What Video Editing Software Do YouTubers Use? (Best For 2024)
YouTube has grown from a platform for casual video uploads to one of the major players in online video, and a search engine in its own right! In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the best video editing software options for YouTube videos, and what you should look for in those editors when it comes to your own videos.
What Video Editor do YouTubers Use?
Role of Video Editing Software for YouTube: Requirements and Features
YouTube video creators rely on video editing software as the main tool to go from an idea to a finished film. You’ll know that creating and editing a video isn’t just about the technical basics like trimming clips and putting them together; it's about storytelling, engagement, and grabbing the attention of your audience.
For YouTubers, the right video editing software isn't just a tool; it's a means to an end, and depending on which you choose, you can save yourself time, increase accessibility, and give yourself access to a bunch of useful tools.
A big factor when you’re asking yourself ‘what video editing software do YouTubers use?’ is the style of video you’re making. Vloggers might prioritise ease of use, quick editing, and basic effects, for example, while more experienced makers of cinematic content might need more advanced editing tools. Identifying what you need will help you choose the right video editor for YouTube videos. Here are some of the most popular options.
What Video Editor do YouTubers Use? Top Choices.
1. Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe Premiere Pro is always going to be at or near the top of lists like this. Adobe has been a trusted name in video creation for ages, and that’s not likely to change any time soon – though with the increasing free options out there, never say never! Premiere Pro offers professional-grade tools needed to create high-quality videos and has a familiar interface if you’ve used other Adobe products. It also integrates with other Adobe Creative Cloud apps, which can make life easier… or more difficult, depending on your setup!
Current price: £19.97 per month (free trial available).
Best Video Editing Software for YouTube: Why Premiere Pro? Quick Look
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Performance: Editing software should be capable of handling high-resolution footage, transitions, and effects smoothly. Premiere Pro has this in spades, as long as your computer has the hardware to keep up!
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Familiar Interface: If you’ve used Adobe products before then even if you’re new to Premiere Pro, it will feel instinctive, which means you can get started much quicker.
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Compatibility: Video editing software should support various video and audio formats and you can pretty much guarantee you’ll get that with Premiere Pro.
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Regular Updates: Software that gets updated regularly means access to the latest features and bug fixes. You pay for that, but it means you can take advantage of time-saving tools like new AI features.
It’s probably worth mentioning Adobe Premiere Rush here too, which is aimed at social video, like for YouTube. It works on mobile devices as a scaled back version of Premiere Pro. It’s free to download but there are in-app purchases.
2. Final Cut Pro
For Mac users, Final Cut Pro is a safe pair of hands. It has a lot of powerful video editing features like a magnetic timeline for easy clip management and decent colour correction tools. One of its newer features is automatic HDR workflows.
Final Cut Pro is available for iPad too.
Current price: £299.99 buy outright (free trial available)
Best Video Editing Software for YouTube: Why FCP? Quick Look
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Compatibility: Mac users might have fewer alternatives built with them in mind, so there’s reassurance in using something like Final Cut Pro in terms of the software's performance and overall efficiency.
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No Subscription: Although almost £300 is a big outlay, it’s nice to have a buy outright alternative in an established, respected editing suite. In just over a year you’d have paid what you would have paid in subscription fees for Premiere Pro, without the ongoing cost.
3. DaVinci Resolve
DaVinci Resolve is known for its colour correction and grading capabilities most of all, but it’s an incredible all-in-one editing and production suite, with tools that you’d have to pay several times over for elsewhere (we’re looking at you Adobe). This means that for professional YouTube editors on a budget, it’s a no-brainer.
Current price: Free for DaVinci Resolve 18, or buy Studio for £245.
Best Video Editing Software for YouTube: Why DaVinci Resolve? Quick Look
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Pro Features: Resolve is a comprehensive, professional suite. If you’re a seasoned film-maker then you’ll have no problem getting to grips with its interface. If you’re brand new, it might be a steep curve.
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Budget: It’s free and most YouTube video makers will find the free version is more than enough. If you do outgrow it, the Studio outright license is still a bargain compared to competitors.
4. HitFilm
HitFilm is for YouTubers who want to put visual effects into their videos in a simpler way. There’s an extensive library of effects and transitions with an easier interface than some of the professional tools.
Current price: Free for basic version and then subscription tiers starting at £7.99/m.
What Video Editor do YouTubers Use? Why HitFilm? Quick Look
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Creative Tools: A wide range of effects, transitions, and templates that are easy to use.
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Affordability: A free version is enticing and the subscription options after that are cheaper than the likes of Premiere Pro.
5. Vegas Pro
Vegas Pro has new AI powered tools like compositing and masking, colour correction and grading tools, plus useful options like noise removal and video stabilisation.
