13 iMovie Alternatives for Windows

Creating videos has never been easier—with high-quality video cameras built into near every modern smartphones, anyone can be a videographer without training or a lot of time spent practicing. Just if you want to produce videos that look better than your average iPhone video, yous'll demand editing software. iMovie is a popular option for Mac users, but what if y'all're on Windows? These thirteen alternatives requite you the power you need to create high-quality videos for sharing with friends and family from your Windows machine.

iMovie Alternatives for Windows

Windows Movie Maker (gratis)

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The standard Windows video editing app, Windows Movie Maker is actually a great option if you're looking for a basic tool to edit your videos. This plan can handle a wide variety of different video formats, including .WMV, .MPG, .AVI, .LFV, .MOV, and others, making it a practiced choice if you desire to import videos from a number of sources. You can even use the app to capture video from a webcam on your computer.

There are plenty of furnishings and transitions that y'all can add to your movie, like "Film Historic period," which will requite your video an old-timey look that adds a lot of graphic symbol. Calculation transitions between clips, titles, and text effects let you fully customize your movie for the look you want. Movie Maker is available for versions of Windows all the style back to XP, and then there's most certainly a version that y'all can employ.

VSDC Video Editor (gratis)

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If you're looking for a more than powerful editor that's still complimentary, VSDC's Video Editor is a nifty selection. Color correction, object transformation, filters, transitions, and special effects are all available with a few clicks, and then you can make your video look exactly how you want it to. You can fifty-fifty rescue some poor-quality videos and brand them easier to see, though they may become a flake grainy.

VSDC also offers sound editing, and then you can add your ain soundtrack or just better the audio quality of your video. It even includes the ability to automatically remove the groundwork of your video then you can get in look like the video was taken somewhere else! (Using a solid-color background will help with this.) Because it's complimentary, the interface isn't equally polished every bit many of the other options, but you volition gain a lot of power over Windows Picture Maker with VSDC.

Avidemux (free)

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A rather simple editing program, Avidemux has ever been i of the summit free options for Windows video editing. Its focus on simple cutting, cropping, and filtering means yous don't have to learn a super complicated interface only to make quick edits of your videos. If you lot're looking for more than avant-garde capabilities, though, you tin can accept advantage of workflows and scripting to automate your edits.

Avidemux is open up-source, and so it's constantly receiving updates and upgrades from users who tweak the code and add useful features. Combine these with the cadre features of like shooting fish in a barrel resizing for specific formats, video and audio filters, splitting video and sound, and creating your ain custom filters, and y'all get an app that will appeal to a wide variety of users.

Lightworks (free)

https://www.youtube.com/lookout man?v=9vRlO0qz2r4

An impressively powerful video editing app, Lightworks has actually been used to edit a number of large-name films, includingThe Wolf of Wall Street,Pulp Fiction, andThe Male monarch'south Speech. Getting this software for gratis is a phenomenal deal! The free license, however, only allows you to export video in MP4 format and 720p resolution. The pro version—available for $25 per calendar month, $175 per year, or $438 forever—includes more exporting options, and the two latter packages also come up with boosted editing software.

With workflow and project management, advanced colour correction, over 40 effects templates, and a existent-time waveform and vectorscope, Lightworks gives you all the tools you demand to create professional-quality video. Because information technology's a very powerful video editing app, it has a steeper learning curve than many other options, but if you need to create a top-quality video, information technology's tough to beat this free choice.

Filmora (free)

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If you appreciate apps with well-crafted interfaces, you're going to like Filmora. Designed for the iPhone historic period, this app has very nice-looking prompts, tools, and windows, and will help walk you through creating the awesome video you have in mind. You tin can use the gratis version as long as you want, but you lot'll as well become watermarks on your movies until you upgrade to the paid version for $xxx per year or $40 for a lifetime license.

Filmora comes packed with cool filters, including "Snow" and "VCR Distortion" for an old-school look ("Charcoal" and "Canvas" are besides very artsy). You can too add over 300 effects with the downloadable resource package. And to aid you lot improve your editing skills, you can sign up for Filmora's "Get Creative" web serial, which provides tips on how to use the dissimilar elements of the app, as well equally improve your filming skills using unproblematic tools that you already have effectually the house.

VideoPad (gratis)

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If you're looking for a video editor that will give y'all a seamless experience between your desktop and mobile devices, VideoPad is a bully option; information technology'due south bachelor Windows, Bone Ten, Android, iPad, and even Kindle. And if you're not using information technology for commercials purposes, y'all can employ it for free as long as you desire. Its many input and output formats arrive a versatile editor for use with any type of recording and playback devices you have, too.

Its features read like many other editors: video prune transitions, text overlays and captions, audio import capabilities, narration recording, and colour optimization are all included. VideoPad as well has some unique features likewise, like a sound library that you can use to insert a diverseness of audio clips. and 2D-to-3D stereoscopic conversion. Although it doesn't have equally dainty of an interface equally some of the other apps on this listing, it has 1 of the best for a free app.

