Comparison of video editing software

This is a comparison of non-linear video editing software applications. See also a more complete list of video editing software.

General information

This table gives basic general information about the different editors:

Active

ProgramDeveloperPlatformInitial releaseLatest releaseLicenseTarget audience
VersionDate
Adobe Premiere ElementsAdobe Inc.macOS200420222022Trialwareprosumer
Windows
Adobe Premiere ProAdobe Inc.macOS199124.2[1]  2024-02Commercialprofessional
Windows
Autodesk FlameAutodeskLinux199320222022Commercialprofessional (vfx; finishing system)
macOS
Avid Media ComposerAvidmacOS19892022.102022Commercialprofessional
Windows
Avid Media Composer FirstAvidmacOS20172021.92021Freewareprofessional
Windows
AvidemuxMean, Gruntster and FahrBSD2.8.1[2]  2022-09-21GPL-2.0-or-laterbasic
Linux
macOS
Windows
AVS Video EditorOnline Media Technologies Ltd.Windows20039.7.32022Commercialprosumer
Blender[a]Blender FoundationLinux20024.1.1[3]  2024-04-16GPL-2.0-or-laterprofessional
Irix
macOS
Solaris
Windows
CamtasiaTechSmith CorporationWindows

MacOS

2002v 222022-8-16Trialware, Commercialprofessional, prosumer[4]
CinelerraHeroine VirtualLinux20027.4[5]2021GPL-2.0-or-laterprofessional
Cinelerra-GG InfinityOpen Source CommunityLinux2016[b]2022-08[6]2022-08-31GPL-2.0-or-laterprofessional
Corel VideoStudioCorel CorporationWindows1993[c]VS 20212021Trialwareprosumer
CyberLink PowerDirectorCyberLinkWindows2001202021Commercialprosumer
DaVinci ResolveBlackmagic DesignLinux200418.6.4 Build 62024Freeware, Commercialprofessional
macOS
Windows
Final Cut ProApple Inc.macOS201110.6.12021Commercialprofessional
EDIUSGrass Valley CanopusWindows200210.002020Commercialprofessional
FlowbladeOpen Source CommunityLinux20122.16[7]  2024-05-29GPL-3.0-or-laterprosumer
BlackbirdBlackbird PLCCross-platform[d]2004-2020Commercialprofessional
iMovieApple Inc.iOS199910.42023-11-30Commercialprosumer
macOS
ivsEditsInteractive Video SystemsWindows20085.0.6072017Freeware, Commercialprofessional (small)?
KdenliveOpen Source CommunityBSD200224.05.0[8]  2024-05-30GPL-2.0-or-laterprosumer
Linux
macOS
Windows
LightworksLWKSLinux19892021.12021Freeware, Commercialprofessional
macOS
Windows
LiVESGabriel Finch and othersLinux20023.2.0[9]  2020-11-08GPL-3.0-or-laterprosumer
Unix-like
LosslessCutMikael FinstadBSD20163.59.1[10]  2023-12-22GPL-2.0-onlybasic, GOP-boundaries
Linux
macOS
Windows
Magix Movie Edit ProMagixWindows2001[e]2019[11]2021Commercialprosumer
NatronAlexandre Gauthier
Frédéric Devernay
Linux20142.5.0[12]  2022-11-26GPL-2.0-or-laterprosumer ? (vfx)
macOS
Windows
Nero VideoNero AGWindows200220222021Commercialprosumer
OpenShotOpen Source CommunityLinux20083.1.1[13]  2023-04-20GPL-3.0-or-laterprosumer
macOS
Windows
Microsoft Photos Video EditorMicrosoft CorporationWindows201720212021Freewarebasic
Pinnacle StudioPinnacle SystemsWindows199925[14]2021Commercialprosumer
PitiviOpen Source CommunityLinux20042023.03.0[15]  2023-03-26LGPL-2.1-or-laterprosumer (in development)
ShotcutMeltytech, LLCLinux201124.04.28[16]  2024-04-28GPL-3.0-or-laterprosumer
macOS
OpenBSD[17]
Windows
Vegas ProMagixWindows199919.02021Commercialprofessional (small)
VideoPadNCH SoftwareAndroid200811.22[18]2022Trialwareprosumer
iPad
iPhone
macOS
Windows
VSDC Free Video EditorFlash-Intergro LLCWindows20089.1[19]2024Freewareprosumer

