Comparison of video editing software
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This is a comparison of non-linear video editing software applications. See also a more complete list of video editing software.
General information
This table gives basic general information about the different editors:
Program | Platform | Developer | Year of first release | Year of latest release | Latest version | List price (USD) | License |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adobe Premiere/Premiere Pro | Win/Mac | Adobe Systems | 1991 | 2008 | CS4 | Non-free$799 | Template:Proprietary |
Adobe Premiere Elements | Windows | Adobe Systems | 2004 | 2009 | 8.0 | Non-free$100 | Template:Proprietary |
Free DV | Win/Mac | Avid | ? | ? | 1.8 | Dropped | Template:Proprietary |
Avid Xpress DV | Win/Mac | Avid | 2000 | ? | 4.8 | Dropped | Template:Proprietary |
Avid Xpress Pro Studio HD | Win/Mac | Avid | 2003 | ? | 5.8 | Non-free$1695 | Template:Proprietary |
Avid Liquid | Win/Mac | Avid | 2003 | ? | 7.2 | Non-free$999 | Template:Proprietary |
Avid Media Composer | Win/Mac | Avid | 1989 | 2009 | 4.0.5 | Non-free$2495 | Template:Proprietary |
Avidemux | Win/Mac/BSD/Lin | Mean | 2009 | 2.5.2 | Free | GPL | |
AVS Video Editor | Windows | Online Media Technologies Ltd. | 2004 | 2009 | 4.2 | Non-free$69(Unlimited) | Template:Proprietary |
Blender (VSE : Video Sequence Editor) | Win/Mac/Solaris/Irix/Lin | Blender Foundation | 2002 | 2009 | 2.49 | Free | GPL |
Cinelerra | Lin/Mac | Heroine Virtual | 2002 | 2009 | 4.2 | Free | GPL |
Dayang Montage Extreme | Windows | Dayang | 2007 | 2009 | 1.2 | Non-free$898 | Template:Proprietary |
EditDV/Cinestream | Win/Mac | Radius | 1997 | 2002 | 3.0 | Non-free$999 | Template:Proprietary |
Edius | Windows | Grass Valley Canopus| | 2002 | 2008 | 5.0 | Non-free$799 | Template:Proprietary |
Final Cut Express | Mac | Apple | 2003 | 2007 | 4.0.1 | Non-free$199 | Template:Proprietary |
Final Cut Pro/Studio | Mac | Apple | 1999 | 2009 | 7 | Non-free$999 | Template:Proprietary |
Free DV | Win/Mac | Avid Technology | 2001 | 2008 | 7 | Non-free$69.95, $119.95 | Template:Proprietary |
CyberLink PowerDirector [1] | Windows | Cyberlink | 2001 | 2009 | 8 | Non-free$69.95, $99.95 | Template:Proprietary |
FORscene | Multi (Java) | Forbidden Technologies | 2004 | ? | 15 April 2007 | Non-free from $2/hour | Template:Proprietary |
iMovie | Mac | Apple | 1999 | 2009 | 8.0.5 | $79 (as part of the iLife suite); free on new Macs | Template:Proprietary |
PiTiVi | Linux | Open Source Community | 2004 | 2009 | 0.13 | Free | LGPL |
Kdenlive | Linux/BSD/Mac | Open Source Community | 2002 | 2009 | 0.7.6 | Free | GPL |
Kino | Lin/BSD | Open Source Community | 2000 | 2008 | 1.3.0 | Free | GPL |
LiVES | Lin/BSD/Mac | Open Source Community | 2002 | 2009 | 1.0.0 | Free | GPL |
MainActor | Lin/Win | MainConcept | 2004 | 2007 | 5.5 | Dropped | Template:Proprietary |
Media 100 | Mac | Media 100 (now part of Boris FX) | 2006 | 2009 | 1.1.1 | Non-free$1495.00 | Template:Proprietary |
Mpeg Video Wizard | Windows | Womble Multimedia | 2004 | 2009 | March 2009 | Non-free$34.00 | Template:Proprietary |
Mpeg Video Wizard DVD | Windows | Womble Multimedia | 2006 | 2009 | 4.0.4.113 | Non-free$49.00 | Template:Proprietary |
OpenShot Video Editor | Linux | Open Source Community | 2008 | 2010 | 1.0 | Free | GPL |
Open Movie Editor | Linux | Open Source Community | 2008 | 2009 | 20090105 | Free | GPL |
Pinnacle Studio | Windows | Pinnacle Systems | 1999 | 2009 | 14.0 | Non-free$49.99 - $129.99 | Template:Proprietary |
Pinnacle Videospin | Windows | Avid | 2009 | 2009 | 2.0 | Free | Template:Proprietary |
MoviePlus | Windows | Serif (Europe) Ltd. | 2003 | 2008 | X3 (6.0.1) | Non-free$79.99 | Template:Proprietary |
Sony Vegas | Windows | Sony Media Software | 1999 | 2009 | 9.0c | Non-free$599.95 | Template:Proprietary |
Ulead MediaStudio Pro | Windows | Ulead Systems (now part of Corel Corporation) | ? | ? | 8.1 | Non-free$399.99 | Template:Proprietary |
Ulead VideoStudio Plus | Windows | Ulead Systems (now part of Corel Corporation) | 2000 | 2007 | 11 | Non-free$99.99 | Template:Proprietary |
VideoThang TM | Windows | VideoThang LLC | 2007 | 2008 | 2.0.1 | Free | Template:Proprietary |
VideoReDo Plus | Windows | DRD Systems, Inc. | 2003 | 2009 | 2.5.6-512 | Non-free $50 | Template:Proprietary |
VirtualDub | Windows | Avery Lee | 2000 | 2009 | 1.9.8 | Free | GPL |
VirtualDubMod | Windows | 2002 | 2006 | 1.5.10.2 b2542 | Free | GPL | |
Windows Movie Maker | Windows | Microsoft | 2000 | 2007 | 6.0.6000.16386 | Bundled with Windows | Template:Proprietary |
MAGIX Movie Edit Pro | Windows | MAGIX | 2000 | 2009 | 15 | Non-free $49.99 - $89.99 | Template:Proprietary |
