7 Top-Rated Affordable Video Editing Software
As a freelance content creator or social media influencer, creating engaging video content is almost essential nowadays to showcase your skills and promote your brand on different platforms. Whether crafting compelling advertisement scripts or producing an Instagram Reel or a YouTube video, the right video editing software can provide the necessary tools to enhance visual and auditory elements to captivate your audience.
To simplify your search, we have highlighted the seven top-rated affordable video editing software for marketing managers and video editors based on their pricing, as found on vendor websites and verified software reviews. Based on our research, we've considered products priced less than $29.49 per month as affordable software and have arranged them in ascending order. Read more.
All the products in this article are dedicated audio and video editing software that offer core video editing features, including video editing and a media library for storage.
1. Renderforest
Renderforest is an online branding tool that allows you to create videos, logos, graphics, websites, and mockups. The tool gives access to over 200,000 stock videos and music tracks to create content such as explainer videos, product animations, video intros, and animated business presentations. You can customize text, colors, and other template elements to match your brand or style.
Product features of interest*:
AI-based video creation: Employ artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms in creating videos. This can include features like auto-adjustment of scenes and text placement based on user prompts.
Logo animation maker: Create dynamic and visually appealing animations and video effects for product and brand logos. This can be a unique way to enhance brand presence in videos.
3D explainers: Create 3D explainer videos with special effects, such as transitions and drop-down animations to communicate complex ideas or concepts visually. This feature can be handy for educational or business-related content.
Starting price: $9.99 per user, per month
Billing cycle: Annual
Customer support options: Knowledge base, video tutorials, phone support
Who should consider Renderforest?
Content creators and marketers who create content for social media platforms can benefit from Renderforest's built-in templates for such platforms. Teachers, trainers, and educators can also use Renderforest to create educational videos, presentations, or explainer videos using customizable templates and video effects. The platform's simplicity makes it accessible to those who may not have extensive video editing experience.
Analysis performed December 2023**
2. Videobolt
Videobolt is an online platform that provides users with tools and resources for video creation and editing. The software offers a diverse library of templates for various types of videos, including intros, outros, promotional videos, and social media content. Videobolt operates online, meaning you can access projects from any device with an internet connection. This eliminates the need for software installations and allows for collaborative editing.
Product features of interest*:
Cinema-quality templates: Use high-quality templates designed to resemble professional cinematic productions. This can be particularly useful for users who want to create visually stunning videos without extensive editing skills.
Automated branding: Adapt any template to your branding instantly. Save logos, fonts, colors, and taglines so you can implement your visual style automatically.
Content recognition: Use AI algorithms to recognize and categorize different types of content, making it easier for team members to search for relevant templates or elements.
Starting price: $9.99 per user, per month
Billing cycle: Annual
Customer support options: Email, phone support, chat, knowledge base
Who should consider Videobolt?
Videobolt is ideal for content creators, streamers, and video marketers looking for a centralized solution to share their video content on social media. The software supports MP4, WEBM, and MOV file types. You can also use screen overlays for your videos and improve the production quality of your content library.
Analysis performed December 2023**
Pro tip
Select software with reporting capabilities. If you publish your videos on social media channels, a video editing tool with reporting and analytics capabilities will be a practical choice. Many video editors allow you to post your videos on social media directly. If a tool can also track the social media performance of your videos, it will help you understand your video content better and improve it based on data.
3. Wisecut
Wisecut is an AI-based video editing tool that uses facial recognition to identify "punch in" and "punch out," automatically creating jump cuts and deleting unnecessary clips for a more organic flow of content using a single camera. Additionally, the tool leverages AI-based voice recognition to automatically lower the background music when someone is speaking and vice versa. This ensures that your audience listens to what matters the most.
Product features of interest*:
Auto-cut silence: Detect and eliminate awkward pauses and fluff words from the video content using AI-based voice recognition.
Auto translation: Translate the audio of the content for your target audience in their preferred language. The tool uses AI to transcribe the audio and then translate it into subtitles for the viewers.
Automates background music: Find and select background music for your video automatically using AI. The tool scans through the stock music tracks to identify and select one based on the topic of the video.
Starting price: $10 per user, per month
Billing cycle: Annual
Customer support options: Online ticket-based support, FAQs, knowledge hub
Who should consider Wisecut?
Marketers and content creators with limited video editing knowledge can consider Wisecut for its AI-based auto-cut feature that simultaneously eliminates awkward pauses from the video and audio content. The automatic translation into subtitles saves you a lot of time from manually transcribing and translating audio before adding it to the final video.
Analysis performed December 2023**
4. Descript
Descript is an AI-powered video and audio editing platform that uses algorithms to refine video backgrounds, perform color correction, adjust the eye contact of the people in recordings, and eliminate noise to focus on the audio and the visuals. The tool's AI-based overdub feature allows you to generate synthetic voiceovers that sound like you. Additionally, you get a drag-and-drop editor to cut, move, and arrange your audio and video tracks for a what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) user experience.
