Top 14 Video Editing Apps for 2023

Video editing has become an essential skill in our digital age.

Whether you’re a wannabe Spielberg, a TikTok sensation, or just a dude with a camera, video editing apps have become the go-to for transforming basic footage into masterpieces. With so many options available at our fingertips, it can be overwhelming to choose the right video editing app that suits your needs.

The nature of your footage, your desired editing style, and your available hardware resources play a crucial role in determining the ideal app that aligns with your creative vision. By making an informed decision and choosing the right video editing app, you can perfect your workflow, maximize efficiency, and produce visually stunning videos.

1. Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe Premiere Pro is a professional video editing software that provides advanced tools for high-quality video editing. Its features include support for a wide range of video and audio formats, sophisticated color grading tools, and flexible editing options that allow you to work efficiently.

Adobe Premiere Pro also offers reliable integration with other Adobe products and third-party software, making it easy to transfer projects across applications.

What users like best:

“Premiere not only is the gold standard for nonlinear video editing software (NLE), but Adobe also manages to add significant improvements and features all the time. Personally, I’ve benefited from the auto-captioning feature they added in a year or so back, and now with the addition of text-based editing, you’ll find your editing time cut down significantly.”

– Adobe Premiere Pro Review, Geoffrey H.

What users dislike:

“Premiere Pro continues to remain a bit harder to master even after years. I believe the user interface should be easier for new beginners as they usually have a hard time getting a grasp of Premiere Pro in the beginning.”

– Adobe Premiere Pro Review, Vivek T.

2. Camtasia

Camtasia is a video editing software used for screen recording, video editing, and sharing. Screen recording, audio recording, importing and exporting of several different file formats, and editing tools make Camtasia stand out among other editing platforms. It’s available for both Windows and Mac operating systems.

What users like best:

“Camtasia was recommended to me by a colleague years ago as affordable and easy to use. In the years since, I have tried other software to see what I may have been missing, and frankly, this isn’t missing anything! I appreciate that a novice can come in and quickly get to work, but that it has tons of features like cursor highlights and pre-built templates that a more experienced person can use. The layout is fairly intuitive once you get used to it.

– Camtasia Review, Heather T.

What users dislike:

“As someone who uses Camtasia regularly, the beginner’s learning curve might seem daunting. It can take some time to get used to all the different features and functions. The downside is that it can be a bit resource-intensive and slow down your computer, especially if you’re working with large files or editing for long periods.”

– Camtasia Review, Peter W.

3. Synthesia

Synthesia specializes in AI-powered video synthesis to create realistic and customizable videos through automated processes. Synthesia can generate professional-looking videos in multiple languages with options for personalization and customization. It’s easy to navigate the software and make necessary adjustments even if they don’t have prior video editing knowledge.

What users like best:

“The best aspects of Synthesia are its user-friendly interface and powerful AI-driven capabilities. It allows users to create professional-looking videos without extensive technical or creative skills. Its text-to-speech functionality and customizable templates significantly simplify the video-making process, offering content creation flexibility and creativity.”

– Synthesia Review, Anis M.

What users dislike:

“Bugs appear in the studio each time an update happens, or a feature is completely removed. An example of this recently was the inability to view and copy the entire script of a video, which was a blow for us, because we’re trying to easily procure these scripts to translate and create native-language videos for a growing global workforce.”

– Synthesia Review, Greg G.

4. Adobe Creative Cloud Express

Adobe Creative Cloud Express is a comprehensive suite of creative software applications and services developed by Adobe Systems. It provides a range of powerful tools that cater to creative needs, such as graphic design, photography, video editing, and web development.

The Creative Cloud suite comes with popular applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Dreamweaver.

What users like best:

“I love that Adobe Creative Cloud Express enables my organization to create and share high-quality, professional-level graphics, videos, and more. We use this software regularly and often invite team members to contribute to Pages, so we can all work in one place. The ability to share the pages we create as newsletters has been a game-changer for our small team!”

– Adobe Creative Cloud Express Review, Hayley W.

What users dislike:

“The app could have been a little more simplified. Some features need a good amount of exploration and understanding to use. The watermark is irritating, and we should have the option to remove it without having to pay for a hefty subscription.”

– Adobe Creative Cloud Express Review, Muzaffar S.