Discontinued / Inactive

ProgramDeveloperPlatformInitial releaseLatest releaseLicenseTarget audience
VersionDate
Windows Movie MakerMicrosoftWindows200016.4.3528.0331[20][21]  2014-04-07Freewarebasic
VirtualDubModWindows20021.5.10.3_b25502007GPL-2.0-or-later?
VideoThangVideoThang LLCWindows20072.0.12008Freeware?
Avid Free DVAvidmacOS?1.8.12006Commercial?
Windows
Final Cut ExpressApple Inc.macOS20034.0.12007Commercialprosumer
Final Cut ProApple Inc.macOS19997.0.32009Commercialprofessional
Pinnacle VideospinAvidWindows20092.02009Freeware?
Ulead MediaStudio ProUlead Systems[a]Windows?8.12006Commercial?
Serif MoviePlusSerif (Europe) LtdWindows2000X62012Commercialprosumer (basic)
MPEG Video Wizard DVDWomble MultimediaWindows?5.0.1.1052012Trialwareprosumer
Xpress ProAvidmacOS20035.8?Commercial?
Windows
KinoOpen Source CommunityBSD20001.3.4[22]  2009-09-08GPL-2.0-or-later?
Linux
MainActorMainConceptLinux20045.52007Commercial?
Windows
EditDVRadiusmacOS19973.02002Commercial?
Windows
VirtualDubAvery LeeWindows20001.10.4 stable2013GPL-2.0-or-laterbasic
Cinelerra-CVOpen Source CommunityLinux2003?2.32015GPL-2.0-or-laterprofessional
Autodesk SmokeAutodeskmacOS?20212021Commercialprofessional (vfx; finishing system)[23]
Vegas Movie StudioMagixWindows2000172020Commercialprosumer

Definition

  • professional: used for full length Hollywood movies;
  • professional (small): mainly used for paid commercials, short films or podcasts/YouTube channels;
  • prosumer: Mainly targeting private use, anything that can do more than just trimming a film;
  • basic: trimming a film;

System requirements

This table lists the operating systems that different editors can run on without emulation, as well as other system requirements. Note that minimum system requirements are listed; some features (like High Definition support) may be unavailable with these specifications.

WindowsmacOSUnix-likeProcessorRAMVRAMHDD
Adobe Premiere Pro CCYesYesNoSkylake or later[24]8 GB[24]2 GB[24]8 GB[24]
Adobe Premiere ElementsYesYes (as of v9)No2 GHz+ with SSE2 support2 GB4.5 GB
Avid Media ComposerYesYesYesSSE 4.1 support[25]16 GB[25]?
AvidemuxYesYesYes???
AVS Video EditorYesNoNoIntel / AMD compatible at 2500 MHz or higher1 GB1 GB
Blender (VSE : Video Sequence Editor)YesYesYes2 GHz+ with SSE2 support[26]2 GB[26]512 MB[26]?
CinelerraNoNoYesx86-64 compatible processor256 MB0.25 GB
Cinelerra-GG InfinityNoNoYesx86-64 compatible processor,
recommended minimum: 2 GHz, 4 cores
8 GB recommended for HD editing0.25 GB
Corel VideoStudioYesNoNo3.0 GHz[27]4 GB[27]256 MB[27]8 GB[27]
DaVinci ResolveYesYesYesModern Intel/AMD/Apple silicon processor16 GB DDR4, 32 GB DDR4 when using Fusion2 GB GDDR63.5 GB
EDIUSYesNoNoIntel Core 2 or later with SSSE3 support[28]1 GB[28]512 MB[28]6 GB[28]
Final Cut Pro XNoYesNo?4 GB[29]256 MB[29]3.8 GB[29]
FlowbladeNoNoYesx86-64 compatible processor?2.7 GB
BlackbirdYesYesYesN/A256 MBAny
iMovieNoIncludedNoIntel based Macs or iPhone 4 or later1 GB5 GB
KdenliveYesYesYes600 MHz256 MB1 GB
LightworksYesYesYesIntel Core Duo, Intel Xeon or AMD processor2 GB200 MB
LiVESNoYesYes800 MHz128 MB10 GB
Magix Movie Edit ProYesNoNoDual core processor with 2.0 GHz1 GB2 GB
MPEG Video Wizard DVDYesNoNo233 MHz32 MB20 MB
Nero Multimedia SuiteYesNoNo2 GHz AMD or Intel processor512 MB (1 GB for Windows Vista or Windows 7)
2 GB when editing HD
5 GB
OpenShot Video EditorYesYesYes4 GB (16 GB recommended)1 GB
Pinnacle StudioYesNoNo1.8 GHz1 GB1.7 GB
PitiviNoNoYes??2 MB
ShotcutYesYesYes2 GHz AMD or Intel processor2GB / 4 GB when editing HD1 GB
Vegas ProYesNoNo2.0 GHz1.0 GB400 MB
VideoPadYesYesNomulticore x86 compatible processor1GBAny
VirtualDubModYesNoNo????
VSDC Free Video EditorYesNoNo1.5 GHz or higher, Intel or AMD or compatible processor512 Mb for the program
WindowsmacOSUnixProcessorRAMVRAMHDD

"Unix" includes the similar Linux, BSD and Unix-like operating systems.

