I often have people ask me, “What’s the best video editing software to use?”
My answer is always, “It depends.”
- What are you going to edit?
- How much experience do you have?
- How complicated do you want to get?
What is “best” for one person won’t necessarily be best for the next person. However, people still like to rank these things, so here are the results of a recent ranking selecting the “best” video editing software by Videomaker Magazine, a respected industry source.
(Originally published in 2009)
Personally, I decided the best video editing software for me was Final Cut Express. I love it. FCE will do almost everything it’s big brother, Final Cut Studio, will do. The biggest difference between the two is in the number of video file formats it works with. Final Cut Studio works with a larger number of professional grade formats. I still shoot on mini dv, which is accepted in Final Cut Express, so I saved myself a bundle and bought FCE. ($1,200 vs. $300)
- Validation for my love of FCE came when I read Videomaker Magazine’s annual Best Products of the Year awards. Videomaker gave Final Cut Express the “Best Video Editing Software” title. According to Videomaker, FCE is a fantastic, low-cost stepping stone into professional-grade editing. The newest version, FCE 4.0 even accepts AVCHD, the new high-definition format.
VideoMaker’s annual “Best” awards have several more categories for video editing software. In a category they call, “Best Introductory Editing Software,” Videomaker declared a tie between Pinnacle Studio Ultimate 12 ($129) and Corel Video Studio Pro X2, ($99). According to Videomaker, both programs are simple enough for beginners but powerful enough to do complex tasks. (FCE would probably drive newbies just as nuts as Final Cut Pro.)
Pinnacle Studio actually has three levels of complexity and price. Pinnacle Studio is the least expensive at $49, Studio Plus comes in at $99 and Ultimate v. 12 costs $129. All three keep simplicity at the forefront by configuring tasks as templates rather than making the editor select all variables involved. This feature is definitely what a beginner wants.
Corel Video Studio comes in two levels of complexity and price. Pro X2 costs $99 and the basic version runs $70. The basic version limits you to two video tracks and two video overlay tracks while the pro version gives you seven.
When considering an entire suite of video editing software, VideoMaker Magazine gave the top nod to Adobe Creative Suite 4 Production Premium at $1,699. NOT CHEAP. But you get all this: Illustrator, Photoshop Extended, Flash Professional, After Effects, Premiere Pro (the actual video editing software), Encore, Sound Booth, Device Control, Bridge and Dynamic Link. If you are really serious about achieving professional level video editing, this would be a great package. If you don’t need quite that much capability, you can get Premiere Pro by itself for $799. Adobe has done a good job of making Premiere much more user-friendly over the years and they also now have a version for Mac.
Adobe also won a Most Innovative Software award for Visual Communicator 3, made especially for the video blogger. Adobe touts it as streaming video made simple. The software helps you with the entire production process, not just post-production. It includes a teleprompter as well as features that let you upload your to the web. Adobe purchased this software from a company called Serious Magic.
The final software award, Best Visual Effects Software, was given to proDAD Adorage. If you want to add lots of fancy transitions, this software includes transition effects such as Particles and Lights, Universal Tricks, Diamond Composites, Power FX Pearls, Eyecatcher FX and Particles and Objects. All nine volumes together sell for $499. You can get individual packages starting at $73. Keep in mind, this software is not full-fledged video editing software, but rather a package to use in conjunction with standard video editing software.
So if you have been looking to buy some video editing software, consider your needs and budget. Then you can decide what is best for you.
The downloading of applications has gone through the roof in past years, with over an estimated 268 billion downloads in 2017. This demand has put pressure on developers to bring in external developers using a low code platform. This development framework, which relies on GUI, is making it possible for more and more non-coders to establish themselves as application developers, and is breathing new life into the industry, as a whole.
Thanks for reading Video Production Tips.
Lorraine Grula
You did a super job of surveying the different video editing software choices. There are several you mentioned that I have never heard of.
You point out that it is an individual decision as which product is “best”. So true!
Now I have to give you a little poke in the ribs!
You didn’t talk about Sony Vegas Movie Studio, approximately $55 or their fancy Sony Pro for $549. I guess that’s because you come from the right-brained Mac side. (:-
I have been using Sony Vegas Movie Studio for about a year now, and I haven’t found anything that it won’t do. It is intuitive, fussy, but workable.
(There are many, many YouTube videos that will teach you how to use Sony Vegas to do easy and difficult tasks.) I purchased a video training disk that got me up to speed very quickly for about $30, I think.
To sum it up: It doesn’t really matter too much which editing software you use…there are many good ones available. The important point to remember is GET SOMETHING! You need to afford editing software.
Edit your videos. Remove the slow, boring sections of your video. Edit out many of the mistakes you will naturally make. It isn’t difficult to do. It just takes time and effort and we will all be happier for it.
Rich Days last blog post..Is Your WordPress Blog a Google Magnet?
Hey Rich.
I appreciate your comments! Somewhere I heard that search engines love comments too. Can’t remember where that was though. 🙂
The reason I did not mention Sony Vegas is because the article was about the winners of VideoMaker magazine’s Best Products of the year. So I am going to blame it on VideoMaker Magazine! They did not choose Sony Vegas as one of the best so it didn’t get a mention.
I’ll correct that now! Regardless of what Video Makers deems best, lots of people LOVE Sony Vegas and recommend it as their favorite because it is a low cost program that will do many of the tricks that a more expensive video editing program will do. Sony Vegas is indeed a wonderful video editing program, particularly when you factor in price. It will do green screen whereas freebies like Windows Movie Maker will not.
You completed various fine points there. I did a search on the topic and found mainly folks will have the same opinion with your blog.
Hello Irvin,
All Video editing software programs have their pros and cons, it is hard to say which is really the best. But I’m glad to know your research confirms what is reported here. Thanks for visiting theVideo Production Tips blog.
Lorraine