Video Editing Software In 2024 – Our Top Pick

As a company, it must be your first priority to attract your potential customers toward your brand or product, and it can efficiently be done with visuals.

After the digitalization of marketing, the representation of data has changed and brought variation to it; various edits and video styles are used.

Nowadays, video is not just used as entertainment but also as a communication medium. It is an effective way to convey knowledge about anything to anyone, anywhere.

Digitalization has not just made marketing virtual but also made video production easy and efficient. Now the internet has numerous video editing apps for Android and iOS devices, which can help you create and edit videos on your smartphones in no time.

Most of the users prefer video editing software that has a user-friendly interface, visible features, compatibility with all devices, and is easy to use by the users of every tier, but when we talk about professionals, they prefer more than that:

• The software must be compatible with the video formats like HEVC, HDR, and V.R.
• The software must be able to work with high-resolution videos like 1080p to 4K.
• The software must be able to perform multitrack editing, advanced color grading & scheme, and motion tracking.

In this article, we will be going to talk about top video editing software that will help you achieve the level of marketing you have been looking for and put light on the points that should be considered while editing a video.

This read is going to be highly informative and effective for the readers interested in video editing, so keep reading and explore what you have missed so far till now!

List of Top Video Editing Software in 2024

Here are the top video editing tools that you can consider using in 2024 for your editing projects. So, let’s take a look:

1. Adobe Premiere Pro

Our first choice of the list is Adobe Premiere Pro which is the user-demand video editing. It is an expensive professional-level video editing application that has compatibility with both Mac and Windows.

The Pros

• Premiere Pro has a clear and user-friendly interface.
• It offers features that are not only beneficial for professionals but also for beginners.
• It is the most responsive tool.
• It has a rich ecosystem of video production tools and applications.
• Premiere Pro is best at stabilization and offers unlimited multicamera angles.

The Cons

• Adobe Premiere Pro has a tricky interface for non-familiar users.
• For some techniques, it requires some additional application to support the procedures.
• Premiere Pro does not offer sound effects samples.

2. Apple Final Cut Pro

Mac and iOS users always have to struggle with the software and tools compatibility. Apple has launched its own pro-level video editing tool named Final Cut Pro, which has a rich interface making it best for the professionals as well as for newbies.

Final Cut Pro’s recent updates include A.I. cropping to cater to social media outputs and also support the MAC devices.

The Pros

• Final Cut Pro has a trackless magnetic timeline.
• It offers libraries, ratings, superior organization tools, tagging, scene, and face auto analysis.
• Final Cut Pro supports 360-Degree V.R. and HDR footage.
• It also offers multicamera angle support.
• The fast performance makes the video editing and file exporting quick.
• It also supports MacBook Touch Bar and iPad Sidecar.

The Cons

• Final Cut Pro has nontraditional timeline editing that may not be favorable for professional editors.
• It does not support motion tracking or stabilization for 360-degree video
• It does not allow search in the import dialog.

3. Apple iMovie

Another Apple video editing tool is iMovie which is best for iPhone and iPad users. It let you create Hollywood-style videos, movies, and trailers. You can easily browse the video library, pick a video, and create aesthetically pleasing videos.

You can create and edit videos with resolutions up to 4K on iMovie. It also allows you to edit videos on Mac devices.

The Pros

• iMovie has a simple, user-friendly interface.
• It supports color matching according to the movie or video looks.
• It has various classy and funky video themes.
• iMovie is considered best in chroma-keying.
• It offers various audio tools.
• It has eye-catching video templates.

The Cons

• iMovie’s simple interface has missed some major and essential useful controls.
• It does not support tagging.
• It also does not support motion tracking and multicamera features.
• iMovie is also limited to two video tracks.
• It does not allow 360-Degree video editing.

4. CyberLink PowerDirector 365

While discussing top P.C. video editing software, how cannot we mention PowerDirector 365 by CyberLink. The tool is capable of performing professional-level video edits.