High definition/High resolution import

The table below indicates the ability of each program to import various High Definition video or High resolution video formats for editing.

DVCPRO HDHD uncompressedAVCHDXDCAM HDHDVAVC-IntraXAVCDNxHDDNxHRDNx uncompressedProResProRes RAWR3DArriRawX-OCNAV1
Adobe Premiere ProYesYesYes[30]Yes[30]YesYes[30]Yes[30]Yes[30]Yes[30]?Yes[30]?Yes[30]Yes[30]Yes[30]?
Adobe Premiere ElementsNoNoYes (As of 7.0)?Yes???????????
Avid Media ComposerYes[31]YesYes[31]Yes[31]Yes[31]Yes[31]Yes[31]Yes[31]Yes[31]YesYes[31]?Yes[31]Yes[31]??
Avidemux????????????????
AVS Video Editor?YesYes?Yes??????????Yes (Quick Sync and CUDA for decoding)
Blender?YesYes?????????No???
CinelerraYesYesNoYesYesYes?Yes????No???
Cinelerra-GG InfinityYesYesYesYesYesYes?YesYes?Yes?No??Yes
DaVinci ResolveMac with
Final Cut
Pro X[32]
YesYes[32]Yes[32]Mac with
Final Cut Pro X[32]
Mac with
Final Cut
Pro X[32]
Yes[32]Yes[32]Yes[32]16 or laterYes[32]?Yes[32]Yes[32]Yes[32]?
EDIUSYesYesYesYesYesYes????Yes[33]Yes[33]????
Final Cut Pro XYes[34]YesYes[34]Yes[34]Yes[34]Yes[34]Yes[34]Partial (3rd party via
codec install)
??Yes[34]Yes[34]Yes[34]???
BlackbirdYesYes??????????????
iMovieYes (3rd party)NoYes?????????????
LightworksYesYesYes (as of Pro 11)Yes (as of Pro 11)YesYes (as of Pro 11)?Yes
(3rd party)
????Yes (as of Pro 11)???
LiVES?Yes??Yes???????????
KdenliveYesYesYesYesYesYes?Yes??Yes?No???
Magix Movie Edit ProNo?Yes?YesNo??????????
MPEG Video Wizard DVD??No?Yes???????????
Nero VideoNoYesYesNoYesYes?No????No???
OpenShot Video EditorYesYesYesYesYesYes?Yes????No???
Pinnacle StudioNoNoYes?Yes???????????
PitiviYesYesYesYesYesYes?Yes????????
Shotcut????????????????
Corel VideoStudio?YesYes?????????????
Vegas ProYes (3rd party)YesYesYesYes?YesYes (3rd party)??Yes?Yes (as of Pro 9)???
VideoPadYesNoYesYesYesYes?Yes????Yes???
VirtualDubYesYesYesYesYesYes?Yes????Yes???
VSDC Free Video EditorYesYesYesYesYesYes?Yes????Yes???
WeVideoYes?YesYesYes???????????
Windows Live Movie MakerNo?Yes?Yes???????????
DVCPRO HDHD uncompressedAVCHDXDCAM HDHDVAVC-IntraXAVCDNxHDDNxHRDNx uncompressedProResProRes RAWR3DArriRawX-OCNAV1

Feature set

High Definition supportNon-destructive editingMultitrack editingFull-screen playbackStoryboard modeVideo tracksAudio tracks / max channelsLinear timecode displayGPGPU with OpenCL acceleration
Adobe Premiere ProYesYesYesYes, By hitting ctrl+~ (CS6 only)YesUnlimitedUnlimitedYesYes
Adobe Premiere ElementsYesYesYesYesYesUnlimitedUnlimitedYes?
Avid Media ComposerYesYes?YesYes24 tracks, unlimited layers24 tracks, unlimited layersYes?
AvidemuxYesYes???12 / ??Yes
AVS Video EditorYesYes?YesYes11+YesYes (Quick Sync for decoding/encoding, CUDA for decoding)
Blender (VSE : Video Sequence Editor)YesYesYesYesYes128[35] channels (combined with audio)128[35] channels (combined with video)YesYes
CinelerraYes
(any resolution)
YesYesYesNoUnlimitedUnlimited / 16Yes?
Cinelerra-GG InfinityYes max 8KYesYesYesNoUnlimitedUnlimited / 16YesSome formats, using
VAAPI/VDPAU/CUDA
for decoding/encoding
DaVinci ResolveYesYesYesYesYesUnlimitedUnlimitedYesYes
EDIUSYesYesYesYes, on both PC & TV monitors in realtimeNounlimited realtime layersunlimited realtime layersYes?
Final Cut Pro XYesYes???????
BlackbirdInput onlyYesYesYesYes1836Yes?
iMovieYesYes?YesYes26Yes?
KdenliveYesYesYesYesYesUnlimitedUnlimitedYesPlanned through MLT
LightworksYesYes?YesYesUnlimitedUnlimitedYesPlanned
LiVESYes
(any resolution)
Yes
(multitrack mode)
?Yes
(on first, second or all monitors, configurable)
NoUnlimitedaudio per video track + backing audio / 2 channelsYes?
Magix Movie Edit ProYesYes?YesYes32/99 (Plus/Premium)each track may contain audio and video?Yes
MPEG Video Wizard DVDYesYes?YesYes13Yes?
Nero VideoYesYes?YesYesUnlimitedYesYesYes (CUDA)
OpenShot Video EditorYesYesYesNoNoUnlimitedUnlimitedYes?
Pinnacle StudioYesYesYesYesYesUnlimitedUnlimitedYes?
PitiviYesYes?YesNoUnlimitedUnlimitedYes?
Shotcut?YesYes?Yes???Yes (Quick Sync)
Corel VideoStudioYesYesYes[36]YesYes79YesYes (CUDA and Quick Sync)
Vegas ProYes

