YouTube is the world’s most popular video-sharing platform and second-most visited website. It’s no wonder you’re looking for the best video editing software for YouTube!

People across the globe spend more than a billion hours daily, watching content on the second most popular social platform. Ready for another great statistic? More than 30,000 hours of videos are uploaded every hour on YouTube.

Creators strive to reach and leave an impression in the minds of millions of viewers worldwide. To do so, they shall create and deliver excellent and visually-appealing content to the audience. That is why it is important to efficiently edit videos before you share them on YouTube.

There are hundreds of video-editing options available out there. Choosing the perfect software for your editing ventures can be difficult, especially if you are new to editing. Good for you, I have been down the road a while back and have got the best pool of tools in my list below.

Some of these are free while others are paid, with options available for both beginners and professional editors.

So, without any further ado, let’s get right into it.

Have a look at these if interested Best Photo Editing Software , Best Video Editing Software Tools, and Best Software for Digital Artists.

How to Choose the Best Video Editing Software for YouTube

Before we get started with the best editing software for YouTube, let’s have a look at how to choose one. We have taken some important points into consideration that you should look out for before making the final pick.

Learning Curve

First things first. Some tools are beginner-friendly while others are designed especially for professionals and creatives. So, if you are just stepping your foot in the world of video editing, then start off with a software that is easy to use. You can upgrade to a professional one later.

If you are an intermediate with some great videos already on YouTube, then choose a software with advanced features. If it has a slight learning curve to enhance your videos, it’s an added benefit. You can even choose a Pro plan, if required.

Finally, if you are a professional video maker and editor, then you should go for the best software there is in the market for pros like you.

Compatibility

There are different tools available for different operating systems and devices. Some are designed for macOS while others work only on Windows OS. So, based on the OS you prefer, make sure to check that the software is available for your platform.

If you are using different devices for video editing, then look out for a cross-platform software that seamlessly works on all your systems. Also, check for the recommended system requirements to run the software so that you can have a flawless experience.

Budget / Cost

Out there, you will find both free and paid video editing apps. If you’re looking for low-budget YouTube video editing apps, choose a free version to see if the software is good for you. Professionals can select a high-end software as per their requirements and budget as more features come with a higher price.

Free tools often lack major editing features and provide limited file format support. However, many software providers offer beginner-friendly and basic pricing plans. It makes the tool easily accessible to small vloggers. So, compare the prices and features, and then make your pick.

Video Format Support

You need to check whether the software supports the video format outputted by your camera or the format that you generally use. Also, if you want to edit 4K videos or VR 360 videos, then make sure to see if the editor supports these high-resolution video formats and quality.

You would at least want to edit and upload full HD videos on your YouTube channel. So, ensure that the video editor is capable of delivering high-quality videos with ease.

If you’re working with videos, you’ll likely need to transcribe your audio into text for captions and beyond. We use and recommend Rev.com for their transcription services that feature same-day delivery and 99% accuracy.

Multiple Functionalities

Multiple functionalities or advanced features are a must irrespective of your video-editing experience. The additional effects and features can help you take your videos to the next level once you get through the basics.

Look out for a software that is equipped with the following –

• Video effects
• Premium plug-ins
• Stock templates
• Motion tracking features
• Color correction
• Color grading
• Ready-to-use music background

 

Best Editing Software for YouTube in 2022

1. Adobe Premiere Pro (Editor’s Choice)

Best software for editing videos for YouTube

Platform: Windows and Mac

Adobe Premiere Pro is #1 on our list for obvious reasons. This is a cross-platform software and is packed with great features and flexible collaboration tools that let its users unleash their creativity.

This desktop application is used by YouTubers and even used by Hollywood video makers. It allows users to transform raw footage into absolutely beautiful video products. Let’s have a look at some of the features this amazing tool has –

Features of Adobe Premiere Pro: 

• Speech to Text for Offline Use – This feature allows video makers to work even without the need for an internet connection. Moreover, transcriptions are 2x faster on current hardware, and up to 3x faster on Intel Core i9 and Apple M1 devices.
• Remix in Premiere Pro – This feature intelligently retimes tracks to ensure that your music and videos are in sync. Remix can turn hours-long music editing into a process that can be completed in seconds.
• Auto Tone (Beta) – In the Lumetri Color panel, Auto Tone uses new cutting-edge technology to provide intelligent color corrections. It basically allows you to fine-tune the results.

Pros	Cons
➕ Great Virtual Reality (VR) support	➖ Requires subscription
➕ Superb responsive interface	➖ Bit much for newcomers
➕ Support Multiple File Formats
➕ Simultaneous and Hassle-Free Editing

 

2. Canva

An easy-to-use web-based video editing software

If you are a beginner looking for easy-to-use video editing software, then you can choose to work on Canva. This video editing tool is free to download and easy to use on phones, PC, tablets, and laptops. You can create any type of video, export, schedule, and publish it anywhere. 