PowerDirector let you perform various edits and special effects to the videos like sky replacement, object detection, wind removal, and speech enhancement, which automatically uplifts the spirit of the video.

It provides you royalty-free stock library, customizable titles, transitions, LUTs & color match, VFX, background music, and much more.

You can do AI DeReverb, fish-eye distortion, audio ducking, video stabilizer, nested projects, and voice-over recording.

The Pros

• PowerDirector 365 performs fast rendering.
• It has a very clean interface that provides clear visibility.
• It offers various special effects and allows the users to alter the video according to the need.
• You can perform Multicam editing and AI-motion tracking with PowerDirector.
• It also allows the users to record the screen.

The Cons

• The tool is quite overwhelming due to its features and capabilities.

5. Corel VideoStudio Ultimate

Among our list, Corel VideoStudio Ultimate is a consumer video editing tool that is rich with awesome editing and special features.

After the 2021 update, the app has become a lot more stable that has improved the overall application performance. The update also included A.R. stickers, Instant Project templates, and other helpful features in the app.

The Pros

• Corel VideoStudio has a very clear and simple interface, making it easy to use for the users of every tier.
• It is extremely fast at rendering.
• It supports 360-Degree V.R., 3D media, and 4K Ultra H.D. resolution. (Video creation and editing)
• It also offers multipoint motion tracking.
• Corel VideoStudio has the best color grading and scheme palette for videos.
• For the stop motion video editor, it offers the stop-motion tool.

The Cons

• It does not allow keyword tagging for media organizing.
• It offers low-level and poor-quality audio editing as compared to the others.

6. DaVinci Resolve

DaVinci Resolve is a hugely powerful professional video editing and creation application that incorporates all the editing, color grading, keyframing, and audio capabilities that professional editors need. It also has a useful free version, but it has a steep learning curve with it.

The Pros

• At DaVinci Resolve, there are numerous editing tools available for exact control.
• Its user interface is simple and well-designed, making it user-friendly for all.
• Other professional editors have separate tools for motion graphics and audio editing, but DaVinci offers them in one.

The Cons

• It requires a significant amount of system resources to execute the tasks.
• It is one of the complex software that takes a long time for users to understand completely.

7. Adobe Premiere Elements

Adobe Premiere Element is a consumer video editor that is simple to use and comes with numerous resources. However, it lags behind the competitors in terms of functionality and rendering performance. The Auto Reframe tool, aspect ratios, and additional guided edits are all new in Adobe Premiere for 2022.

The Pros

1. The user interface is clear and simple to understand.
2. It offers guide edits to benefit the basic and complex projects.
3. It had a lot of video effects.
4. It has awesome text tools.
5. Adobe Premiere supports all operating systems.

The Cons

• Its output rendering speed is slow.
• It does not support 360-degree V.R. or 3D editing.
• It does not support multiple cameras.
• It does not allow the users to record the screen.

8. Magix Movie Edit Pro Premium

Despite its powerful effects and features, Magix Movie Edit Pro is still a second-tier video editing software in terms of usability and performance.

The Pros

• Magix offers various video effects.
• It has a very responsive video editing interface.
• It supports Multicam.
• It has a cool tool for titling.
• Magix provides trailer-like video templates.
• It also provides quality audio editing.

The Cons

• The project rendering at Magix is much slower than video editing software.
• Magix does not provide much help when it comes to complicated operations.
• It does not have any tools for importing and organizing the data files.

9. VSDC Video Editor Pro

Although the power and usefulness of the low-cost VSDC video editing tool have increased, but its odd processes make learning it too much difficult.

The Pros

• As compared to the other professional video editing software, VSDC Video Editor is quite inexpensive.
• It offers 360 VR, chroma-key, 4K resolution, color wheel, and PiP.
• It has an A.I. art filter.
• It offers motion tracking and text animation.

The Cons

• The user interface is unpolished.
• The lack of a consistent layout and methodology makes it difficult to utilize.
• Submenus are hidden by too many functionalities.
• There is no pre-recorded music in the background available in VSDC.
• It does not offer a full-screen video preview.
• It has crashed while testing.