VideoLab | Windows | Mitov Software | 2002 | 2010 | 4.3.1 | Free for non commercial or educational
$450.00 - $1800.00 |
Template:Proprietary |
Program | Platform | Developer | Year of first release | Year of latest release | Latest version | List price (USD) | License |
System requirements
This table lists the operating systems that different editors can run on without emulation, as well as other system requirements. Note that minimum system requirements are listed; some features (like High Definition support) may be unavailable with these specifications.
Windows | Mac OS X | *nix | Processor | RAM | HDD | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adobe Premiere Pro | Yes | Yes (as of CS3) | No | 1.4 GHz, SSE2 compatible processor | 1 GB / 2 GB when editing HD | 4 GB |
Adobe Premiere Elements | Yes | No | No | SSE2 compatible processor | 512 MB | 4.5 GB |
Avid Free DV | Yes | Yes | No | 933 MHz Pentium, 667 MHz PPC | 1 GB | ? |
Avid Xpress DV | Yes | Yes | No | 933 MHz Pentium, 667 MHz PPC | 1 GB | 20 GB |
Avid Xpress Pro HD | Yes | Yes | No | Pentium 4, PowerMac G5 | 1 GB | 20 GB |
Avid Liquid | Yes | No | No | Pentium 4 or higher | 1 GB | 20 GB |
Avid Media Composer | Yes | Yes | No | Pentium 4 or higher | 2 GB | 20 GB |
Avidemux | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
AVS Video Editor | Yes | No | No | Intel / AMD compatible at 2500 MHz or higher | 1 GB | 1 GB |
Blender (VSE : Video Sequence Editor) | Yes | Yes | Yes | 300 MHz | 128 MB | 20 MB free space |
Cinelerra | No | Yes | Yes | 500 MHz | 256 MB | ? |
CyberLink PowerDirector [2] | Yes | No | No | SSE2 compatible processor | 512 MB | 2 GB |
Dayang Montage Extreme | Yes | No | No | Pentium 4 or higher | 1 GB | 20 GB |
EDIUS | Yes | No | No | Pentium 4 3.0 GHz+ | 1 GB | 800 MB |
Final Cut Express | No | Yes | No | 500 MHz | 384 MB | 1 GB |
Final Cut Studio | No | Yes | No | 1.25 GHz G4, Intel Core Duo or Xeon | 1 GB | 4 GB Apps |
FORscene | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | 256 MB | Any |
iMovie HD | No | Yes | No | PPC G4 or faster, Intel based Macs | 256 MB | 10 GB |
LiVES | No | Yes | Yes | 800 MHz | 128 MB | 10 GB |
Kdenlive | No | Yes | Yes | 600 MHz | 256 MB | 1 GB |
OpenShot Video Editor | No | Yes | Yes | 600 MHz | 256 MB | 1 GB |
PiTiVi | No | No | Yes | ? | ? | 2 MB |
Kino GTK | No | No | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
MainActor | Yes | No | Yes | 700 MHz | 128 MB | ? |
MPEG Video Wizard | Yes | No | No | 233 MHz | 32 MB | 20 MB |
MPEG Video Wizard DVD | Yes | No | No | 233 MHz | 32 MB | 20 MB |
Pinnacle Studio MediaSuite | Yes | No | No | 1.4 GHz | 512 MB | 1.7 GB |
Pinnacle VideoSpin | Yes | No | No | 1.4 GHz | 512 MB | 150 MB |
Serif MoviePlus | Yes | No | No | Pentium II or AMD Athlon XP | 128 MB | 149 MB |
Sony Vegas | Yes | No | No | 1.0 GHz | 1.0 GB | 200 MB |
Ulead MediaStudio Pro | Yes | No | No | 800 MHz | 256 MB | 800 MB |
Ulead VideoStudio Plus | Yes | No | No | Pentium 4 or higher, SSE2 when editing HD | 256 MB | 1 GB |
Merging Technologies VCube | Yes | No | No | Pentium 4 or higher | 512 MB | 800 MB |
VideoThang TM | Yes | No | No | Pentium 4 or higher | 512 MB | 300 MB |
Video Edit Magic / Express | Yes | No | No | 500 MHz or higher | 256 MB | 200 MB |
VirtualDub | Yes | No | No | ? | ? | 3 Mb |
Windows Movie Maker | Yes | No | No | 1 GHz for best performance | 128 MB | 10 Mb |
VideoLab | Yes | No | No | 500 MHz | 256 MB | 100 Mb |
Windows | Mac OS X | Unix | Processor | RAM | HDD |
"Unix" includes the similar Linux, BSD and Unix-like operating systems.
High definition import
The table below indicates the ability of each program to import various High Definition video formats for editing.
720p HDV | 1080i HDV | DVCPRO HD | Uncompressed HD | IMX | AVCHD | XDCAM HD | HDV | AVC-1 | DNxHD | REDCODE | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adobe Premiere Pro | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (3rd party) | Yes (As of CS4, third party in CS3) | Yes (As of CS3) | Yes | ? | ? | Yes (3rd party) |
Adobe Premiere Elements | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
Avid Media Composer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Avid Xpress DV | No | No | No | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | No | No |
Avid Xpress Pro | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | Yes | ? |
Avid Liquid | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | No | No |
Avidemux | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
AVS Video Editor | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | No | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Cinelerra | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