Features of Canva:

• Magic Resize: With Canva, you can resize your videos into different formats for various social media platforms. All you must do is drag and drop them on a timeline and easily trim, split, and resize clips, all within one editor.

• Add Text, Transitions, Graphic Elements, and More: Get creative by adding more graphic elements and colorful texts to your movie or video as add-ons.

• Music and Sound Effects: Music and voiceovers look more impressive when it comes to making videos so you can top them off with some sound effects to finish them.

Pros	Cons
➕ Great tools for beginners and pros.	➖ Quality becomes low while downloading the video.
➕ Creating designs for social media.
➕ Variety of templates, graphics and image options.

 

3. Final Cut Pro

Best video editing software for Mac user

Platform: Mac

The non-linear, non-destructive video editing software –  Final Cut Pro X.

It’s a native 64-bit application that takes advantage of all CPU cores and GPU-accelerated processing. This makes it ideal for playback, rendering, and transcoding. Let’s have a look at some of the features Final Cut Pro has to provide –

Features of Final Cut Pro: 

• Object Tracker – Final Cut Pro’s new Object Tracker detects faces and objects using advanced machine learning, then matches their movement to titles and effects.
• Ultimate cinematic effect – Final Cut Pro can drastically improve the appearance of video shot with Cinematic mode. You can choose focus locations in a shot and alter them over time with the groundbreaking new click-to-track feature.
• Optimized for MacBook Pro – Final Cut Pro takes full advantage of the M1 Pro and M1 Max on the new MacBook Pro. This gives workstation-class performance on a portable, lightweight computer.
  The Apple Neural Engine is lightning fast at complex tasks like video analysis for object tracking and smart cropping.

Pros	Cons
➕ Seamless video editing	➖ Mac only
➕ Organized assets	➖ Bit much for newcomers
➕ VR handling
➕ VR impeccable sound

 

4. InVideo

Best YouTube video editor to make professional YouTube videos

Platform: Web, iOS, Android

If you are looking for the best video editor for YouTube, you can choose the InVideo video editing software. This video editor has over 7 million customers in over 190 countries. The InVideo YouTube video editor is easy to use and contains a lot of editing features. 

With InVideo, you can create stunning YouTube videos and edit them like a pro! You can also create multiple brand kits and apply them to your videos in no time. You can create a team, add members, and share your videos using this software. Some of the features include: 

Features of InVideo:

• 5000+ customizable templates- InVideo offers nearly 8 million stock photos and videos with 5000+ customizable templates. You can have fun using these templates to customize what you want for your video.

• Powerful editing features- InVideo provides you with multiple editing features such as cropping, trimming, texts, and adding transitions to your video. You can also add cute stickers available on the editor itself. 

• Standout animations- With InVideo, you can add creativity by including animation in your video. The animation features include slide, blur, bounce, spin, and disco effects.

 

Pros	Cons
➕  Contains a library of 5000+ templates	➖ Not downloadable – works only on web browsers
➕ Supports Multiple File Formats
➕ Easy to use and share

 

5. Apple iMovie

Best free video editing software for YouTube

Platform: iOS and Mac

iMovie is a video editing software for iOS and macOS that can be used to build a complete story. It’s possible to do it with credit rolls, studio logos, photographs, and videos.

iMovie is designed specifically for Apple gadgets such as the iPad, iPad 2, iPhone 4, Mac, and iPod 4. You also gain access to themes and templates that you can edit for your own trailer. Let’s move on to the features now –

Features of Apple iMovie:

• High-Fidelity filters – You can choose from 13 different creative video filters to give your video/movie a cinematic quality. Applying filters to individual segments or your entire movie, as well as adjusting the intensity, is quite easy on your iPhone or iPad.
• Green-screen controls – This is a useful feature if you want to soften the impacts in your movie. Users had a lot of trouble managing this in previous versions, but the new iMovie offers the greatest and finer green-screen controls.
• Easy-to-use trimmer – When using iMovie to edit your videos, the trimmer is a key feature that you should not overlook. It’s responsible for speeding the editing process, and you’re in luck because the new one is simple and easy to use. A trimmer allows you to control the length and timing of a clip.

Pros	Cons
➕ User friendly interface	➖ Importing MP4 files is a bit complex
➕ Easy sharing	➖ Expensive
➕ Easy to learn
➕ Great effects

 

6. CyberLink PowerDirector 365 

Budget-friendly video software

Platform: Windows, Mac

The video editing software PowerDirector from CyberLink bridges the gap between professional editing and user-friendliness. It has been ahead of many pro products/tools quite often in terms of support for new features and technologies.

It also includes features to assist you in creating an appealing digital movie with transitions, effects, and titles. Best of all, it’s simple to use and quick at rendering.

