Top 10 Best Free Video Editing Software for YouTube

YouTube, serving as one of the biggest social platforms around the world, has made editing videos the latest trend among all generations. Because of that, the demand for a useful free YouTube video editor on various devices is stirred up as well. In this post, I will recommend 10 best free YouTube video editing software on Windows, Mac, and online. 

Part 1. Top 9 Best Free YouTube Video Editing Software for Windows and Mac

If you are the one who prefers editing YouTube videos with Windows computers. Here, I would like to recommend 2 easy and useful video editors. 

1. EaseUS Video Editor 

Applies to: Windows 10/8.1/8/7

EaseUS Video Editor is an all-in-one software that enjoys a pinch of features, like trimming, cutting, splitting, merging, rotating videos. And you can crop image size, mix video clips and add filter to video. It works on all Windows operating systems and even supports users to edit and export videos for free. 

You can enhance your YouTube videos using this amazing video editor. Now, download it for free and have a try! 

Features

• Free and easy to use for beginners
• A cool YouTube video converter as well
• Support color grading with 40+ filters, 50+ transitions, and 30+ overlays
• 40+ text templates with aminations and stylish fonts
• 100+ music backgrounds, sound effects, and 60+ elements
• Support multi-track editing
• Support to upload videos to YouTube and other platforms directly

Free DownloadSupport Windows 11/10/8/7

How to Create YouTube Video and Upload to YouTube with EaseUS Video Editor:

# 1. Create A YouTube Video

Step 1. Import Target Files

Launch EaseUS Video Editor, select a desired aspect ratio on the main screen: 9:16, 16:9, or 4:3.

Import target files like GoPro shots, game screenshots, photos, music, etc. by clicking "Import" or dragging it into EaseUS Video Editor.

Step 2. Add Files to Projects

Right-click on the imported files one by one and select "Add to project".

Step 3. Add Effects and Edit Video

EaseUS Video Editor contains many visual effects, such as Text templets, Filters, Overlays, Transitions, Animation Elements, and Background Music, etc. to help you create a magic video.

To add them, you need to download these effects in advance. Then select video project, right-click downloaded effects and select "Add to Project". 

• Text: You can input and add words to your video as Opener, Title, Subtitle.
• Filter: Beautify your videos with up to 49 filters.
• Overlay: Personalize your video with over 30 frames.
• Transitions: Add visual effect to your video between clips, transiting naturally.
• Elements: Add animated elements to video, making it more interesting.
• Music: Over 100 background music templates, satisfy your diversified needs. 

You may use the timeline and drag them to re-place them to the desired position. Timeline with the tool menu can help you edit, split, delete, crop, zoom, freeze frame, set duration, record voice over, convert speech to text, or vice versa in a video.

Step 4. Export Video

When you finish editing the video, click "Export" on the top menu bar, select the desired format for your video, rename it, browse a safe location and click "Export" to save it on your PC.

# 2. Upload Video to YouTube

After creating the video, you may continue with the following steps to upload the video to YouTube:

Step 1. Export Video to Video Platform

On the exporting window of EaseUS Video Editor, select "Video platform" and choose the desired platform you would like to export and upload the video to.
Browse a location on your computer to save the exported video. 

Step 2. Adjust Quality, Video, and Audio 

Click the Settings icon and you can adjust the video quality, video and audio specifications to improve the video quality, click "OK" to confirm.

Step 3. Export and Upload Video to Video Platform

Click "Export" and wait for the process to finish. 

An upload window will pop up in your browser, click "SELECT FILE" or "UPLOAD" to upload the video to your video platform immediately.

2. HitFilm Express

Applies to: Windows and Mac

HitFilm Express is a free video editing software with VFX tools to support beginners or YouTubers to create content, films or videos. With this tool, you can edit your YouTube video by cutting and trimming. You can add text to video and more other enhancement.

Pros

• Free
• Support both Windows and Mac operating systems
• It offers free templates

Cons

• Steep learning curve

3. Avidemux

Applies to: Windows and Mac

Avidemux is an absolutely free app to help you edit your YouTube videos on your computer. It runs on all the major platforms out there, including Windows, Mac, and Linux. It has support for several file types that include both AVI and MP4.

When you get the app and launch it, you will find it has an excellent user-friendly interface that has all the essential editing tools added to it.

Advantages:

• Supports a number of common file formats
• Join and split videos
• Easy to use interface

Disadvantages:

• Occasional file format errors
• Cannot join videos that have different dimensions

4. Kdenlive

Applies to: Windows and Mac

Kdenlive helps both beginners as well as professionals to help edit their YouTube videos. The features list includes multi-track editing, support for a number of file formats, keyboard shortcuts, effects and transitions, and much more.

It comes with a customizable interface, so if you are not a big fan of the default color scheme, you can always change it to something of your liking.