CyberLink PowerDirector | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | ? | ? |
Dayang Montage Extreme | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
EDIUS Neo | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
EDIUS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? |
Final Cut Express | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Final Cut Studio | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes |
FORscene | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
iMovie HD | Yes | Yes | Yes (3rd party) | No | No | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
LiVES | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
PiTiVi | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
Kdenlive | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Kino GTK | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
MainActor | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
MPEG Video Wizard | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | No | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
MPEG Video Wizard DVD | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | No | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
OpenShot Video Editor | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Open Movie Editor | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Pinnacle Studio | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
Serif MoviePlus | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Sony Vegas | Yes | Yes | Yes (3rd party) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | Yes (as of Pro 9) |
Ulead MediaStudio Pro | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Ulead VideoStudio Plus | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | No | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Merging Technologies VCube | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Video Edit Magic | ? | ? | No | ? | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
VirtualDub | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Windows Movie Maker | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
720p HDV | 1080i HDV | DVCPRO HD | Uncompressed | IMX | AVCHD | XDCAM HD | HDV | AVC-1 | DNxHD | REDCODE |
Feature set
High Definition support | Non-destructive editing | Full-screen playback | Storyboard mode | Video tracks | Audio tracks / max channels | Linear timecode display | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adobe Premiere Pro | Yes | Yes | Yes, on separate monitor | Yes | 99 | 99 | Yes |
Adobe Premiere Elements | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 99 | 99 | Yes |
Avid Xpress DV | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8 tracks, unlimited layers | 8 tracks, unlimited layers | Yes |
Avid Xpress Pro | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 24 tracks, unlimited layers | 24 tracks, unlimited layers | Yes |
Avidemux | ? | ? | ? | ? | 1 | 2 / ? | ? |
AVS Video Editor | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 1 | 1 | Yes |
Blender (VSE : Video Sequence Editor) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Unlimited | Yes |
Cinelerra | Yes (any resolution) |
Yes | Yes | No | Unlimited | Unlimited / 16 | Yes |
CyberLink PowerDirector | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 10 | 4 | Yes |
Dayang Montage Extreme | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 99 per sequence | 99 per sequence | Yes |
EDIUS Neo | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | unlimited realtime layers | unlimited realtime layers | Yes |
EDIUS | Yes | Yes | Yes, on both PC & TV monitors in realtime | No | unlimited realtime layers | unlimited realtime layers | Yes |
Final Cut Express | Yes | Yes | Yes, with "external video" | Yes, in the Media Browser | 99 per sequence | 99 / 2 per sequence | No |
Final Cut Studio | Yes | Yes | Yes, | Yes, in the Media Browser | 99 per sequence | 99 / 24 per sequence | Yes |
FORscene | Input only | Yes | Yes (podcasts) | Beta test | 2 | 4 | Yes |
iMovie HD | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 1 | 2 | Yes |
PiTiVi | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Unlimited | Unlimited | ? |
Kdenlive | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Unlimited | Yes |
Kino GTK | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
LiVES | Yes (any resolution) |
Yes (multitrack mode) |
Yes (on first, second or all monitors, configurable) |
No | Unlimited | audio per video track + backing audio / 2 channels | Yes |
MainActor | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
MPEG Video Wizard | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 1 | 3 | Yes |
MPEG Video Wizard DVD | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 1 | 3 | Yes |