Product features of interest*:
AI eye contact: Analyze the position of the speaker's eyes and then adjust the orientation of their gaze to simulate eye contact with the camera using AI.
Studio sound: Improve the audio quality of your video footage by eliminating background noise and unwanted sounds. The corrections include noise removal, cross-talk elimination, and voice enhancement.
Filler words: Identify and highlight instances of filler words, such as 'aa,' 'um,' 'like,' 'you know,' and other words or sounds from the transcript using AI that people often use unconsciously while speaking.
Starting price: $12 per user, per month
Billing cycle: Annual
Customer support options: Knowledge base, community forum
Who should consider Descript?
Descript's AI capabilities enable you to edit voiceovers without needing to re-record. The tool seamlessly replicates human voices to re-create and replace the original content. Further, the AI-based eye contact correction feature ensures that the speaker is gazing at the camera throughout the recording, even if they aren't looking at it. Again, this saves a lot of time, effort, and cost of re-recording.
Analysis performed December 2023**
5. Vimeo
Vimeo is a video creation and editing solution that allows you to create videos in various size formats, such as square, portrait, and landscape. The software offers 2000+ video templates you can use as inspiration for your video projects. You can trim and merge multiple clips and also insert audio tracks, text overlays, watermarks, and filters into your video. The tool allows you to make your videos easier to navigate by adding time stamps, which allow viewers to jump to specific sections of a video quickly.
Product features of interest*:
Screen recording: Create recordings of yourself, your screen, or both. With AI script generation and a built-in teleprompter, your team can create various video types, such as explainers and video guides.
Live streaming: Broadcast events or presentations in real time through a built-in video player. Such functionality is helpful for live webinars, concerts, or any event that benefits from live interaction.
Content protection: Provide content protection features to your team, including disabling video downloads and setting domain-level privacy controls to restrict where you can play embedded videos.
Starting price: $12 per user, per month
Billing cycle: Annual
Customer support options: Email, chat, phone support, and FAQs
Who should consider Vimeo?
Vimeo offers monetization options, making it suitable for content creators and businesses that want to sell or rent their videos. This feature attracts individuals and businesses looking to generate revenue from their content. The platform's customization options and analytics support brand visibility and performance tracking.
Analysis performed December 2023**
Pro tip
Look for tools that support voiceovers, which allow you to tell the story in your own words and voice. Besides, many video editors now support text-to-speech conversion and offer multiple AI-generated voices so that you can easily convert your script into voiceovers.
6. AVS Video Editor
AVS Video Editor is a solution that helps you edit and save video files in various formats, such as MP4, M4V, MOV, MKV, AVI, and WMV. It also allows you to process them in HD, full HD, 2K quad HD, 4K ultra HD, and DCI 4K resolutions. You can transfer videos from any camera (DV/HDV, webcam, or VHS). You can draw on video, add text annotations, and mark details using circles, rectangles, and arrows. You can also cut out a particular scene or fix shaky footage with video stabilization. You also get the option to change the background using the chroma key effect.
Product features of interest*:
Hardware accelerated video decoding: Speed up HD video editing due to integrated video cache technology and hardware acceleration. These help store video data in temporary storage and improve playback performance during editing using a video card or a graphics processing unit (GPU).
Auto video splitting: Split a video into multiple parts by setting a timeframe or a maximum file size for each video. This helps resize and reuse parts of the video.
Command line mode: Use executable commands from a command library to automate routine work, such as file type conversion, using conversion templates without clicking the program buttons manually. Additionally, you can use presets with the most appropriate settings to convert video for social media platforms, such as YouTube, Facebook, and X.
Starting price: $12.41 per month
Billing cycle: Annual
Customer support options: Knowledge base, user guide, email, and FAQs
Who should consider AVS Video Editor?
Marketers who mainly work on the Windows platform and have to convert multiple video file formats can take advantage of AVS Video Editor. The software supports more than 150 video file formats and helps you convert them into the format of your choice. With hardware-accelerated decoding, the software speeds up video conversions and lets you perform it in batches.
Analysis performed December 2023**
7. Animaker
Animaker is an AI-powered video creation, animation, and social media publishing tool. The software offers an animation library with stock media, icons, music tracks, and stickers you can use to create animated videos. The software also provides a screen recorder to create product learning, employee onboarding, and instructional videos. Animaker offers an AI-powered video generator to create videos from text-based input.
Product features of interest*:
Multi-track timeline: Create a multi-track timeline for managing different elements of an animation separately. Each track on the timeline represents a layer where you can add different project elements. These elements can include video clips, images, text, audio, and other assets.
