Alternatives to OpenShot
A free video editor with unlimited tracks, keyframe animation, transitions and titles, aimed at people who are not professional editors. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
OpenShot
A free video editor with unlimited tracks, keyframe animation, transitions and titles, aimed at people who are not professional editors.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as OpenShot.
Shotcut
A free cross-platform video editor with a multi-track timeline that edits most formats without importing them first.
Shotcut is also free under GPL-3.0 on Windows, macOS and Linux, editing hundreds of formats natively without importing, though its panel interface takes some arranging.
Kdenlive
KDE’s free video editor, with a multi-track timeline, proxy editing and a large effect set.
Kdenlive is free and open source with multicam editing, proxy clips and automatic backups, and is more capable on demanding projects, but its window is dense for new users.
DaVinci Resolve
Professional editing, colour grading, visual effects and audio post in one program, with a free version that is genuinely capable.
DaVinci Resolve is a free professional editor with colour grading, effects and audio post, but it is closed source, demanding on hardware and has a steep learning curve.
Flowblade
Edit multitrack video projects on Linux.
Flowblade is a free GPL-3.0 multitrack editor with filters and layered compositions, but it runs only on Linux.
Lightworks
Professional video editor with a free tier limited to 720p exports.
Lightworks offers professional editing tools on Windows, Mac and Linux, but it is closed source and its free tier caps exports at 720p.
CapCut
Free video editor with templates, effects, and text overlays for social media.
CapCut is a freemium closed source editor with social media templates on desktop, mobile and web, owned by ByteDance, with some AI tools behind a paid tier.
iMovie
Apple's free video editor for making and sharing movies on Mac, iPhone and iPad.
iMovie is a free beginner editor for Mac, iPhone and iPad with built-in effects, but it is closed source and runs only on Apple devices.
Cinelerra-GG Infinity
A non-linear video editor for Linux with 8K timelines, multicam editing and color grading tools.
Cinelerra-GG Infinity is a free open-source Linux editor with 8K timelines, multicam and colour scopes, distributed mainly as an AppImage.
Also worth comparing
These listings name OpenShot as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Adobe Premiere
Adobe's professional video editing and post-production application for Windows and macOS, formerly Premiere Pro.
OpenShot is a free open source editor aimed at non-professionals, with unlimited tracks and keyframe animation, but stability on long complex timelines has been a recurring complaint.
Adobe Premiere Elements
A consumer video editor from Adobe with guided edits and automated editing tools.
OpenShot is free and open source on Windows, macOS and Linux with unlimited tracks, keyframes and 3D titles, though stability on long timelines is a common complaint.
Clipchamp
Microsoft's video editor that runs in the browser or as a Windows app, with templates and stock media.
OpenShot is a free, open-source desktop editor for Windows, macOS and Linux with unlimited tracks and titles, working offline without cloud services.
Filmora
A consumer video editor from Wondershare with a timeline, effects, captions and AI features.
OpenShot is a free, open-source editor for Windows, macOS and Linux with unlimited tracks and animated titles, though it can be unstable on long timelines.
Movavi Video Editor
A consumer desktop video editor for Windows and macOS with effects, titles and automatic subtitles.
OpenShot is free and open source under GPL-3.0, runs on Linux too, but has reported stability problems on long timelines.
PowerDirector
CyberLink's consumer video editor with AI tools for editing, effects and generated footage.
OpenShot is a free GPL-3.0 editor aimed at non-professionals, with keyframe animation and titles, but no AI editing features.
VEGAS Pro
Long-running professional video editor with strong audio-editing tools.
OpenShot is a free, open source editor for Windows, macOS and Linux aimed at non-professionals, less capable on demanding projects and slower to render than commercial editors.
VideoStudio
A consumer video editor for Windows aimed at turning home footage into finished movies.
OpenShot is a free, open-source editor for Windows, macOS and Linux aimed at non-professionals, though stability on long or complex timelines has been a recurring complaint.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Glaxnimate
Vector animation and motion design application.
Avidemux
A simple video editor for cutting, filtering and encoding, aimed at trimming and converting rather than full editing.
LosslessCut
Trims and joins video and audio without re-encoding, so a cut takes seconds instead of an hour.
Subtitle Edit
Creates, retimes, translates and fixes subtitles, with a waveform so you can see where the speech is.
HandBrake
A video converter that turns files and unprotected discs into MP4, MKV or WebM with presets for common devices.
FFmpeg
The command that converts, cuts, streams and inspects essentially any audio or video file in existence.