(any resolution)

YesYesYesYesUnlimitedUnlimited/Max Channel 16YesYes (as of 11)
VideoPadYesYesYesYesYesUnlimitedUnlimited?Planned
VirtualDubYesYesNoNoNo11Yes?
VSDC Free Video EditorYesYesYesYesYesUnlimitedUnlimitedYesYes
WeVideoYesYes?YesYesUnlimitedUnlimitedNo?
Windows Live Movie MakerYesYesNoYesYes12??
High Definition supportNon-destructive editingMultitrack editingFull-screen playbackStoryboard modeVideo tracksAudio tracksLinear timecode displayGPGPU with OpenCL acceleration

Output options

Please note that recording to Blu-ray does not imply 1080@50p/60p . Most only support up to 1080i 25/30 frames per second recording. Also not all formats can be output.

DVDHigh DefinitionSmartphoneQuickTimeWindows MediaMPEG-4XML/EDLPrint to tapeWeb, not hostedWeb, hostedPodcasting
Adobe Premiere ProYesYes (Blu-ray)YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes?
Adobe Premiere ElementsYesYes (Blu-ray)YesYesYesYesNoYesYesYesYes
Avid Media Composer?Yes????Yes????
AvidemuxYesYesNo??YesYes????
AVS Video EditorYesYes (Blu-ray)YesYesYesYesNoNoYesYesNo
Blender (VSE : Video Sequence Editor)YesYes?Yes?YesYes[37]No???
CinelerraYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoYesNoYes
Cinelerra-GG InfinityYesYes max 8KYesYesYesYesYes CMX3600NoYesNoYes
EDIUSYesYes?YesYesYesYesYesYesNo?
Final Cut Pro XYesYesYesYes?YesYes????
FlowbladeYesYes?????????
BlackbirdNoYesYesYes (MPEG 2)Yes (MPEG 2)?YesNoYesYesYes
iMovieYesYesYesYesYes (3rd party)YesYesYesYesYes (with .Mac)Yes
KdenliveYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes?
LightworksYesYes (max 720p in free version)?Yes (only in Pro 11)?Yes (only in Pro 11)?????
LiVESYesYes (AVCHD, Blu-ray)YesYesYesYesNoNoYesNo?
Magix Movie Edit ProYesYes (AVCHD, Blu-ray)YesYesYesYesNo?YesNo?
MPEG Video Wizard DVDYesYes?YesNoYesNoNoNoNoYes
Nero VideoYesYes (AVCHD, Blu-ray)YesNoYesYesNoYesYesYesNo
OpenShot Video EditorYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Pinnacle StudioYesYesYesYesYesYesNoYesYesYesYes
PitiviYesYes?YesYesYes??NoNo?
Shotcut???????????
Corel VideoStudioYesYesYes (via plug-in)YesYesYesNoYesYesYes (with DropShot)?
Vegas ProYesYes (Blu-ray)NoYesYesYesYesYesYesNo?
VideoPadYesYesYesYesYesYesNoNoYesYesNo
VirtualDubNoNoYes (Via passthru)NoNoYesNoNoYes (Via passthru)NoNo
VSDC Free Video EditorYesYesYesYesYesYesNoNoYesYesNo
WeVideoNoYesYesNoNoYesNoNoNoYesNo
Windows Live Movie MakerYesYesYesNoYesNoNoNoYesNoNo
DVDHigh DefinitionSmartphoneQuickTimeWindows MediaMPEG-4XML/EDLPrint to tapeWeb, not hostedWeb, hostedPodcasting

See also

References