10. Vegas Pro

Despite some recent enhancements, Vegas Pro offers a full suite of video editing capabilities, but they are not arranged in a way that nonprofessional enthusiasts can easily comprehend.

The Pros

• It has excellent, easy-to-understand color grading tools
• The Vegas Pro subscribers get free stock footage.
• It offers excellent rendering results.
• It supports a nested timeline.

The Cons

• The conveniences found in competitors are missing from the Vegas Pro’s interface.
• Its Multicam is almost useless.
• It shows no welcome panel with tutorials.
• It has instability in the programs.

P.S: Give a read to our article about vertical video editing apps that you must know about.

Video Editing Software with Motion Tracking and Multicam

When a company releases a new and upgraded software, it makes sure that the software has the accessibility, affordability, and user-friendly features to beat the successor software.

Multicam editing plays an important role when it comes to professional video editing procedures. This feature is highly required in the software by professional video editors to compile multiple footages of the same scene by different camera angles.

Another but highly required video editing effect is motion tracking, which attaches the object to the moving elements in your video to perform the blur effect on the face or put the text box next to the moving elements.

Follow the enlisted steps to apply motion tracking in your video through any video editing software:

• First, mark the moving element you aim to track.
• Then pick the text or effect you want to apply to the element.
• And the software will perform the desired action to the video.

Motion tracking used to be the pillar feature of Adobe After Effects which was primarily introduced by the Corel Video Studio, which is still considered as the best motion tracking tool among the rest.

Do Video Editing Software Support 4K or 8K Videos?

Supporting 4K resolution has become the standard of the upgraded, and new video editing software for daily use and professional software already supports 8K resolution, which can be useful for movie editors.

Even some of the smartphones can now shoot videos in 8K resolution, making professional video editing software mandatory for users of every level. But most of the video resolution formats depend upon the consumer’s product.

For instance, Sony XAVC and XAVX-S are formats that have similarities to HEVC and are used by Sony cameras and devices, and are not applicable to many video editing software. The software list that we have shared in this article supports HEVC (file import & export), but many software are still incapable of supporting these formats.

If you are thinking of creating a video with 4K or higher resolution, pick the software that has the fastest output file rendering.

How to Edit a Video on a Computer?

If the software isn’t able to perform the basic editing, then extra features are of no use. Make sure the software you use must let you merge, combine, crop, trim, add, delete, or split the video clips.

Various video editing software provides video tutorials, guides, and tool manuals to understand the software better. A good editing tool allows you to apply special effects like animated transitions, chroma-key (the green screen), picture-in-picture (PiP), and filters to elevate the color scheme.

Some software lets you add a multitude of timeline tracks that adjusts the video clips, audio, effects, and text overlays.

One of the most amazing features of some editing tools is a seamless transition. Let’s imagine a scene in a desert, and by just the sky zoom in, you are in London. The transition happens because the two different scenes are attached through the sky transition.

Here is a video by Tyler White where he is giving a quick tutorial on how to create a Zoom-in transition using Adobe Premiere Pro; let’s take a look at this video to know what the Zoom-in transition looks like and how can you apply this transition to your videos.

How to Edit a Video on a Smartphone?

Smartphones these days are not just phones anymore, they work as PC, tablets, and whole photography stations, and now even desktop applications are available on app stores to provide desktop quality editing on phones.

Adobe has launched various photo and video editing tools, and Premiere Rush is one that is compatible with phones as well as PCs. It allows you to edit videos on your phone and then continue editing them on the P.C. through the desktop Premiere app.

If we talk about iOS, Apple’s iMovie and Final Cut Pro are the best combination for iOS users. There are numerous phone applications like CapCut and CyberLink PowerDirector that allow desktop quality video editing on smartphones.

There are some apps like Snapchat and TikTok that let you shoot the video and edit it right away on smartphones.

What are Color Grading and LUTs?

Along with many other pro-level features, one of the consumer-level video editing features in any video editing software is color grading.

