Looking for Video Editing Software? THIS is your thread!

This post covers the vast majority of "What software should I use?" questions. It’s designed as a self-serve guide to help people find the right tools fast.

TL;DR? DaVinci Resolve for full-featured editing, Olive/Kdenlive for open-source, Clipchamp for easy basics.

Isn’t there an AI that magically edits everything?

Not yet. If it existed, we'd scream about it from the rooftops.

Stick around—things are changing quickly.

Before You Ask Anything

You must know two things first:

1. Your Footage Type — Different codecs affect performance dramatically.
2. Your Hardware Specs — “Good gaming PC” is not useful.

Not Good With Computers? Here’s How to Check

Footage

Footage from phones, webcams, GoPros, and screen recordings can choke your system.

Check with: https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo

Common problems:

• Out-of-sync audio? Likely Variable Frame Rate.
• Bad playback? Usually a hardware limitation, not the editor. Use proxies.

More info in our wiki:

• Codecs/containers: https://www.reddit.com/r/VideoEditing/wiki/codecsandcontainers/
• VFR issues: https://www.reddit.com/r/VideoEditing/wiki/faq/vfr/
• Proxies: https://www.reddit.com/r/VideoEditing/wiki/faq/proxies/

Hardware

Minimum viable editing rig:

• Recent i7 CPU
• 16GB RAM
• A GPU with 4GB+ VRAM
• SSD for cache

Check system with: https://www.hwinfo.com/

We ONLY need: CPU model, RAM amount, GPU model + VRAM.

Recommendations

Full Power, Free Tools

DaVinci Resolve — 99% of the full program is free.

Easy but Limited

• Clipchamp — Microsoft's simple editor.
• VN Editor — Free, lightweight, watermark at end.

(CapCut now hides many features behind Pro.)

Professional Tools (obligatory mention)

• Premiere Pro — Industry standard; huge ecosystem, tons of tutorials, widely used across YouTube, corporate, and broadcast.
• Avid Media Composer — Dominant in film/TV pipelines; rock-solid for longform, multicam, and shared workflows.
• DaVinci Resolve Studio — $299 one-time; advanced color, better GPU performance, noise reduction, and the good AI tools.
• Final Cut Pro — Mac-only rocket ship; insanely fast on Apple Silicon, great for fast turnaround work.

Open Source - Totally free.

• Olive Editor — Clean UI.
• Kdenlive — Very capable, actively developed.
• ShotCut — Straightforward, good for beginners.
• OpenShot — Simple but can struggle with heavier projects.
• Avidemux — Old-school, powerful for specific tasks but not a great editor.

Special Effects

• Resolve Fusion — Node-based power.
• Cavalry — Motion-graphics oriented.

Editing in a Browser (Run Locally)

• Novella.io - new, free, pay for AI generative elements OR bring your own API keys. Very cool, if in early beta.
• VidMix — New, free, surprisingly powerful.
• PikaMov — Keyframe animation on the web.
• wide.video — Background removal, noise reduction, all done locally.
• PhotoPea — Web-based Photoshop replacement.

Web Based Editorial

• Clipchamp – from Microsoft; you’ll need an account.
• Canva/Adobe Express — Both mostly free… until you need AI features.

Compression & Utility Tools

• Shutter Encoder — The Swiss Army Knife. Transcode anything, handle HDR, upscaling, unwrap/rewrap, download media, prep proxies—if it touches video, this thing can probably do it.
• Lossless Cut — Quick trimming without re-encoding.
• Smart Media Cutter — Silence detection + XML export.
• FreeUpscaler — Cloud computing upscaler.

Mobile Editors

• Premiere Mobile — Surprisingly capable and tightly integrated with CC.
• VN Editor — Fast, friendly, cross-platform, zero learning curve.
• Instagram Edits — Simple but powerful for social workflows.
• iMovie — Beginner-friendly on iOS.
• LumaFusion — The pro option for tablets/phones.
• KineMaster — Feature-heavy on Android.

Screen Recording

• OBS — The free standard. Record in MKV, then rewrap to MP4.
• viewio — Free screen recorder, Mac only, that is like screen studio (auto zoom + webcam).
• openscreen — Free screen recorder, Crossplatform only, that is like screen studio (auto zoom + webcam).

Animated Captions

• Wide Video in browser.
• itscaps - local tool https://github.com/francozanardi/tscaps.

Updates (Dec 2025)

• CapCut/HitFilm are no longer recommended.
• Premiere Mobile and Clipchamp (web)

New Tools We’re Watching

• Whisper-GUI (Windows)
• MacWhisper (Mac)
• Offdocs — Openshot in the cloud

BEFORE YOU COMMENT

Begin with: "I read the above"

Then provide:

• CPU + Model
• RAM
• GPU + VRAM
• Footage details (camera/screen, codec, container, framerate)

Removed tools: CapCut (now Crapcut), HitFilm (dead). FFS this thread isn’t about arguing what to use, but rather for a novice to figure out what to use.

I have a copy of Adventures in Dinosaur city that is an old DVD rip I made but i dont have the DVD anymore so im unable to rip it again, first DVD i ripped. Although this image is sourced from Google it shows how my video appears, granted the image is not great quality itself.

