter Encoder

Shutter Encoder is another video compressor that handles both image and audio files. The YouTube editing software makes use of FFmpeg to do its encoding. It supports a wide range of codecs. Shutter Encoder also lets you trim your videos.

Shutter Encoder has a panel containing a large number of settings. Some of its features include duplicate frame detection and analytical tools. Many filters are available within the tool. This video editing software for YouTube is well suited for beginners to convert videos between any format and compressing.

Key Features: Cut without re-encoding | Sound conversion | Replace audio | Rewrap | Merge | Subtitling | Video inserts

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux

Download: Shutter Encoder (Free)

Best Open Source Video Editors

We have already discussed some of the top video editors for YouTube. Although all of them are free, they are all proprietary tools. If you are concerned about privacy, here are some of the best open-source video editors.

OpenShot

OpenShot a popular cross-platform video editor that is supported in Linux, Mac, and Windows. You can easily trim your videos, add audio, and more. OpenShot lets you add multiple layers for the watermark, background videos, and audio tracks.

There is a video effects engine in the video editor which you can use to remove background from your video. OpenShot also has other video effects for colors, adjusting brightness, and many more. Apart from the effects and flares, you can create simple titles for your YouTube videos.

Key Features: Cross-platform | Powerful curve-based Keyframes | Clip resizing | Unlimited tracks | Desktop integration

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux

Download: OpenShot (Free)

Olive Editor

Olive Editor is a free and open-source non-linear video editor. You will see many features like razor, ripple, pointer, slip, and so on under the Tools section in Olive Editor that will make your editing more convenient. Moreover, the video editor for YouTube will let you edit raw digital and analog video sources.

You are also able to inspect the modifications from the Playback menu. For example, you can switch back and forth between the frames, and increase or decrease speed, or play in a loop.

Key Features: Timeline zoom | Cut & Slice | Pan & zoom | Transitions | Scaling | Rotation | Speed | Retains quality

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux

Download: Olive Editor (Free)

Kdenlive

Kdenlive is a free and open-source video editor based on the MLT framework. It accepts many audio and video formats. You are also able to add effects and transitions to your video.

Other features in this YouTube editing software are color scopes and an intuitive multitrack interface. You can use certain tools to create, move, crop, and delete the video, audio, as well as text clips. Some of the visual effects in Kdenlive include options for masking, keying green screen, and color tools.

Key Features: Multi-track video editing | Configurable interface | Many effects | Transitions | Online resources | Key frameable effects

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux

Download: Kdenlive (Free)

Best Free YouTube Video Editor for Phones

Without the need for expensive PCs or hardware, you can now edit your videos using mobile apps. We discuss some of them here such as iMovie for iPhone, and Inshot, and many more mobile video editors.

iMovie

You can use iMovie for both iOS and macOS to browse clips, create trailers, and stunning 4K- resolution movies. Using iMovie could be the best choice for an iPhone beginner who wants to start editing videos. Besides, iMovie lets you choose the clips, add titles, music, and effects to your videos.

There are 13 creative video filters available with the video editor for YouTube. To give your video a broadcast feel by giving picture-in-picture and split-screen effects. iMovie also lets you add built-in sound effects. Also, add green-screen effects in which you can place your characters in exotic locations with a tap.

Key Features: Import digital video format | Shuffle scenes | Add sound | 13 creative video filters | Split-screen effects

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Mac

Download: iMovie (Free)

VN Video Editor

With VN Video Editor, you can make and edit videos with all pro features. It is suitable for both beginners as well as professional users. Also, you can share your videos on social media. Some of the edits you can do in VN Video editor are zoom in/out, tap to split, drag, and duplicate video clips.

You can add your own music to VN and create videos quickly with BeatsClips. Besides, VN supports multiple soundtracks and you can adjust the duration of these tracks.

It is also possible to add title slides, text overlays in the timeline. Moreover, in this YouTube editing app, you are able to use a variety of transitions and effects that look professional. You can do all these without paying anything, and without bothering about a watermark.

Key Features: Supports multiple videos and images | Automatic draft save | humanized voice recordings | Import your own video | Full-screen preview mode

Platforms: iPhone, Android, iPad, Mac

Download: iPhone | Android (Free)

InShot

InShot is a freemium video editing app that will let you do basic edits like trim and cut, add music, text, stickers, and many more right from your phone.

In this Youtube video editing app, you can merge videos and also create a slide show. The videos leave a watermark which you can remove by cropping. Cropping can be done in any ratio, also you can zoom in and out. You can merge multiple clips and compress video without losing quality.

Key Features: Video splitting | Video trimming | Merging video clips | Adding music or sound effects | Adding animations | Applying various filter effects

Platforms: iPhone, Android

Download: iPhone | Android (Freemium)

KineMaster

There are many powerful tools and downloadable content in KineMaster that make editing simple. You can download projects and re-edit them with your clips. Also, the YouTube editing app will let you import and export these project files.

In KineMaster, you can do all the basic edits like cut, splice, copy, and crop videos. Tools like color filters and color adjustments are available within the YouTube video editing app. For immersive audio editing, you can use EQ presets, ducking, and volume envelope tools. The only downside of the app is that the free version leaves a watermark on videos.

Key Features: Speed control | Effects | Themes | Adjustments | Multiple layers | Overlays | Music | Audio filters

Platforms: iPhone, Android

Download: iPhone | Android (Freemium)

Best Free Online Video Editors

We understand if your PC does not come with powerful hardware to run the video editors. In that case, what we suggest is to make use of the online video editors. Many of them will not be as good as native apps like DaVinci Resolve. However, you can use such online editing tools to get your videos for YouTube edited.

Clipchamp

In Clipchamp you can work on your video projects along with your friends. You can create a team and invite members. With this online video editor, you can create videos with customizable video templates. There are ready-to-use templates from ads to wedding videos.

There is an extensive video and audio stock library in this video editor for YouTube. Clipchamp gives a flexible and fast video editing experience. You are able to compress, collect, convert, and record videos easily.

Key Features: Modern video maker | Trimming | cutting | Speed control | Add text | Add audio tracks

Visit: Clipchamp (Free)

Wideo

Wideo lets you create animated videos and presentations using its easy-to-use online tools. The free version of the online video maker does not even require a credit card. You can start making videos on Wideo by simply creating an account for free.

Apart from the tools, you get access to tons of library images and footage to add to your videos. Unfortunately, Wideo is not suitable to edit a video you shot using your camera or mobile phone. The video maker is suitable for those who create animated YouTube videos explaining things.

Key Features: Animated presentation | Animated videos | Professional videos | Explaining videos

Visit: Wideo (Freemium)

We have discussed here the best editing tools, video trimmers, video compression tools, open-source video editors, mobile video editors, and online video editors. You saw that there are many software and Youtube editing apps that will let you edit your videos like a pro, add effects, do all the basic edits, and so on without paying a single dime.