Best gaming video-editing software

Lightworks is a video-editing platform with three versions: Free, Create, and Pro. Upon first glance, Lightworks Free seems almost too good to be true. It boasts that it’s “free forever” with no watermark, and it includes many of the features that come with Lightworks Pro. The catch? It only allows up to 720p exports.

Users will also need to upgrade to at least Lightworks Create ($9.99 per user per month) to export 4K videos and get access to features like advanced titles, video quality selection, and additional social media presets. To get the full power of Lightworks, games video makers will have to pay $23.99 per user per month for Lightworks Pro. Lightworks doesn’t currently offer a lifetime license option, and some users have reported that it periodically crashes with no warning. However, it does include a lot of great effects and features, with in-depth tutorials to help new users.

What are its best features?

• No watermark on the free version makes Lightworks Free a good option for creators on a budget
• Popular social media presets are great for content creators
• User-friendly tutorials help new video makers improve their videos

What could be improved?

• Allow higher-definition exports in the free version
• Add a lifetime license option
• Periodic crashing sometimes makes the software unreliable

Shotcut is an open-source freeware video editor for games and other projects. It’s cross-compatible for multiple platforms, including Mac, Windows, and Linux. And, unlike a lot of freeware programs, it’s very user-friendly and intuitive, even for beginners.

Gamers appreciate features like picture-in-picture, split-screen, green screen, and a selection of cool transitions. Plus, you can use it without signing up or registering for anything. With all that said, some users have reported that it’s probably a better fit for beginners than professional video editors. It has a lot of cool features, but it’s not the most robust platform around. Further, your hardware may limit Shotcut’s performance. It’s a resource-hungry program and may lag or crash if you don’t have enough available memory and processing power.

What are its best features?

• Picture-in-picture and green screen capabilities are good for gamers
• Good selection of transitions for a freeware program
• Split-screen is a cool feature for side-by-side videos

What could be improved?

• Could use some stock music to help users create cool audio for their videos
• Add export presets for popular devices and social platforms
• Include a more intuitive audio track in the timeline

iMovie is a basic video editor that comes free with Mac computers and iOS devices. While it doesn’t have a lot of the professional-level features that come with more advanced video editors like Movavi Video Editor or Final Cut Pro, it’s very user-friendly and easy to learn. Beginners appreciate the visual interface and the easy drag-and-drop functionality.

You can also easily split audio tracks from video tracks and edit sound levels in the timeline. That’s a great feature when you want to overlay a voiceover on a clip but you may not want to get rid of the clip’s audio entirely. With multiple audio tracks, you can lower the sound level on gameplay and increase the volume on your voiceover track.

Aside from being a fairly stripped-down video editor, one of iMovie’s only big disadvantages is that it’s not available for Windows. If you’re collaborating on a video, you’ll need to ensure that everyone involved in the editing process has access to a Mac, iPhone, or iPad.

What are its best features?

• Several choices of transitions make it easy to cut together multiple video clips
• Filters help video makers create a cohesive look
• Includes multiple fonts for titles and captions

What could be improved?

• Offer a PC-compatible version
• Include more advanced functions and features
• Add presets for YouTube or other video-sharing platforms

OpenShot is another open-source video editor. It was originally developed for Linux, but the current version is cross-compatible with Mac and Windows, as well. Unlike a lot of older open-source software, this games video editor is fairly intuitive and easy for beginners to pick up. It isn’t the most comprehensive video editor available today, but for gamers on a budget, it could be a good option. Some of its key features include trim & slice, video effects, 3D animations, slow motion & time effects, and a title editor.

Along with these effects, one of the biggest advantages of OpenShot is the ability to add and edit unlimited tracks with as many layers as you need. If you want to add a watermark, overlay sound, or add a video background to a green screen video, you can simply layer on new tracks and drag-and-drop your layers where they need to go along the timeline.

What are its best features?

• Unlimited tracks and layers are useful for composite videos and green screen clips
• Add titles and captions to videos for free
• Collaborate with other video creators across Mac, Windows, and/or Linux

What could be improved?

• Add more 3D animations
• Update transitions library
• Add more special effects options

HitFilm Express is free gaming video-editing software with paid versions that offer more advanced features and effects. The free version of HitFilm Express lets users create and export gaming videos with no watermark, which is an advantage for many video creators with tight budgets.

However, if you want to get into more advanced video-editing, you may find that the free version is somewhat limiting. While many video editors have different subscription levels with different price points, HitFilm Express offers feature packages instead. You can buy one or more packages as add-ons for the free software, which is a handy way to save some money if you only need a couple of additional features. However, if you need multiple effects or features, you may find that HitFilm goes from free to expensive before you know it.

