(an article I wrote for another forum but also I think would be of help to people here)
‘Back in the day’ when people were looking for a professional, feature-rich video editing solution there was really only one answer on everyone’s lips “Adobe Premiere”
Fortunately since then things have changed for the better. There are a lot of players in the market offering high quality software at reasonable prices or in some cases for free. And Free doesn’t even needs to mean worse or with fewer features, as we’ll see
Don’t get me wrong. Adobe still has some excellent offerings, undoubtedly, but their move to a subscription-only model (where previously they offered one-time purchase options) left a lot of us out in the cold. Particularly people like myself who only edit occasionally, and don’t earn money from it. The Adobe model is just way too expensive for me to justify.
I’ve produced a list of many of the Video editing software options – showing the Adobe product and then various alternatives). I’ve also included other relevant creative software from Adobe and some replacements –audio editing, vector graphics and so on.
VIDEO EDITING
Adobe Premiere Pro
Site: https://www.adobe.com/products/premiere.html
Price: Part of creative cloud, subscription model, price varies. From USD $21/month
Platform: Windows, Mac
DaVinci Resolve 16
Site: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/
Price: Free
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Forum: https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewforum.php?f=21
Filmora
Site: https://filmora.wondershare.net/
Price: Subscription plans available (from USD$10/month) OR lifetime plan for $70
Platforms: Windows, Mac
They have some youtube resource here https://www.filmora.io/
Pinnacle Studio 23
Site: https://www.pinnaclesys.com/en/
Price: 3 feature tiers. From AUD$56, One-time purchase
Platform: Windows only
Forum: http://forums.pinnaclesys.com/forums/default.aspx
Vegas Pro 17
Site: https://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/us/vegas-pro/
Price: $299 current price (RRP $599) (subscription offer also available) Free trial available
Platform: (Windows only)
Forum: https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/vegas-pro-forum/
PowerDirector
Site: https://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdirector-video-editing-software
Price: Various feature tiers. Lifetime licence from AUD$130, subscription offers from AUD$90.
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Forum: https://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/forums/list/ENU.page
Hitfilm Express
Site: https://fxhome.com/hitfilm-express
Price: Free. (A pro version is available for $349+)
Platforms: Windows, Mac
Forum: https://fxhome.com/forum/
OpenShot Video Editor
Site: https://www.openshot.org/
Price: Free
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
VSDC
VSDC offers a basic video and audio editor.
Site: http://www.videosoftdev.com/
Price: Free, (though there is a pro version available for about $50 with more features)
Ashampoo® Movie Studio Pro 2
Site: https://www.ashampoo.com/en/usd/pin/0482/multimedia-software/movie-studio-pro-2
Price: USD$31
Platform: Windows only
Video Pro X
Site: https://www.magix.com/us/video-editor/video-pro-x
Price: USD$399
Platform: Windows only
Forum: https://www.magix.info/us/
Video Studio Pro 2020
Site: https://www.magix.info/us/
Price: AUD$99 (with 20% off RRP $125)
Platform: Windows only.
PHOTO EDITING
Adobe Photoshop
Site: https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html
Price: Part of creative cloud, subscription model, price varies. From USD $10/month
Platform: Windows, Mac
Affinity Photo
Site: https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/
Price: Windows and Mac versions AU$80, IPAD version AUD $31
Platforms: Windows, Mac and iPad
SCREEN CAPTURE
OBS Studio
Site: https://obsproject.com/
Price: Free
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Forum: https://obsproject.com/forum/
AUDIO EDITING
Adobe Audition
Site: https://www.adobe.com/products/audition.html
Price: Part of creative cloud, subscription model, price varies. From USD $21/month
Platforms: Windows, Mac
Audacity
Site: https://www.audacityteam.org/
Price: Free
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Forum: https://forum.audacityteam.org/
‘Back in the day’ when people were looking for a professional, feature-rich video editing solution there was really only one answer on everyone’s lips “Adobe Premiere”
Fortunately since then things have changed for the better. There are a lot of players in the market offering high quality software at reasonable prices or in some cases for free. And Free doesn’t even needs to mean worse or with fewer features, as we’ll see
Don’t get me wrong. Adobe still has some excellent offerings, undoubtedly, but their move to a subscription-only model (where previously they offered one-time purchase options) left a lot of us out in the cold. Particularly people like myself who only edit occasionally, and don’t earn money from it. The Adobe model is just way too expensive for me to justify.
I’ve produced a list of many of the Video editing software options – showing the Adobe product and then various alternatives). I’ve also included other relevant creative software from Adobe and some replacements –audio editing, vector graphics and so on.
VIDEO EDITING
Adobe Premiere Pro
Site: https://www.adobe.com/products/premiere.html
Price: Part of creative cloud, subscription model, price varies. From USD $21/month
Platform: Windows, Mac
DaVinci Resolve 16
Site: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/
Price: Free
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Forum: https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewforum.php?f=21
Filmora
Site: https://filmora.wondershare.net/
Price: Subscription plans available (from USD$10/month) OR lifetime plan for $70
Platforms: Windows, Mac
They have some youtube resource here https://www.filmora.io/
Pinnacle Studio 23
Site: https://www.pinnaclesys.com/en/
Price: 3 feature tiers. From AUD$56, One-time purchase
Platform: Windows only
Forum: http://forums.pinnaclesys.com/forums/default.aspx
Vegas Pro 17
Site: https://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/us/vegas-pro/
Price: $299 current price (RRP $599) (subscription offer also available) Free trial available
Platform: (Windows only)
Forum: https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/vegas-pro-forum/
PowerDirector
Site: https://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdirector-video-editing-software
Price: Various feature tiers. Lifetime licence from AUD$130, subscription offers from AUD$90.
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Forum: https://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/forums/list/ENU.page
Hitfilm Express
Site: https://fxhome.com/hitfilm-express
Price: Free. (A pro version is available for $349+)
Platforms: Windows, Mac
Forum: https://fxhome.com/forum/
OpenShot Video Editor
Site: https://www.openshot.org/
Price: Free
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
VSDC
VSDC offers a basic video and audio editor.
Site: http://www.videosoftdev.com/
Price: Free, (though there is a pro version available for about $50 with more features)
Ashampoo® Movie Studio Pro 2
Site: https://www.ashampoo.com/en/usd/pin/0482/multimedia-software/movie-studio-pro-2
Price: USD$31
Platform: Windows only
Video Pro X
Site: https://www.magix.com/us/video-editor/video-pro-x
Price: USD$399
Platform: Windows only
Forum: https://www.magix.info/us/
Video Studio Pro 2020
Site: https://www.magix.info/us/
Price: AUD$99 (with 20% off RRP $125)
Platform: Windows only.
PHOTO EDITING
Adobe Photoshop
Site: https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html
Price: Part of creative cloud, subscription model, price varies. From USD $10/month
Platform: Windows, Mac
Affinity Photo
Site: https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/
Price: Windows and Mac versions AU$80, IPAD version AUD $31
Platforms: Windows, Mac and iPad
SCREEN CAPTURE
OBS Studio
Site: https://obsproject.com/
Price: Free
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Forum: https://obsproject.com/forum/
AUDIO EDITING
Adobe Audition
Site: https://www.adobe.com/products/audition.html
Price: Part of creative cloud, subscription model, price varies. From USD $21/month
Platforms: Windows, Mac
Audacity
Site: https://www.audacityteam.org/
Price: Free
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Forum: https://forum.audacityteam.org/