A free and open-source video editor
OpenShot Video Editor, developed by OpenShot Studios, LLC, is a free and open-source video editing application featuring an intuitive interface that makes it accessible to beginners while still offering tools suitable for more experienced users. Built around a drag-and-drop workflow, OpenShot combines ease of use with a solid set of editing features, making it a practical option for creating videos with effects, transitions, and animations.
OpenShot supports a wide range of video, audio, and image formats through its integration with the FFmpeg library, ensuring compatibility with most common media types. Getting started is simple: users can drag and drop files directly from their file manager into the project workspace. Once imported, clips can be arranged on the multi-track timeline, which allows for flexible layering of video, audio, images, and effects within a single project.
Streamlined editing workflow
As edits take shape, transitions can be added between overlapping clips to create smoother visual flow, with a large selection of built-in transition effects available. The preview window makes it easy to review progress, offering standard playback controls and timeline navigation for precise editing. When the project is ready for final output, OpenShot provides a variety of export presets for common formats, devices, and platforms, while also offering advanced settings for users who want greater control over output quality and format options.
Editing, effects, and animation tools
OpenShot supports an unlimited number of tracks, allowing users to layer video, audio, images, and overlays without a fixed limit. Tracks can be reordered, locked, and combined using transparency for compositing effects such as watermarks and image overlays. The editor includes a broad selection of built-in digital video effects, including brightness, gamma, hue, greyscale, and chroma key (green screen). These properties can be animated using OpenShot’s curve-based keyframe system, giving users precise control over movement and visual adjustments.
Time-based controls make it easy to create slow motion, fast motion, reversed clips, or custom speed animations. Audio tools include waveform visualization on the timeline, the ability to split audio from video clips, adjust individual audio channels, and even render waveforms as part of a video project.
For titles and animation, OpenShot provides more than 40 vector title templates along with a built-in editor for customizing text, fonts, and colors. It also supports 3D animated titles and effects powered by Blender integration, allowing users to generate and import rendered 3D animations directly into their projects.
Global accessibility and user-friendly design
OpenShot is available in more than 70 languages, making it accessible to a broad international audience. Its interface is designed to be straightforward and easy to navigate, helping new users get started quickly while still offering enough flexibility to handle more detailed projects.
The layout emphasizes clarity and ease of use, supporting everything from quick edits to more layered compositions. While OpenShot includes a variety of video effects and audio tools, its focus remains on providing an approachable editing experience rather than delivering the advanced post-production capabilities found in high-end professional software.
Creative video editing made simple
OpenShot Video Editor offers a well-rounded editing experience suited for beginner and intermediate creators. Its intuitive drag-and-drop workflow, unlimited track support, wide range of built-in video effects, and Blender-powered 3D animated titles provide flexibility for various projects. With its user-friendly design and open-source accessibility, OpenShot remains a practical and capable choice for producing polished videos with transitions and layered compositions.
Pros
- Free and open-source
- Unlimited track support
- Drag-and-drop workflow
- Wide format compatibility
- Cross-platform availability
Cons
- Limited advanced post-production tools