OpenShot Video Editor | Yes | Yes | No | No | Unlimited | Unlimited | Yes |
Open Movie Editor | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Serif MoviePlus | Yes | Yes | Yes, & on separate monitor or TV | Yes, partial | Unlimited | Unlimited | No |
Sony Vegas | Yes
(any resolution) |
Yes | Yes | No | Unlimited | Unlimited/Max Channel 16 | Yes |
Pinnacle Studio | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | 2 | 4 | Yes |
Ulead MediaStudio Pro | Yes | Yes | Yes, on separate monitor | ? | 99 | ? | Yes |
Ulead VideoStudio Plus | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7 | 9 | Yes |
Merging Technologies VCube | Yes | Yes | Yes, on both PC & TV monitors in realtime | No | Unlimited Tracks and Layers | Unlimited / 16 | Yes |
Video Edit Magic / Express | ? | Yes | Yes | No | 2 / 1 (Express) | 2 / 1 (Express) | No |
VirtualDub | ? | Yes | No | No | 1 | 1 | Yes |
Windows Movie Maker | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | 1 | 2 | Yes |
VideoLab | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Unlimited | Unlimited | Yes |
HD | Non-destructive | Full-screen | Storyboard | Video tracks | Audio tracks | Timecode display |
Output options
DVD | High Definition | Smart phone | Java phone | QuickTime | Windows Media | MPEG-4 | XML/EDL | Print to tape | Web, not hosted | Web, hosted | Podcasting | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adobe Premiere Pro | Yes | Yes (Blu-Ray) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
Adobe Premiere Elements | Yes | Yes (Blu-Ray) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Avid Xpress DV | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
Avid Xpress Pro | Yes | Yes (Blu-Ray) | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
Avidemux | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
AVS Video Editor | Yes | Yes(Blu-Ray) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
Blender (VSE : Video Sequence Editor) | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Cinelerra | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
CyberLink PowerDirector | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Dayang Montage Extreme | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | No |
EDIUS | Yes | Yes | ? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
Final Cut Express | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes (3rd party) | Yes | No (as of 2.5) | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes |
Final Cut Studio | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes (3rd party) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes |
FORscene | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (MPEG 2) | Yes (MPEG 2) | ? | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
iMovie HD | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes (3rd party) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (with .Mac) | Yes |
PiTiVi | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | No | No | ? |
Kdenlive | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
Kino GTK | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
LiVES | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | ? |
MPEG Video Wizard | No | Yes | ? | ? | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes |
MPEG Video Wizard DVD | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes |
OpenShot Video Editor | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Open Movie Editor | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Serif MoviePlus | Yes | ? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
Sony Vegas | Yes | Yes (Blu-Ray) | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
Pinnacle Studio | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Ulead MediaStudio Pro | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
Ulead VideoStudio Plus | Yes | Yes | Yes (via plug-in) | Yes (via plug-in) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (with DropShot) | ? |
Merging Technologies VCube | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | No | ? |
Video Edit Magic | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
VirtualDub | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Windows Movie Maker | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes (WMV only) | No | No |
VideoLab | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes With 3rd part codecs | Yes | Yes With 3rd part codecs | No | Yes | Yes | Yes In Windows Servers | Yes |
DVD | High Definition | Smart phone | Java phone | QuickTime | Windows Media | MPEG-4 | XML/EDL | Print to tape | Web, not hosted | Web, hosted | Podcasting |
Target market
See also
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