Shotcut (free)

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Another open-source video editor, Shotcut is built around keyboard shortcuts that make information technology piece of cake to motion through your clips at any speed you similar. And with no-import native editing, this makes for a video editing app that lets y'all make tweaks to your videos at elevation speed.

The wide variety of video and audio filters and support for just virtually any file type y'all could need, besides as a multi-format timeline and all of the features you'd look for a solid video-editing app, Shotcut is one of the most robust apps you lot can observe without a pricetag. The website isn't quite as polished as other competitors', then it might accept you a little while to discover what you lot're looking for, but the app itself is a well-rounded option.

Power Director Deluxe ($seventy)

There are enough of gratis video editors out there, merely if you want real editing ability, you're going to need to pay for it. Power Director is an award-winning video app that combines easy editing with professional person-level tools. Other apps take 50 or—for very impressive options—100 templates and effects, only Ability Director has over 500, and also includes access to a huge developer community that will assist you get even more out of the program.

Only it'south non just for professionals and enthusiasts: it'south great for offset-timers, too. The Easy Editing manner keeps everything simple and walks you through the nuts to show you how to employ the program and get corking results. And the Limited Projects selection gives y'all pro-level tools to create high-quality videos with minimal effort. Whether y'all're a beginner or an old paw at video product, Power Managing director gives yous the tools to quickly create nifty videos and learn along the way.

Magix Video Easy ($l)

Not certain you need all of the super-powerful tools in Ability Director? Video Easy volition aid you go from total newbie to experienced enthusiast without the same level of price or complexity. With ane of the all-time interfaces in the industry, you won't be overwhelmed with a huge number of tools, and a number of video tutorials volition show you how to get about turning your family videos into masterpieces.

Connection, introduction, and automatic video editing wizards take a lot of the work out of learning to edit, and the ability to add a wide range of animations and transitions volition give your movies a professional look. This app is made for newcomers to video editing, and provides a very welcoming introduction to the field.

Nero Video ($50)

Another app with a very pleasing interface, Nero Video's home screen gives you an easy-to-navigate overview of all of the things you tin can do with the app, from importing videos and images to accessing video tutorials and bankroll up your files. While the video editing interface itself isn't annihilation too special, there's certainly something to be said for making it easy to get around the app.

Nero Video provides basic editing capabilities, but where information technology really shines is as a media center. You lot can fill-in, stream, and store your video files easily with the app, making it great for showing off your creations to family unit and friends. Keeping your video files organized is also made easier with Nero MediaHome, which can also store epitome and audio files. If you lot need a storage solution as well as an editor, Nero is a great choice.

DaVinci Resolve 12 (gratis)

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Although this is a free app, it comes with absolutely acme-shelf ability. And then much power, in fact, that to unlock the full version of the app, y'all'll have to pony upwards $995. The pro version of the software (forth with the $30,000 control surface) is used past Hollywood studios, so you know that the technology behind DaVinci Resolve is some of the all-time in the earth. They advertise it every bit using the earth's well-nigh advanced color correction technology, and there'due south no reason not to believe them.

Of course, that's probably non what you lot need. If you lot need a tool that volition assist you from the set of a movie to post-product, this app has you covered. Real-time collaboration betwixt editors and colorists, RAW image coloring tools, remote grading, multi-photographic camera production, context sensitive trimming, multi-layer and mixed-format timelines, a range of transitions . . . this list of features goes on and on. DaVinci Resolve 12 is the ultimate powertool for Windows video-editing.

WeVideo ($11 and up)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?5=MqQeYFDQy50

Just want to do some simple editing without downloading a powerful app that volition let y'all work like the pros? WeVideo is a slap-up choice for family videographers, students, and hobbyists. Information technology's cloud-based, so all of your videos are stored and edited online, freeing upward enough of valuable space on your hard drive.

Drag-and-driblet editing, transitions, custom titles, narration, commercially licensed music, and the ability to download your edited videos makes this a perfect tool for anyone who's not looking to spend a lot of fourth dimension editing, but still wants plenty ability to express their creativity. There are a variety of subscription plans, from $11 for an hour of published video, usable whenever you want, to a $49 almanac subscription for upward to 5 hours of published video, and a $99 annual for upwardly to vi hours. The more expensive plans besides come with more than storage and export options.

YouTube Editor (free)

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Did yous know that you tin can employ a number of gratuitous editing tools on YouTube? In one case you lot've uploaded your video to the service (or selected a Creative Commons video), you can add together transitions, audio, photos, and text. You lot won't get whatever of the powerful tools you get with other apps on the list, similar color correction or editing wizards, merely if y'all just want to make some very basic edits and get your video out to the world, this is a great tool to utilize.

All you need to do to utilize it is sign upwardly for a YouTube account and upload your videos. That's all there is to it!

SEE Too: 15 Best Video Editing Software

Start Your Editing Career

With this many options, ranging from basic and free to professional person-level and bank-breaking, you're sure to detect a video-editing solution that fits your needs. Start with a gratis one to see if y'all like video editing, and if you remember yous'd similar to get in a hobby, consider upgrading to a paid choice for more tools and capabilities.