{"id":99085,"date":"2018-03-22T14:34:57","date_gmt":"2018-03-22T14:34:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=99085"},"modified":"2025-07-01T23:35:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T06:35:40","slug":"the-5-best-free-tools-for-making-videos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/the-5-best-free-tools-for-making-videos\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 best free tools for making videos"},"content":{"rendered":"

To entertain your family and friends with home movies, you need the right tools for the job. There\u2019s plenty of free software out there that\u2019ll add some sparkle to your videos, but choosing between them is hard. Not all share the same features, and learning curves can be steep.<\/p>\n

So, we\u2019ve put together a list of our best-in-category video tools to help you make the right choice. Check them out below… and start making better movies today.<\/p>\n

The 5 best free tools for making videos<\/h2>\n

1. For home movies and light users: Windows Movie Maker<\/a><\/h3>\n

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Windows Movie Maker<\/strong>, which helpfully comes preinstalled on every Windows PC or laptop released in the last few years, is a great tool for beginners<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to dismiss bundled software as bloatware, but Windows Movie Maker is surprisingly effective. It might be basic, but what it does it does really well. And the relatively short selection of editing features makes it easy to use<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

You can split, combine, and reorder clips; add audio and transitions, and convert multiple video file formats into one. There are online and in-app tutorials to help you if you get stuck, and you can preview transitions and effects just by hovering over them with your mouse. It\u2019ll also rotate your clips if you forgot to shoot in landscape.<\/p>\n

While Windows Movie Maker lacks some of the more professional editing tools, it\u2019s perfect for holidays, weddings, parties, and social media posts. As long as you\u2019re not expecting an Oscar nomination, Windows Movie Maker is a fun tool for family footage.<\/p>\n

(If you\u2019re a Mac user, Apple\u2019s bundled iMovie app \u2013 on both iPhones and Macs as standard \u2013 is a better alternative, with more features, transitions, and effects. It\u2019ll also create trailers from your movie clips.)<\/p>\n

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\r\n Windows Movie Maker<\/span>\r\n download free<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
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2. For professionals: Lightworks<\/a><\/h3>\n

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Used on blockbusters like The Wolf of Wall Street<\/em>, Pulp Fiction<\/em>, and The King\u2019s Speech<\/em>, Lightworks is the ultimate tool for professional filmmaking<\/strong>. But its professional-grade quality comes at the expense of ease of use – Lightworks has a fairly steep learning curve.<\/p>\n

As a free editing suite, Lightworks is exemplary, since it’s almost entirely unrestricted. The only restriction is on output formats. It lets you output in MPEG4\/H.264 at a maximum resolution of 1280x720p, but you can add and work with files in virtually any format. MPEG4.H.264 will work with social media, too.<\/p>\n

Also included in the free version are over a hundred effects, transitions, and filters. It even supports multicam editing. There are so many features, in fact, that it would be impossible to list them all here, so if you want to give Lightworks a try, head on over to their website<\/a> for a full feature list. Thankfully, there are a ton of YouTube tutorials to help you make sense of it all.<\/p>\n

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3. For smartphones: FilmoraGo<\/a><\/h3>\n

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FilmoraGo<\/strong> makes your smartphone videos pop. It\u2019s the mobile version of Wondershare\u2019s Filmora desktop app, which has over 50 million happy users, and you can sync the two to continue tweaking your edits on-the-go.<\/p>\n

Like the desktop version, FilmoraGo delivers outstanding videos with modern effects and transitions<\/strong> for that polished look. You can trim, crop, adjust the speed of your footage, fix noise, and add a whole host of overlays, sounds, and elements. You get a few included for free, and can buy more as in-app purchases (how they make their money, presumably).<\/p>\n

Unlike many free editing tools, FilmoraGo won\u2019t apply a watermark to your video, or even limit the running time, so it\u2019s an excellent choice for stitching together longer films. Be warned, though, it will add a frame (of the app name and slogan) at the end of your movie. It\u2019s not really a big deal as most people will have clicked off by the time your credits roll, but it\u2019s useful to know.<\/p>\n

FilmoraGo looks the part, and is easy to use. It\u2019ll adjust aspect ratios automatically for sharing on social media, and even supports 4K. For a free smartphone app, it\u2019s incredibly powerful, and if you ever get bored with the basic customization options, you can always fork out some cash for new designs.<\/p>\n

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\r\n FilmoraGo - Free Video Editor <\/span>\r\n download free<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
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4. For animators: Blender<\/a><\/h3>\n

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Blender is an open-source 3D rendering program<\/strong> that blends (no pun intended) animation and video editing in one. Like Lightworks, it has a steep learning curve<\/strong>, but if you\u2019re an experienced digital animator, you\u2019ll be familiar with at least some of its advanced functions. Also like Lightworks, Blender is a big hit in Hollywood, having delivered VFX and animations for blockbuster titles like “Wonder Woman,” “Spider-Man 2, and “Annabelle: Creation.”<\/p>\n

For beginners, it\u2019s strongly recommended you read all the manuals, watch all the tutorials, and put in hours of practice before you start animating, but the video-editing side isn\u2019t too difficult to grasp. You can cut and stitch movie clips, add layers, filters, transitions, and adjust clip speeds. It\u2019s a basic package, but having the movie editor built-in means you can create your own VFX and incorporate them into your workflow without needing separate software.<\/p>\n

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\r\n Blender<\/span>\r\n download free<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
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5. For business: Adobe Premiere Clip<\/a><\/h3>\n

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Most of the apps on this list are suitable for businesses, but Premier Clip really stands out<\/strong>. First, many businesses already pay for Adobe\u2019s Creative Cloud \u2013 a suite of creativity tools that includes Adobe Premiere Pro for professional-grade video production. Premiere Clip synchronizes with its bigger brother, meaning you can use your smartphone to edit on-the-fly, leaving the final polishing to the more advanced Premiere Pro<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Secondly, Premiere Clip is a cinch to learn, so you won\u2019t need to spend hours training your staff how to use it. The interface is intuitive, and the automatic movie creator means you only need to select what to include (photos and\/or videos) and Clip will do the rest.<\/p>\n

For those comfortable with manual editing, Adobe Premiere Clip includes the usual array of features. You can adjust speed, lighting, and audio, as well as splice, trim, and add transitions and effects. Whether you customize things yourself or let the app\u2019s engine do it, it\u2019s entirely up to you.<\/p>\n

As this is free software, you don\u2019t need to spend money on licenses your staff might not use, yet having your team prepared to capture, edit, and publish those \u201cviral\u201d moments means you never miss an opportunity to strengthen your brand.<\/p>\n

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\r\n \"Adobe\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n Adobe Premiere Clip<\/span>\r\n download free<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
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Whether you\u2019re the next Tarantino or sending your vacation reel to Grandma, these apps provide you all the tools you need to make great movies. Some are easier to learn than others, so do consider your needs and where your videos will appear \u2013 social media? YouTube? Cannes? The only limit is your imagination!<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To entertain your family and friends with home movies, you need the right tools for the job. There\u2019s plenty of free software out there that\u2019ll add some sparkle to your videos, but choosing between them is hard. Not all share the same features, and learning curves can be steep. So, we\u2019ve put together a list … Continue reading “The 5 best free tools for making videos”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9103,"featured_media":103220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[3150],"tags":[],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-99085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99085"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99085\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":328152,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99085\/revisions\/328152"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99085"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=99085"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=99085"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=99085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}