Free iMovie alternatives for Windows in 2022

Anyone looking for an alternative to iMovie to download for Windows can certainly consider OpenShot. This is one of the most fully-featured free iMovie alternative programs you can get, well-suited to video editing of all kinds.

It works across all platforms, with support for Windows, Mac, and Linux, and it offers many different features, including trimming, adjusting brightness, altering colors, applying effects, and so on.

You can also use OpenShot to add animations to your video projects and use special effects like slow motion 3D animated titles and additional tracks. It's suitable for use with audio files too and is available in more than 70 different languages.

Pros:

• Available in 70+ languages
• Works across multiple platforms
• Lots of different effects and features
• Very useful for advanced editing

Cons:

• Might be a little complex for beginners

HitFilm Express is another free iMovie alternative to consider, which also comes with a range of paid add-ons for the full version that provides extra features, filters, and options for the user.

At a base level, this video editor is aimed at gamers, YouTubers, and creative people, with a lot of its design and features letting the user get creative and try to make professional-level videos without having to spend a huge amount.

It features a sleek, modern interface and comes with various features like 2D and 3D compositing, over 400 effects, free tutorials to help you get started, a built-in voice recorder, and various tracks and transitions.

Pros:

• Lots of different effects and creative options
• Ideal for gamers and content creators
• Advanced user interface for experienced editors to play around with

Cons:

• Add-on packs can be quite expensive

Kdenlive is a free alternative to iMovie for Windows. This is an open-source editor too, so there's plenty of potential for it to grow and evolve in the future, becoming even better over time. We see updates for Kdenlive every month.

The interface is a little outdated, but it certainly gets the job done, and you can use Kdenlive for multi-track video editing with ease and convenience. It works with almost any video or audio format you might need to edit, and there are a lot of ways to adjust the interface and set up shortcuts to make it easier and faster to get around the menu.

It also comes with a titler to create 2D titles for your videos, along with lots of effects, transitions, and online resources and add-ons you can download from the community.

Pros:

• Totally free and lightweight
• Excellent community support
• Perfect for low-end computers and devices

Cons:

• Slightly outdated interface

If you're looking for a professional-level alternative to iMovie for free download on Windows, DaVinci Resolve could be the program you're looking for. Designed with professional users in mind, this software offers countless in-depth, advanced features and tools for editing videos of very high quality.

This software is actually used in major motion picture studios for post-production editing, so it comes with a real pedigree, and despite being aimed at pros, it's reasonably easy to get to grips with for beginners, and users can find lots of options here.

Advanced features include vector shape nodes, HDR color wheels, surround sound analyzer, color warper, and more, along with all the essential tools like cutting, editing, joining, adjusting colors, adding effects, and so on.

Pros:

• Professional-level quality
• Used by Hollywood
• All the features you need

Cons:

• A little complex for basic editing
• Needs an impressive system to run correctly

VSDC Free Video Editor is another good choice as an iMovie equivalent for Windows. It's totally free and works well for editing videos of various sizes, file formats, and quality levels. VSDC is fully compatible with file types like AVI, MP4, MKV, MPG, WMV, and 3GP, as well as leading audio formats like MP3, WAV, WMA, and FLAC.

It's not the most advanced video editing software in the world, but it still comes with a myriad of effects and features, including color correction, filters, and object transformation.

You can also combine the different effects in your own ways to create new ones, and the software works well with audio too, helping to normalize, correct volume, and remove or add echo.

Pros:

• Quick and easy to get to grips with
• A good range of features and filters
• Suitable for low-end devices

Cons:

• Lacks some of the advanced features of other programs

If you're interested in an alternative to iMovie for Windows 10, 7, 8, or other platforms, Shotcut is another free, open-source, and cross-platform editor you can try today. It works with all major video and audio formats, without any need for file importing, as everything is done via native timeline editing.

It lets you mix and match different formats, resolutions, and frame rates in the same project too, and it offers webcam capture as a feature if you want to record and add additional footage for the webcam.

It can also stream and playback your video files so you can preview changes on the fly, as well as offering lots of audio effects and additional video filters and transitions too.

Pros:

• Free and open source
• Works on all major platforms
• Great for combining different video formats and files

Cons:

• Guides and tutorials could be better

Those looking for a very beginner-friendly video editor like iMovie for Windows 10 and other versions of Windows like 7 and 8 can also consider DebugMode Wax.

This is one of the simplest forms of video editing software available today, but for people who are just starting out with editing and only want to learn some basic editing techniques and make use of low-level effects, it's a good starting point.

It has very low system requirements, so you won't need to worry about it not working on your computer, and it has a reasonable range of features like 3D text, particle generation for fire and smoke effects, explosion effects, and more.

Pros:

• Good community support
• Very straightforward
• Lightweight

Cons:

• Too simple for anything but basic editing

If you're looking into how to get iMovie on Windows and want a simple alternative you can use without even needing to download anything, WeVideo is a good choice for you. You can use it right in your browser on Windows and other platforms.

WeVideo comes with a wide range of impressive features, including green screen features that let amateur filmmakers create Hollywood-style effects, as well as lots of built-in stock content and assets to add to your clips.

It works on all devices, with an Android and iOS app version too, and everything is stored on the cloud too for unlimited storage potential, but you will need to pay to get all the storage advantages and extra features.

Pros:

• Great for green screen effects
• Easy to get started
• More than 1 million assets

Cons:

• Most features are locked behind a paywall

Fastreel is another online video editor that combines video clips and photos while also offering many other features and options in a simple and easy-to-use interface, ideal for newbies and advanced users alike.

Just like iMovie and similar programs, Fastreel works with all popular video formats like MP4, JPEG, PNG, MOV, MKV, AVI, and WMV. It offers many different transitions and a music library where you can add a soundtrack to your video for free.

It also handles all video editing and creation online, in your browser, for maximum speed, with files edited and adjusted in minutes.

Pros:

• Works with all popular formats
• Very easy to use in your browser
• Lots of filters and different effects

Cons:

• 500MB max file size

Clipchamp aims to meet all of your video editing needs, having much in common with other programs like iMovie and working seamlessly inside your browser for easy editing, compression, and conversion.

Millions of people make use of Clipchamp, and it's popular with social media users, in particular, helping create Facebook and Instagram videos with text, logos, and added effects.

It offers a wide range of customizable templates, as well as a vast library of stock video and audio to add to your projects.

Pros:

• Lots of professional features
• Attractive and intuitive interface

Cons:

• Payment is needed for high quality and extra features