Character animation: Create animated characters from scratch or use a built-in character toolkit containing presets. You can rig the characters for more dynamic movements using the toolkit.
Animation styles: Choose from various animation styles, such as 2D, whiteboard, infographic, typography, and vertical video animation.
Starting price: $12.50 per month
Billing cycle: Annual
Customer support options: Chat, email, and ticket-based support
Who should consider Animaker?
Animaker is ideal for animators and content creators who create animated videos that enhance course engagement by simplifying complex concepts and transforming courses into dynamic, visually compelling learning experiences. The software also lets you create video guides for internal teams.
Analysis performed December 2023**
Pro tip
Check if the software has a user-friendly interface as not all video editing software solutions are meant for every type of user. If you have beginner or amateur video editors on your team, using a tool that caters to expert video editors will only make your team's job difficult. Therefore, pick a video editor with a simple interface so your team can efficiently use it to get the job done.
How much does video editing software cost?
A video editing software solution can cost as low as $9.99 per month or all the way up to $299+ per month, depending on various factors—features, number of users, editing requirements, business size/type, training availability, deployment options, integrations, and storage. Most video editing solutions typically include the following pricing plans:
Free trial: No-cost trial plans ranging from 7 to 30 days, giving users access to either all or limited features of the software. These are ideal for businesses that wish to try out a tool before purchasing it.
Free version: Free video editing software plans offer basic features and limited premium feature access. These video editing apps are ideal for small business owners freelance marketers and video editors with a limited budget.
Entry-level: Starts at $9.99 per month and offers limited features, such as video editing, thumbnail creation, and stock library. These are ideal for small businesses with basic video editing needs.
Mid-tier: Range from $19.99 to $249 per month and offers advanced features such as extended video editing, a larger stock library, and text-to-speech audio. These are ideal for businesses that have outgrown basic video editing solutions but don’t require the full range of functionality offered by enterprise-level tools.
High-end: Advanced plans going up to $299+ per month offer advanced features such as unlimited video editing, a customizable video template library, and AI-based video creation and editing. These are ideal for larger businesses working with various media formats.
Hidden costs associated with affordable video editing software
Besides the software license itself, there may be additional costs associated with the best video editing software, including:
Implementation and training: These include data migration, customization, and employee training. These can be substantial, especially for complex video editing platforms or large organizations.
Hidden fees: Beware of per-user fees, charges for editing beyond a certain length, and other seemingly minor costs that can add up quickly, particularly for larger teams.
Integration fees: Some video editing platforms might have additional charges for integrations with third-party social media and publishing platforms.
Common questions to ask when selecting affordable video editing software
Here are some questions that you should ask software vendors to learn more and find the best video editing software system for your business:
Does the software offer customizable stock content?
Stock content includes images, videos, voices, fonts, icons, and more. They help save time as you won't have to create such elements from scratch. Therefore, ask the vendor if their tool offers such stock content and the extent of customization it allows.
Does the software support remote collaboration?
If your video editing team consists of multiple people, look for a video editor that supports remote collaboration. It will allow your team to work smoothly on a project via a common dashboard. Also, inquire whether additional costs are involved to add more users.
What kind of video exporting options do you provide?
Ensure that the software supports widely used video formats such as MP4, MOV, AVI, and MKV. These formats are generally compatible with a wide range of devices and video players. Additionally, look for support for various video codecs. Popular codecs include H.264 and H.265 high efficiency video coding (HEVC). Different platforms and devices may have preferences for specific codecs.
Methodology
To be considered for this list, products had to:
Have at least 20 unique product reviews published on Software Advice’s video editing category page within the past two years, with an average rating of 3.0 or higher (as of Dec. 12, 2023).
Include video editing and media library storage as core features.
Meet our market definition for video editing software: “Video editing software helps create professional-looking educational, promotional, and entertainment video clips and movies.”
We assessed all products that met the first three criteria for their monthly pricing and considered the products with publicly available pricing information. Based on the assessment, the average price was calculated to be $29.49. Products with a monthly subscription price lower than $29.49 were then shortlisted to be included in this list and arranged in ascending order.
*Our research team identified these features from vendor websites (as of Dec. 12, 2023) based on their analysis of what users find valuable in or expect from video editing software. This list is not exhaustive. For additional features, refer to the vendor's website.
**We selected products for this article based on their average ratings as of December 2023; however, the article displays each product’s current average rating, which may differ if more reviews have been left since our analysis.
We select and rank products based on an objective methodology developed by our research team. While some vendors may pay us when they receive web traffic or leads, this has no influence on our methodology.
Products evaluated for the pricing calculation were taken from Software Advice’s video editing directory. The pricing ranges exclude freemium versions of the products. The features highlighted were identified based on their relevance and the percentage of products in the Software Advice directory that offer them.