Histograms, curves, and color wheels give editors complete control over color schemes and shadings. LUTs are lookup tables, and CLUTs are color lookup tables, and both of them are related to support color grading.

This staple in any video editing software lets the editor quickly change the look of a video to portray a specific mood. For instance, in thriller movies, the dark look of the night is created by the combination of dark blue and black, which is done by LUTs and color grading.

Several websites allow you to download LUTs for free to include them in the editing software and apply color grading on the video.

Where is the Action?

Video editing software includes some tools that handle the shots of action cameras, like GoPro: Hero10 Black.

Some software allows automated freeze-frame with slowdown, speedup, forward, and reverse time effects. The CyberLink PowerDirector’s Action Camera Center combines the freeze frame with slo-mo, fish-eye correction, scene stabilization, and color correction on underwater footage.

P.S: Magix Movie Edit Pro Premium has a third-party NewBlue ActionCam that offers various special effects and action control.

Attractive Video Titles

People pay extra focus to applying title effects to the video, and to cater to this focus Apple Final Cute Pro has included a 3D title editing option that let the editor rotate the 2D titles on three different axes.

Corel VideoStudio also has 3D Titling, although it is not as powerful as Apple’s Final Cut Pro, but is qualified enough to perform beginner-level 3D titling.

Among the rest of the video editing software, the PowerDirector’s Title Designer offers gradient color, border, transparency, blur level, and reflection in titles. The Magix also has impressive title templates with attractive animation to variate the title entirely.

Premiere Elements let the video fills the text characters, which is also followed by Corel in VideoStudio. To get a catch title, you need to look for a tool that edits your video title in a “What you see is what you get” mode and let you type, paste, format, and time it on the time of the video preview.

Subtitles are also an important text to overlay on your video. Adobe Premiere Pro and Corel Studio have a feature that autogenerates the caption of the spoken dialogs.

Speedy Video Editing

Video editing is the most crucial activity and requires skilled editors with the best device to execute it properly.

In order to perform video editing, you need a laptop or desktop and upgrade it according to your editorial needs.

Some editing apps speed up the editing process by creating a proxy file of lower resolution so that normal editing and previewing aren’t slowed down by huge full-resolution files.

Some editing apps create proxy files with low resolution to speed up the editing process because the high-resolution files slow down the editing and previewing of the video.

The most challenging step in video editing is rendering the final video into a standard file that the editor aims to play on the various devices.

Even the graphics cards of your computer help the application to speed up the editing process. It helps to smooth the editing process.

Make sure to preview the reviewed links in the application performance section to see the speed of the application.  CyberLink PowerDirector and Pinnacle Studio have always been the best for rendering speed testing, but in the latest few years, Corel VideoStudio has been in the lead.

The performance of an application doesn’t depend upon the speed, it also includes the startup time and application stability.

As mentioned earlier, video editing is a crucial task, and to perform it smoothly, you require powerful components. If we take a look back, video editing tools used to take time to start up and shut down unexpectedly, even the applications by Apple and Adobe.

With time, the application stability has been improved, but the process complexity has increased as more powerful effects and features are added to them.

In short, application crashes were not completely eliminated, and they often rise whenever a new feature is incorporated into an application.

Free Video Editing Software

People prefer video editing tools that are affordable and provide premium quality editing. If you aim to perform pro-quality editing to your video, there are some top free video editing options that you should give a try.

iMovie is the best option if you are an iOS user, and if you are a P.C. or Windows 10/11 user, Windows’ Photos app allows you to trim, join, add background music, apply 3D animation effects, add titles to video, apply dialog captions, and add transition effects.

You can even find some best and free video applications on Microsoft Store like Animotica, Video Editor Studio, and Movie Maker.

Most of them provide basic video editing features like video clip transitions, trimming, joining, and special effects with a friendly interface.

The professional editors prefer apps that come from the Microsoft Store since they have been evaluated at security and performance. These video editing tools run in sandboxes that don’t disturb your operating system and are easy to install and fast to update.