5. Renderforest

Renderforest provides users with cloud-based solutions for a variety of video and animation production needs, including explainer videos and product promotions. Renderforest aims to make it easy for users to create video content without the need for professional editing or animation skills. 

What users like best:

“Creating videos with Renderforest is a no-brainer. We just need to copy and paste our script, and it generates a video automatically. We do not need any experience with it, and that’s the best thing about it.

– Renderforest Review, Saumya G.

What users dislike:

“Some essential functionalities need to be added to the platform. Template rigidity bothers me the most. Most templates aren’t customizable. Making templates work was frustrating. Renderforest’s animation maker also had troubles.”

– Renderforest Review, Lokeshkumar D.

6. Simplified

Simplified specializes in providing easy-to-use tools for video editing. Its key features include trimming and cutting video clips, merging multiple clips together, and adjusting the order of the clips to create a seamless final product. The software also supports adding text and captions to videos so users can enhance their storytelling and convey important messages.

What users like best:

“They provide top-notch video editing and animation tools with a simple user interface and a wide range of functionality. Also, when assistance is required, their customer support service responds quickly and helpfully, which is essential for content creators working under pressure or requiring direction.”

– Simplified Review, Imran N.

What users dislike:

“The price is a little steep for a small business owner just starting and looking to build their business using artificial intelligence. I’d like to see a lower price with limited seats.”

– Simplified Review, Tia D.

7. Storykit

Storykit users can create engaging and professional-looking videos for their marketing and communication needs. Designed with simplicity and efficiency in mind, Storykit lets individuals and businesses produce compelling visual content without requiring extensive expertise. The software’s intuitive drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to arrange and sequence visuals, ensuring a smooth flow and narrative structure. 

What users like best:

“With Storykit, I can create a video in an hour that is good enough to share on all my company’s channels. There may be more sophisticated and flexible tools out there, but I’ve not found anything that can compete with Storykit’s simplicity and ease of use. Training up a new member of staff takes a matter of hours, not days. I also like how Storykit onboards my company’s fonts and brand colours, giving everything a consistent feel.”

– Storykit Review, George M.

What users dislike:

“Generating video previews takes a lot of time. Sometimes I just want to try out and test a few changes, and it’s a real headache to generate a preview every time. I would love and prefer if I didn’t have to generate a preview every time and could just press play.”

– Storykit Review, Sara D.

8. Wave.video

Wave.video offers a wide range of video templates, stock footage, and audio that users can edit to create their videos. They can also upload their work to the platform and use it within the editing interface. Wave.video’s drag-and-drop interface lets users customize the visuals of their video content by making adjustments to its colors, text, and sound. 

What users like best:

“Wave is an amazing text-to-video platform that I use almost every single day now. I can start from a blank canvas and go to a fully produced video in just a matter of minutes,  which is honestly, quite wow. It’s super convenient to have all the necessary creation and editing tools all in one platform so that I don’t have to export from one software, upload it over cloud? and use it on something else – saves a lot of time.”

– Wave.video Review, Jyotbir L.

What users dislike:

“I think its video editing interface still needs improvement because it is not as intuitive as I would expect. What I primarily miss is the lack of separate tracks for everything.”

– Wave.video Review, Laszlo C.

9. Kapwing

Kapwing is a cloud-based online video editor that allows users to create and edit videos online. Designed for a range of use cases, from social media creations and educational videos to marketing and presentations, Kapwing comes with tools and features that help users create quickly. Users can upload their footage or use stock footage found on Kapwing to begin their video creation. 

What users like best:

“Kapwing is very easy to use and easy to understand. I’ve used more than five video editing tools, and Kapwing is the easiest and has the clearest timeline.”

– Kapwing Review, Steve H.

What users dislike:

“I wouldn’t say I liked its video editing interface. It’s not professional and a little bit difficult to use.”

– Kapwing Review, Muhammad S.

10. Typito

Typito helps users make great videos without any professional experience. With Typito, users can make promotional videos, explainer videos, animated videos, and text animations that are in high demand across social media platforms.

What users like best:

“Typito is easy to use, with a simple interface and easy-to-follow steps that make uploading and editing videos quick and fun. There are plenty of text options to choose from, and the social media banners are great. This is the fastest I have ever been able to finish a marketing video. As an amateur just looking to share content and information in a digestible way, this will be a game changer in being able to use video content for my business.”

– Typito Review, Aviva S.