Features of CyberLink PowerDirector 365:

• AI Sky Replacement – This type of automation feature has grown increasingly popular in photo editing software such as Skylum Luminar and Adobe Photoshop.
  The new sky replacement function in PowerDirector identifies the sky automatically and gives you access to over 70 dramatic themes with decent control.
• New AI Audio Tools – Wind Removal and AI Speech Enhancement are two new solutions that effectively reduce background noise.
• Soundtrack Fitting – The new Smart Fit Audio Duration tool allows you to change the background music length. The style and cadence of the music remains intact too.

Pros	Cons
➕ Fastest rendering	➖ Great number of options can make interface overwhelming
➕ Loads of effects
➕ 3D and 4K capability
➕ Multicam editing

 

7. Filmora

Best video editing software for beginners 

Platform: Mac, Windows, and Linux

Filmora is a popular video editing software for those who wish to focus on editing and producing high-quality 4k videos.

It’s a reasonably priced product featuring tools for both video and audio editing. When it comes to styling, adding effects, and customizing videos, it provides a great number of options.

Features of Filmora:

• Keyframing – This is the simplest keyframing experience available, thanks to editable pre-sets.
• Audio Ducking – One click is all it takes to fade one audio track under another using this great feature.
• Color Matching – With this feature, you can take color settings from one clip and apply them to a bunch of clips.

Pros	Cons
➕ Royalty music, and sound effects	➖ Free version comes with a watermark
➕ Color correction and audio editing experiences super powerful
➕ Green screen, tilt-shift and video stabilization is available
➕ Plenty of compatible formats like MP4, MKV, MOV, FLV, etc

 

8. Corel VideoStudio Ultimate

Best software with wide range of features

Platform: Windows

This software provides a comprehensive range of video editing features that are easy to use even for newbies. It includes a variety of video editing tools, such as removal of distortion on action camera footage and with video collage templates, that let you combine many videos into a single layout.

You can also edit 360-degree video and then export it to YouTube directly.

Features of Corel VideoStudio Ultimate:

• Instant Project Templates – Using this feature you insert clips into these templates, which can mimic the aesthetic of viral videos.
• Mask Creator – In recent versions of CorelDRAW, the masking features have been improved.
  The newest tool version allows you to adjust masks with keyframes and build them in a new interface that eliminates the need of clips. Instead, you use the specialized Mask Creator to upload the clips.
• AR Stickers – The new AR Stickers take a page from mobile messaging, enabling you to put bunny ears and glasses on your face.
  AR stickers are also available in Windows 10’s Photos app. However, they aren’t face-aware. The VideoStudio feature is similar to what you’d see in Snapchat or Facebook Messenger video chats.

Pros	Cons
➕ Simple interface	➖ Audio-editing capabilities weaker than some competitors’ offerings
➕ Fast rendering
➕ Multipoint Motion tracking

 

9. Pinnacle Studio

Best YouTube video editor at an affordable price 

Platform: Windows

For professional video editing, Pinnacle Studio is an excellent choice. This video editor features easy-to-use controls and a variety of professional-grade tools. It should be noted that this software is only compatible with Windows.

Also, Pinnacle is ideal for both professionals and amateur video editors.

Features of Pinnacle Studio:

• Video Masking – Standard face blurring and general video enhancement is available. Also, you can remove undesired aspects from video and do object cloning.
• Selective Vectorscope Capabilities – This feature allows you to optimize the color in a specific area of the video rather than the entire film.
• Alpha Channel Support – You can use the Alpha channel if you wish to save individual tracks or entire projects with transparency, as well as your custom overlays.

With the Alpha channel in Pinnacle Studio, new users, social media bloggers, YouTubers, and small business owners can effortlessly present branding in any video series.

Pros	Cons
➕ Supports 360-degree VR content	➖ High processing power is required
➕ Multicam editing
➕ Supports 4K
➕ Fast rendering

 

10. VEED.IO

A user-friendly & versatile online video editing option

VEED.IO is a perfect software for those looking for a free and simple online video editor. One great way to begin is through uploading your own video or using one of the many built-in templates. With a user-friendly interface, you can easily add text, images, and effects to your video. You do not need prior knowledge of video editing to use VEED.IO. and you could use this ideal software for work or for fun. 

Features of  VEED.IO:

• This software works as a great video converter. This feature helps you convert your videos into any format. Regardless of whether it’s MP4, AVI or MOV for smartphones – with VEED.IO, you can handle all of these conversions with just one click.
• Another cool feature of this software is that it has video transcriptions, which is one of the easiest ways to turn your videos to texts. This web-based application provides you with exact results that help you search, share and transcribe more files with ease.
• You can resize your videos on VEED.IO with better quality. It also loads fast.

Pros	Cons
➕ Supports any file type and 4k resolution.	➖Works only on web browsers.
➕ The free version of the software has a watermark.
➕ Easy to use.
➕ Works best for beginners.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Summary

So, above are my picks for the best video editing software for YouTube. From amateurs to professionals, everyone can find a perfect match for their channel. You can use these tools to deliver a delightful experience to your audience.

Based on your video needs, choose a basic or powerful editor and take your YouTube ventures to new heights. Happy editing!

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