The drawback of free video editing tools is that they come with limitations. Some require licensing fees that indicate that the software cannot handle standard file formats, and the fee will help you to unlock the premium features.

As compared to paid video editing software, Shotcut is an open-source and free application that does all of the editing that paid software can do. Shotcut can also perform picture-in-picture and chroma-keying.

Software with 360-Degree V.R. Support

If you are into 3D video editing, there are so many editing tools that still support 3D video editing, although 360-Degree V.R. video has replaced it long ago.

And when we talk about 360-Degree V.R. video, GoPro Max is worth mentioning. 360-Degree video used to be popular among Facebook users, but as time has passed, it has also been replaced by other video content on Facebook.

CyberLink PowerDirector was the first application in the list that supported 360-Degree V.R. video, and later, other applications have upgraded themselves to

360-Degree video media, which includes Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, and Magix Movie Edit Pro.

Some video editing tools include 360-compatible titles, motion tracking, and stabilization. PowerDirector is famous for its robust motion tracking and stabilization. Final Cut offers a useful tool that removes the camera and tripod from the image, which can be an issue with 360-degree footage. The Final Cut tool helps the editor to remove the camera and tripod from the photos to give a perfect look to a 360-Degree video.

The Audio Editing

Audio is the most important element in the video that makes the watch-time enjoyable and helps the audience understand the context of the video.

While editing a video, you need an app that allows you to perform audio correction along with image editing. Most of the mentioned video editing tools offer background music and tracks like Pinnacle Studio that can even trim the audio according to the duration of your video.

Most of these tools are capable of separating the audio from the video and are proficient in eliminating the background noise and can add extra audio according to the need of the video.

Some of the tools have the auto-ducking feature that lowers the background music when the dialogs come in the video.

The Apple Compatible Software

Well, iOS users do not have many options when it comes to software as compared to Android or Windows users. iMovie is the software that allows iOS users to edit videos on all iOS devices and offer various pro-level features.

iMovie basically offers two video tracks but is excellent in chroma-keying. It also has a trailer feature that let the users create Hollywood-style trailers.

On the other hand, Adobe Premiere Elements is a video editing tool that is compatible with both Macs and PCs and offers numerous features to add special effects to the video.

CyberLink PowerDirector has recently joined the Apple store. Although, it does not have many tools to offer to iOS users as much as it offers to Windows users.

It is best in its rendering performance, which outperformed all of the other Mac and iOS video tools that have been listed.

When we talk about the tools like Davinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, and Final Cut Pro, Final Cut is a quite simple video editing tool and is similar to iMovie when it comes to interface and easiness.

Final Cut offers several features and allows third-party apps to integrate with it to accelerate the editing quality and speed.

It makes amazing use of the Touch Bar on some MacBook Pro models. Premiere Pro is best in collaboration with Adobe software like Photoshop and After Effects, and it uses the traditional timeline and enjoys the apps and plug-ins with giant features.

The Bonus

When it comes to choosing a video editing software or application, must keep three things in mind:

• Your budget.
• The devices/equipment you have.
• And what level of editing do you want.

Mostly we try to fulfill our needs with the first available tool on the internet. Instead of adjusting to what you have, try to look for better options that match your budget, need, and compatibility with your current equipment.

If you are interested in professional-quality video editing, then we recommend you upgrade your devices/equipment according to the software for a better run and smooth procedure.

And if you think about seeking external help, then here are some best video editing companies that help you with your project.

The Writer’s Choice

It is the ultimate goal of everyone to have a perfect video, but as a newbie in the field of video editing, it is quite challenging to achieve.

But why worry when you have BuzzFlick – an award-winning 2D and 3D animation company – that is the best in video editing and special effects.

The Studio has been providing its video production and animation services since 2016 and has worked with more than 800 companies and have completed more than 1000 video projects.

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The sales representatives are 24/7 available to hear from you; if you have a project or query, contact BuzzFlick now!

Happy Animation!