What users dislike:

“Handling the videos on the timeline can be a bit tricky, especially if they are longer – it’s difficult to move them around. It would be easier as well if videos had names because if they are similar. It’s difficult to tell which is which.”

– Typito Review, Tajana T.

11. Premiere Elements

Premiere Elements provides beginner-level video editing tools for people who want to produce professional-looking videos. It offers a variety of templates and filters that allow users to create videos with cinematic effects without needing experience in video editing.

One key component of Premiere Elements is its motion graphic templates. These templates enable users to customize video transitions, text, and graphics. 

What users like best:

“Premiere Elements offers most of the main features that I look for when editing video. When I want to create simple videos, I like to stick to the basic timeline panel with only a few effects options which Premiere Elements does a good job at highlighting. Adobe Premiere Elements also comes with a solid library of video transitions that we can easily drag to the ends of our video clips to generate instantly smooth transition effects.”

– Premiere Elements Review, Aaron S.

What users dislike:

“The older versions of the software seem to have some limitations on the ability and ease of formatting video for various social media platforms. Have had some issues in the past with software freezing during a project and losing some of the work.”

– Premiere Elements Review, Brett G.

12. PowerDirector

PowerDirector is a video-editing software designed for Windows and Mac users. It features an intuitive interface that makes it easy for videographers to enjoy advanced video editing options while keeping its usability to a simple level. The software has several features, including customizable design elements, transitions, text, audio mixing, and special effects. 

What users like best:

“What I like best and the reason I ended up going with Power Director is that it is a physical software I could purchase one time and load onto my computer – not a recurring subscription. It is a very cost-effective solution for basic photo and video editing. Though I have not reached out to the company directly for support, there are a lot of YouTube videos out there from others who can help teach you new ways to use the service.”

– PowerDirector Review, Amy S.

What users dislike:

“PowerDirector takes a lot of time for video rendering and processing. If you want to add your personal watermark to the video, then you can’t do it because it has an option only even though you have the premium of the app.

– PowerDirector Review, Rahul R.

13. ScreenFlow

ScreenFlow lets users create high-quality video tutorials and recordings on their MacBooks. It’s primarily used by educators and professionals focused on creating instructional or tutorial content so it offers a suite of features such as video recording, video editing, and sharing tools. ScreenFlow’s core feature set allows users to record their desktop, microphone, and webcam with unmatched clarity and precision.

What users like best:

“Screenflow is the easiest video editor I’ve ever used. Initially, I only used it to capture screen recordings and publish videos of software demonstrations/training. But I eventually began using it for creating any video shorts – even those that used my computer camera. The timeline is simple to understand. Editing is very easy. And it processes pretty fast.”

– ScreenFlow Review, Jonathan D.

What users dislike:

“It’d be great if it was available for other operating systems besides Mac. I’m sure this is a huge undertaking to develop a cross-platform app, but it has really locked me into buying a new Macbook instead of considering other options.”

– ScreenFlow Review, Dave W.

14. Animoto

Animoto, a cloud-based video creation and editing tool, makes it easy to create professional-looking videos with its collection of templates, backgrounds, text, and music. It offers templates suitable for a range of video projects like social media advertisements, presentations, and personal use. 

What users like best:

“Animoto is an innovative and powerful software solution designed to help you showcase photos and videos in an impactful way. With this user-friendly software, I can easily create amazing visual content for both personal projects and professional advertisements. I have a large variety of dynamic templates at our disposal that will make projects look really impressive.”

– Animoto Review, Vipin K.

What users dislike:

“Despite its power, the software offers some limitations. For example, you can only edit to a certain degree, which creates a barrier to creativity for the user. Templates are limited. Additionally, its premium plan is a bit pricey for small-to-midsize businesses.”

– Animoto Review, Rekha S.

Unleash your inner filmmaker

From beginner-friendly applications with intuitive interfaces to professional-grade software with advanced features, the video editing app you need is out there. The wide range of options guarantees a perfect fit for every editing need, empowering users to unleash their imagination and produce visually stunning videos that captivate audiences. 

The power of video editing software allows you to bring your ideas to life and make a lasting impact in the world of visual storytelling. Embrace the possibilities, experiment with different tools, and let your creativity soar as you craft compelling videos that leave a lasting impression.

Once you start your creative journey, it’s natural to upgrade your visuals along the way. Explore the potential of video effects for enhancing your on-screen masterpiece.