What are its best features?

• The free version includes many popular editing tools
• Edit and export videos with no watermark

What could be improved?

• Give users subscription options that include more features
• Add chroma key functionality
• Include more visual effects in the basic version

Kdenlive is video-editing freeware compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux, FreeBSD, and Ubuntu. Basically, if you have a computer, Kdenlive will probably work on it. Because it’s open-source software, Kdenlive is free of charge and doesn’t put a watermark on video exports. It lets users edit on multiple tracks to layer visual and audio effects, and it has screen capture capabilities, which are useful for many gaming video creators.

The audio mixer is also a big draw for seasoned editors working on a budget, as it includes more control over audio levels and quality than many other free editors. However, many users have complained that this software can be extremely resource-hungry, and rendering bogs down very quickly if you don’t have a powerful computer. It’s also notably less stable on Windows than other operating systems, and export files are limited to just a few formats.

What are its best features?

• Screen capture is great for gaming content creators
• Audio mixer gives users extra control over their videos’ soundtracks
• Multiple tracks make it easier to produce videos with cool effects

What could be improved?

• Make it more stable for Windows
• Improve rendering speeds
• Support more export file formats

DaVinci Resolve is a free-download video editor by Blackmagic Design with a premium paid version for $295. The developer claims that DaVinci Resolve is the fastest professional editing software on the market, but this is largely dependent on your hardware. DaVinci uses a lot of system resources and can be very slow if you don’t have enough processing power and memory available.

VideoPad is known for its fast processing speeds, but some users have reported that it may lag with larger projects. Along with the free non-commercial version, VideoPad also offers a pro version at $129 and a Home Edition at $70. While all versions are fairly intuitive in their video-editing capabilities, the audio editing tools may be confusing to new users.

While it’s understandable that some advanced tools aren’t available in the free version, Blackmagic Design actually includes those tools and effects in the free version – you just can’t use them without paying. This wouldn’t be a problem if those tools were somehow marked for premium use only, but you may not find that you don’t have access to a tool until you attempt to use it. Then you’ll get a pop-up box informing you that you need to pay to continue. Overall, DaVinci is a powerful, pro-level editing program, but it’s not very user-friendly and can be difficult for beginners to learn.

What are its best features?

• Motion graphics add a cool look to gaming videos
• Audio editing tools are very useful
• Lots of control over color grading

What could be improved?

• Could use more tutorials for beginners
• Make paid premium tools more obvious on the free version
• Offer a lighter version that works well on computers with less processing power

Blender is an animated content creation platform with modeling, sculpting, animation & rigging, simulation, and other features – as well as a built-in video sequence editor. Because Blender is mainly focused on animation, its video editor is not as robust as some of the others that we’ve reviewed here.

It does, however, include some cool features, such as live preview, chroma vectorscope, audio mixing and syncing, speed control, and users can add up to 32 visual and audio tracks. As an open-source project, Blender is free and very community-focused. This is great for animators, who are its main audience, but gamers may feel a bit left out. It’s also not the best option for beginners, as the user interface can be complex and intimidating.

What are its best features?

• Chroma vectorscope gives green screen videos a professional look
• Free 3D modeling features are great for animators

What could be improved?

• Add more features and support for non-animated video-editing
• Declutter the toolbar and menus for faster, easier use
• Could use better organization in documentation and user guides

VSDC Video Editor is another freeware option to consider when editing your gaming videos. Like the other freeware programs here, it won’t cost you anything, but you may spend more time and feel more frustrated as you learn to use it than you would with one of the paid programs.

One of its biggest strengths is its rendering speed. It’s not as resource-hungry as some other video editors, giving users with less powerful computers a good option to edit videos without a lot of lag or glitches. It also makes it easy to extract audio from videos and export audio-only files or use separated audio tracks laid over other video clips. Most newer users have reported that VSDC Video Editor is very easy to learn and that it includes the most popular features and tools that new editors need to make cool gaming videos.

What are its best features?

• Supports many different export file formats
• Audio extraction is smooth and easy
• Runs well with relatively little processing power

What could be improved?

• Could use more documentation for some tools and effects
• Some text elements don’t work on all platforms

Pinnacle Studio is a paid video-editing program with three levels, starting at $59.95 and ranging to $129.95. All versions of Pinnacle Studio offer HD video exports, but only the top tier allows users to export 4K videos. The basic version allows up to six audio and video tracks. At the mid-level version, users may use up to 24 tracks, and the top tier offers unlimited tracks.