I'm looking for tips on editing it, fixing colors, enhancing image quality Altogether.

Any insight would be great.

Thanks.

Im getting these weird frames when exporting footage from davinci resolve. Theyre frames that really do appear later in the video but that are just placed in the middle of other clips, all the while having this weird coloration of only yellow and red and missplaced color. Im really unsure how to fix it.

This is the Monthly thread for feedback.

If you post your video, you need to come back and review at least one other person's work!

Key thoughts - Keep it civil.

• Feedback is "This section isn't working because of this."
• Feedback is not: "This is shit."
• If something is terrible, just move on.
• The more specific/suggestions the better.

Don't give a laundry list. Pick the 1-2 things that are the biggest issues and then comment.

Spoiler worth reading: *we expect you to* review TWO other videos - and edit your comment to *include those* after you've commented.

**Copy/paste this section**:

• , Link: (don't forget the running time)
• Two other videos I reviewed (link to the other ,comments NOT the video itself)

Turn a static photograph into a cinematic documentary shot using Adobe After Effects.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create smooth camera movement, isolate and highlight a subject, darken the background, and build a polished documentary-style composition.

Looking for recs for best auto organizing tool for the video files by categories, scenes and people. Any good ones that you love?

Manual organizing kills the creativity and I dread it, which makes me pile up videos I am not publishing... Mac, solo channel. Is Peakto or Resolve Studio worth the money?

Why should I read this? 🤔

This is your monthly guide for hardware recommendations.

• We aim to make you self-reliant with enough info.
• We focus on finding answers rather than brand debates.
• 📑 Skim the TL;DR at the bottom if you're in a hurry.
• Understand your media type and editing software to get the best recommendation.
• Important components: 🔑 CPU, RAM, GPU.
• 💰 We don't cover sub-$1K laptops. Consider used models for budget-conscious choices.
• You're not going to see us recommend a tool at less than $1k.

Hardware 101 🛠️

For DIY enthusiasts, check r/buildapcvideoediting

General Guidelines 📝

• Desktops outperform laptops 💪
• Start with an i7 or better 🎯
• Minimum 16 GB RAM 💾
• Video card with 4+ GB VRam 🎥
• SSD of 512GB is a must 💽
• 🚫 Steer clear of ultralights/tablets.
• Want a Mac? Here's your guide
• nVidia has a great set of systems from different vendors that you can pick from (keeping in mind the above suggestions)

Sept 2025 addtion.

Not sure between two different CPUs or GPUs?

Puget Systems has a benchmark and we recommend you use this to compare processors or GPUs.

It's a pretty even handed benchmark on performance.

We've linked to the Resolve one, but they also have ones for Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Adobe Photoshop.

Experiencing lag or system issues? 😓

🧐 Use Speecy to find out your system's specs.

⚠️ Footage Type Matters: Some footage may need workflow changes or proxies/transcoding.

Resources: - 📘 Why h264/5 is hard to edit - 📘 Proxy editing - 📘 Variable Frame Rate

What about my GPU?

In most cases, GPUs don't significantly impact codec decode/encode.

Specific Hardware Inquiry?

Links aren't enough. Please share: - CPU + Model - RAM - GPU + VRam - SSD size

📋 System specs for popular video editing software

Editing Details 🎬

Describing footage as "from my phone" isn't enough.

📊 Check your media type with Media Info

Monitor Queries 🖥️?

• Type: OLED > IPS > LED
• Size: Around 32" UHD is recommended.
• Color: Aim for 100% sRGB coverage 🌈

Professional color grading? See /r/colorists.

Quick Summary/TLDR 🚀

1. Desktops > laptops for intensive editing 💪
2. Prioritize Intel i7, avoid ultralights 🎯
3. Use proxies if supported by your editing software 📹
4. Provide CPU, GPU, RAM, and SSD details for inquiries 🧐
5. Footage from action cams, mobiles, and screen recordings may need extra steps.

Ready to comment? Include the following IF YOU WANT answers 🤷

Copy-paste this:

🖥️ System I'm considering

• CPU + Model:
• RAM:
• GPU + VRam:
• SSD size:

📷 My Media:
Check with Media Info

📷 Software: Your intended software.

I don't know who made the video, or where it comes from, I just have it on my computer. I was wondering what the effect on the first 3 seconds is, with the slight 3D thing and being all wobbly. I don't know what it's called but if there's a name for it someone could tell me that would be super great. I've seen the same effect used in other places before.

Need help identifying an effect.

Clip: https://x.com/heisremanewss/status/2090852210858938372

It's the Rema "TEA" video. On the "TEA TEA TEA" hits, the people stay in the same spot but vibrate/jitter like the footage is glitching or skipping. Not a big camera shake. Not a full RGB glitch wipe. They buzz in place, like bad playback.

I want that exact look.

I do not care which app. After Effects, Premiere, Resolve, Alight Motion, CapCut, whatever.

What is this actually called, and what is the simplest way to do it?

Software I can use: - CapCut - Alight motion - or anyone that’s recommended