Current price: It’s a complicated pricing structure but works out at about £11.99 per month as a starting price. (Free trial available).
What Video Editor do YouTubers Use? Why Vegas Pro? Quick Look
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Advanced Features: As well as the usual tools you’d expect and the ones we’ve mentioned already, Vegas Pro has a bunch of useful add-ons that you can integrate with the software, so you can build your own tool-kit for your particular YouTube video needs!
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Performance: Smooth performance is important when it comes to editing your YouTube videos, and Vegas can handle high quality video projects. Just check out their specification recommendations to make sure your computer is up to it.
6. Pinnacle Studio
‘Edit freely with exceptional control, precision, and the power of pro-calibre tools to transform your creative vision into cinema-grade productions!’ A bold claim from Pinnacle’s site for such a budget-friendly set of tools. As there’s a free trial though, it’s well worth a go!
Current Price: From £39.99 buy outright for a basic version, to £103.99 for the full bundle. (Free trial available).
Best Video Editing Software for YouTube: Why Pinnacle Studio? Quick Look
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Affordability: A very reasonable buy outright price means that you can get a good piece of video editing software for less than some monthly subs will cost you.
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User-Friendly Interface: Pinnacle has a user-friendly interface with drag-and-drop features, so it’s accessible and easy to use, even for beginners.
7. Camtasia
Camtasia from TechsSmith is for YouTubers who do a lot of screen recording and educational content. Its video editor is easy to use and it has nifty features like automatic caption generating.
Current Price: From £173.98 per year. (Free trial available)
Best Video Editing Software for YouTube: Why Camtasia? Quick Look
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Specialised Needs: Different video content requires different tools, and Camtasia prioritises tools like screen recording and educational material.
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Time-saving, Useful Features: Upload presentations and then capture your screen or camera to make a presentation video. Automatically generating subtitles will save you tons of time, too. Camtasia has lots of great tools for content like this.
Summary: What Video Editing Software do YouTubers Use And How Do I Choose?
Budget
Budget is always a major point when you’re thinking about video editing software. There are a lot of free, premium and freemium options, not to mention further considerations like buy outright or subscription. It’s enough to make your head spin.
The first decision you think about might be whether you would prefer to subscribe to a piece of software of buy one outright.
- Free: Free sounds great but quite often video editing software is labelled as free, when freemium might be more accurate. You can be lured into a trial period before there’s a cost, or there might be a creeping scale for features, which can quickly mount up.
- Subscription: Pros are that you get updates so you’re always accessing the latest features. Cons are that you’re stuck with an ongoing cost with software that you come to rely on.
- Buy outright: This is a big cost up front that you might not have but you do get to own the software outright, so there isn’t an ongoing outlay to consider, but there are usually limited updates so you might find it goes out of date quickly.
Some software options, like DaVinci Resolve’s free version give you professional-grade features without the hefty price tag, but if you’re just starting out then it’s a big learning curve. It might be wise to test the water with some other options by giving their free trials a go. That way, you can see whether you like the feel of the interface and if the tools work well for you before you commit to anything.
Tools are being updated with such speed at the moment that in some ways the availability of regular updates and improvements is essential to make sure the software stays relevant and up to date with the latest YouTube requirements for videos… or at least, those it favours!
Community and Collaboration
This might not be a factor for you but if you work as part of a team for your YouTube video creation, then you might want to check out collaboration tools as part of your video editor. If it has a big user community, that can be beneficial too, as it can be a shortcut for answers on trouble-shooting, access to tutorials and so on.
Future-Proofing
We mentioned this in an earlier point but with the speed that video editing tools are evolving, it’s become crucial to make sure you’ve got access to the latest tools. AI features in particular are a big time and budget saver, they can do things like noise removal, stabilisation, and masking in seconds – plus they can help with accessibility with tasks like adding closed captions (subtitles), and they’re pretty accurate now compared to even a year or so ago. Unfortunately, keeping up with updates usually means subscription options, which is an ongoing cost. The alternative is to buy outright from companies that have ‘upgrade’ licenses, where you can pay another, smaller, fee in the future for an updated version of that, without needing to pay the full whack again.
Envato Elements
If you're a YouTube video creator, than make sure you take a look at Envato Elements where for a monthly subscription, you can find a huge amount of YouTube assets to help you create your videos. There are freebies each month too!
Conclusion
YouTubers have their pick of video editing software for a variety of needs and preferences. We know that selecting the right programme can be tricky, and we hope that you’ve found some good options to try in our round-up, along with some of the important points to consider when you’re making that choice.
About This Page
This page was written by Marie Gardiner. Marie is a writer, author, and photographer. It was edited by Gonzalo Angulo. Gonzalo is an editor, writer and illustrator.
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