Multi-camera editing is an option at all levels, though you’re limited to two cameras with the basic version. You’ll need to pay for the premium version if you need to edit for more than four cameras. A few of the other features reserved only for top-level buyers are smart object tracking, video masking, seamless transitions, 360-degree video-editing, and additional formats. With that in mind, many users who opted for the premium package found that 360-degree videos sometimes glitched when exported for VR, and the motion tracking capabilities are somewhat limited.

What are its best features?

• 360-degree video-editing and multi-camera editing capabilities help creators make pro-level videos
• Multiple-track editing on all versions helps editors create layered videos
• DVD menu templates are great for users who want to create physical copies of their videos

What could be improved?

• Add more export file formats for all versions
• Motion tracking functionality could be improved
• Fix issues with glitching 360-degree video exports

VideoPad Video Editor is a professional-level video-editing program for MacOS X. The software is available for free for strictly personal use, or users may opt to pay $70 for the Home Edition or $129 for the Master’s Edition.

The free version has very limited capabilities, so most users will choose one of the paid versions. The Home Edition includes almost all of the Master’s Edition features, but users are limited to two audio tracks with no external plugin capabilities. Whichever version you choose, VideoPad prides itself on being one of the fastest video stream processors around, and it includes more than 50 effects and transitions to make your videos unique and visually appealing. 3D and 360-degree video-editing are both included, and the software supports more than 60 video file formats.

What are its best features?

• 360-degree video-editing is easy and looks great
• Sound editing capabilities within audio tracks help creators produce professional-sounding videos
• Includes 50+ effects and transitions for unique-looking videos

What could be improved?

• Add more useful editing tools to the free version and Home Edition
• Offer more audio tracks in the Home Edition
• Simplify audio editing functionality for newer users

Final Cut Pro enjoyed a coveted space in the video-editing world for a long time, as it was considered the standard for professional video-editing in many spheres. While other video-editing tools have sprung up over the years, many of them have functionalities that look and feel very similar to Final Cut Pro.

Because of this similarity, if you’ve used other tools – like iMovie, for example – you may find that this software feels familiar and easy to use. If you’re a newer user, though, or if you’ve only used simpler editors (again, like iMovie), you may feel overwhelmed at first. There’s a bit of a learning curve with Final Cut Pro, but most users find that they like the way it works after adjusting to using it. Like other pro-level editors, this software has essentially all of the features, tools, and effects that most gaming video makers will need. However, some of the effects and fonts may feel a bit dated, as many haven’t been updated in several years.

What are its best features?

• Multiple-track editing on the timeline makes the editing process fairly intuitive
• Fast processing speeds help creators improve efficiency in the video production process
• Offers a similar user experience to many other video editors

What could be improved?

• Offer a version that’s compatible with Windows and/or Linux
• Update older fonts and effects

MAGIX Movie Edit Pro boasts that it simplifies creative video-editing. One of its main selling points is the ability to optimize shots and create a cohesive look across a video of multiple clips. It accomplishes this with features like image stabilization, color correction, and automatic shot matching.

The shot matching feature is especially interesting, as it allows you to match different clips’ color, brightness, and contrast to give you a uniform look and feel to your video. Some of the fun effects included with MAGIX Movie Edit Pro include animated travel routes to illustrate a journey across the screen, split-screen capabilities, and dynamic video speed controls. With all of those benefits, the user experience with MAGIX Movie Edit Pro isn’t always the best. Its interface feels a little dated. Some users have reported that keyboard shortcuts don’t always work, and the effects are somewhat limited.

What are its best features?

• Shot matching makes it easy to create cohesive videos from multiple clips
• The color correction feature is precise and useful
• The animated travel route effect looks cute and fun

What could be improved?

• The user interface needs an update
• Only include keyboard shortcuts that work every time
• Add more updated special effects

AVS Video Editor is a free-download editor compatible with Windows 7-11, XP, and 2003, but the developers do not offer a version for Mac or Linux users. After the free trial period, users have the option to subscribe to AVS for one year at $69 or purchase a lifetime subscription at $199. Interestingly, an AVS subscription isn’t just for AVS Video Editor. With your subscription, you get access to all five of AVS’ video and audio programs. This could be a great perk for users who need a video converter, video remaker, audio converter, and/or audio remaker.

However, many users would prefer the option to choose which programs they actually need to use – instead of paying for all of them with no pro-rated options. With that in mind, AVS Video Editor excels in its ease of use, and it includes a comprehensive library of video tutorials and guides to help new users get the most out of the software. It’s probably not the best option for professional video editors or anyone who wants to overlay images and videos, as you can only use one video track per project. Basic functionalities are available and easy to use, like trimming, splitting, merging, and rotating video clips. And the software supports the most popular video file formats.