Advantages:

• Add an unlimited number of media files to timeline
• Support for multi-track editing
• Equipped with an excellent audio editor

Disadvantages:

• Windows version sees several bugs
• No support for multi-frame rate editing

5. OpenShot

Applies to: Windows and Mac

If you have not got much time to learn video editing, then OpenShot could be a great YouTube video editor app for you. It is easy to learn it, has all the features, and allows you to quickly get your videos edited with minimum hassle.

It is available on multiple platforms, including Windows, Mac, and Linux. Some of the features include the ability to trim your videos, add animations, add 3D animations, edit titles, visualize audios, and much more. It is available for free on its official website.

Advantages:

• No learning curve involved
• Available in more than 70 languages
• Export in 4K quality

Disadvantages:

• Slow rendering speeds
• Difficult to customize effects

6. Shotcut

Applies to: Mac, Windows and Linux

Shotcut is a free, open-source, and cross-platform video editing software for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Although a simple video editing software for YouTube, Shotcut is an ideal alternative software for Windows Movie Maker with its powerful features.

Pros

• Support the latest audio and video format
• Support multiple types of image formats
• Customizable audio features
• Support plenty of video effects and filters

Cons

• Doesn't support the latest Windows 10/8 and latest macOS

7. iMovie 

Applies to: Mac

iMovie enables users to crop, trim, and arrange video clips in multiple ways. It also allows users to browse the video library and share beautiful moments, creating videos cross-platform (between iPhone, iPad, and Mac). This tool is a good choice for beginners to edit YouTube videos.

Pros

• 100% Free
• Support to browse and share video instantly
• Support 29 trailer templates, customize video logs, names, etc.
• Support to create and edit 4K and HD videos
• Also available on iPhone

Cons

• Only for macOS
• Importing formats limited
• Lack of professional effects

8. Adobe Premiere Pro

Applies to: Mac

Adobe Premiere Pro is also a famous video editor app amongst the professionals as it provides you with some of the advanced tools to make your videos look more attractive. It helps convey your stories through your videos the way you want and gives you all the tools you need to do so.

• It can automatically reformat your videos, speed-up your audio mixing, and even helps edit VR 180 videos
• It is part of Adobe's Creative Cloud and can be subscribed to for $20.99/month

9. Animotica

Applies to: Windows

Animotica is an easy-to-use video editor, making it effortless to create high-quality videos. With its versatile features, Animotica offers various creative tools such as trimming, splitting, and merging videos. Users can also add transitions, filters, and text effects and adjust color and audio settings. Animotica can apply advanced effects such as tilt-shift, split-screen, and green screen to produce visually stunning videos.

With its widespread effects, such as the Ken Burns and glitch effects, Animotica presents a broad range of creative possibilities for beginners and professionals. Additionally, Animotica's affordability makes it an excellent option for users who don't want to break the bank while still accessing premium software.

Pros

• Animotica has a simple and intuitive interface that makes video editing accessible to users of all levels of expertise
• The software comes with a range of powerful editing tools, including trimming, splitting, merging, and adding effects, which can help users create professional-quality videos
• Animotica is affordable compared to other video editing software, making it an excellent option for those on a budget

Cons

• Free version has a watermark and some feature limitations

Part 2. Online Free YouTube Video Editors

Some people may dislike downloading third-party software on their devices. Therefore, I will recommend 2 online video editors in this part to help you edit videos easily and quickly.

1. Clipchamp

Clipchamp is s popular online video editor with various editing features. You can trim and cut, split and merge, rotate, and add effects for your YouTube videos. You are allowed to add text and transitions to your videos as well.

Pros

• Edit video online without download any software
• Various video features 
• Free to use
• Share edited videos to Google Drive, Facebook, etc.

Cons

• Low-quality fo export videos when using its free version

2. Clideo

Another recommended online video editing tool is named Clideo. It is also a free and open-source YouTbe video editing software that allows users to compress, resize, crop, merge videos and add subtitles to your YouTube videos. 

Pros

• Online tools so that you do not need to sign in
• The interface is clear and easy
• Support almost every audio and video file format

Cons

• Features are limited in its free version

Part 3. Choose a Suitable YouTube Video Editor

Tons of video editing software can be found on the market, and which one fits your needs most? Some people may need to find the most professional video editing software for their jobs,  and some of them may need an easy-to-use one. Here, I present a table for you including the most popular YouTube video editing software and their features. Compare them and choose your favorite one.

Conclusion

In this article, I recommend several free YouTube video editing software with different features. For beginners, iMovie and Shotcut are ideal choices. If you prefer to share personal happy moments on YouTube with a simple filter and transition effects, EaseUS Video Editor is your best choice. Now, download it and enhance your YouTube videos!

Free DownloadSupport Windows 11/10/8/7