What are its best features?

• Intuitive controls for cutting, trimming, and manipulating video clips
• Access to video converter and audio tools with a subscription
• Integrated video cache technology cuts down on lag when editing HD video clips

What could be improved?

• Offer more video and audio tracks for professional-level editing
• Add chroma key effect
• Make a Mac-compatible version

Clipchamp offers four subscription levels for users who want to edit their videos online without downloading any software. The basic version is free, but the developers stipulate that it’s limited for personal use only. With this version, you can export as many videos as you want, but you’ll be restricted to 480p resolution.

Moving up to the Creator subscription, you gain more resolution, but you’re still limited to 720p. You do get access to unlimited stock audio files and unlimited cloud storage for your videos, though. At the Business level, you get all of the features of the Creator subscription, plus 1080p exports and access to Clipchamp’s brand kit, at $19 per month. If that’s not enough for you, you can opt for the Business Platinum subscription, which adds unlimited stock videos and images along with all of the perks of the Business subscription.

As far as online editors go, Clipchamp is fairly robust. It includes the most popular editing tools and gives users the ability to customize video templates for later use. However, it doesn’t include some of the more advanced features that many gaming video creators like – such as chroma key and split-screen tools.

What are its best features?

• Color balancing and filters help users create attractive, uniform videos
• Includes multiple audio tracks for easier editing
• Drag-and-drop video and audio clips for easy access

What could be improved?

• Offer 4K resolution on file exports
• Add motion tracking tools
• Processing could be faster for the quality level of the output videos

WeVideo is a paid online video editor with a free trial version. The free version is limited to 5 minutes of video (up to 1 GB) per month with resolution restricted to 480p. At $9.99 per month, users can edit up to 30 minutes of videos per month and export up to 720p, with added features that aren’t included in the free version – such as slow motion, green screen, and motion titles and templates. While this is affordable, it’s also fairly limiting, especially for gaming video creators who may make multiple videos per week.

As you go up in price, you get increased resolution with 4K capabilities starting at $39.99 per month. At this level, you get access to almost all of the features and functions of the editor, including the ability to record your screen and webcam at the same time and upload files directly to social platforms. The only big advantage to the top-tier subscription at $73.99 per month is the capability to add users, collaborate, and share projects with your team.

While this app is more expensive than many others, it does also come with cloud storage – so you don’t have to finish all of your edits in one session or risk losing them. The Professional and Business packages ($39.99/month and $73.99/month, respectively) have 4K export capabilities and other additional features.

What are its best features?

• Color correction tools are useful and easy
• Lets users export to cloud storage and video sharing platforms
• Motion titles library offers some cool title animations

What could be improved?

• Offer more features (like a green screen) in the basic version
• Add an auto-save function in case of crashes or network outages
• Allow HD exports at lower price points

InVideo is another option for gaming video makers who want to do their editing online. Pricing ranges from free to $30 per month, and you can get the InVideo watermark removed at $15 per month. If you don’t mind a watermark, the free version offers more freedom than some other options, but you will still have some limitations. For example, unless you opt for a paid version, you won’t be able to edit projects longer than 15 minutes. The middle-tier option adds access to 10 pieces of iStock media per month and lets you export up to 60 videos each month. You’ll need to pay for the premium version if you want unlimited exports and access to more iStock images and media files. The free version does allow up to 720p resolution for video exports, which is more than some other online editors allow.

What are its best features?

• iStock images and videos help creators add cool visuals to their videos
• Lots of available templates for easy video creation
• Multiple fonts for attractive titles and captions

What could be improved?

• Make it possible to switch between templates without losing progress
• Speed up processing for exports
• Allow higher resolution exports

Kapwing is an online video editor with both paid and free subscriptions. The free version includes almost all of the editing features and tools included with the premium version, but users are limited to 250 MB uploads.

Further, export videos can be no longer than 30 minutes, and you can only publish up to three hours of videos per month. Of those limitations, the file size is probably the most restricting, as video files can get much larger than 250 MB very quickly – especially if you’re working in higher resolutions. For $16 per month, you can be free of these limitations, though, with up to 6 GB file uploads and exports up to one hour in length. The good news is, there aren’t any watermarks on export videos, even when you use the free version.

What are its best features?

• Multiple tracks offer a high-quality user experience
• Collaborative tools help video creators work together
• Integrations with Giphy, Pexels, and Unsplash offer easy resources for video makers

What could be improved?

• Offer 1080p exports in the free version and 4K in the paid version
• Give users a feel for premium features in the free version
• Give users longer than 2 days to edit and store their projects on the free version