How to Edit YouTube Videos: 5 Free Video Editing Tools

YouTube is a powerful platform for creators and businesses to showcase their talents and share their content worldwide.

However, creating engaging and high-quality videos can be challenging. That’s where video editing comes in ─ the process of rearranging video shots to create a new and better work.

In this blog post, we will share five free video editing tools to create professional-looking videos for your YouTube channel and other social media platforms, together with its features.

So, let’s dive in and discover the best free video editing tools for YouTube!

How To Edit YouTube Videos Using YouTube Video Editor

Let’s get straight to the point!

Go to YouTube Studio and click Content, as seen in the picture below.

Select your file, upload your video and then follow the steps below.

1. Start by clicking the video thumbnail, then click Edit in the left sidebar. 
2. Select the blue Get Started button.
3. Click Trim. Then, a timeline will appear at the bottom of the screen. (To trim a section from the middle of the video, move the starting point to where you want to trim. Click “Trim” and select “Share” at the bottom of the screen.)
4. Drag the bars to the start and end points of your video. 
5. Next, click Preview at the bottom of the screen to view your trimmed video. 
6. Click Save to save your changes.

If you want to know how to blur a video with a YouTube video editor, then follow the steps below:

1. Click Blur in your video editor, 
2. You can choose to Face Blur (automatically detects faces and lets you choose which ones to blur) or Custom Blur.
3. Select Custom Blur in the preview window to adjust the blur box’s position, timing, and size.
4. Click Save when editing.

Now, let’s look at how to add music or sound effects to your video.

YouTube contains a list of free non-copyrighted songs and sound effects. You can search by title, genre, mood, artist name, or track length.

1. Click on the edit screen and select Audio.

Tracks are displayed next to the video timeline. From there, you can adjust the Audio mix levels and drag the beginning and end of the song to where you want it.

2. To select a track, hover over it and click Add.

The Best Free YouTube Video Editing Tools

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced video creator, these tools are easy to use and offer a range of features to enhance your videos. Take a look at 5 tools we listed below:

Publer (Canva and VistaCreate)

Publer has an integration with VistaCreate and Canva that easily lets you create marketing content for your social media platforms.

You will have some of the benefits of a VistaCreate (Crello) Pro account only inside Publer, without the need to have a Pro Subscription.

It is so easy to design illustrations, videos, and GIFs , just as explained in the images below:

Key features:

• Keep your content organized in one place.
• Easy storage of designs.
• Filtering and adding notes to each piece of media.
• Professional photo and video templates library.
• Branded options to add colors and text fonts, sound effects.
• Make use of unique elements.

Start using Publer today and give your marketing team some peace of mind!

Read More: How to Schedule YouTube Videos: A Beginner’s Guide

Imovie

The popular iMovie software comes with MacOS. Like many native Apple applications, iMovie is simple and uses a drag-and-drop interface to move files from your drive to your editor. Easily create impactful videos to boost your YouTube marketing efforts.

A big advantage of iMovie is that the files are stored in Apple’s cloud. This means that you can work on any of your Apple devices, i.e. your iPhone, your iPad or your Mac. Plus, iMovie is constantly updated, so you can look forward to new features and improvements.

Key features:

• Stylish and modern video filters for specific movie genres like westerns and sci-fi.
• 4K resolution that allows users to create cinematic-quality videos.
• Save to the cloud to work on the same project from your iPad, iPhone, or Mac.
• Studio-quality title animations for professional-looking videos.
• Use integrated audio and visual editing with built-in music, and sound effects. 
• Speed control to speed up action scenes and slow down highlights.

Premiere Pro

Adobe’s video editing software works on Windows and Mac and offers professional features. Premiere Pro offers a free trial version valid for 7 days.

Key features:

• Effect presets.
• Apply and remove effects.
• Automatic video reframing for various social media channels.
• Color correction effects.
• Change clip length and speed.

Movie Maker Online

Movie Maker Online is an affordable tool for those who want to create videos, but it has some drawbacks. The tool is ad-supported, so you must navigate through ads to edit your videos.

Movie Maker Online gives you all the basics to create free videos. You can also access free music, videos, and photos.

Key features:

• Free browser-based video editor.
• Perfect for quickly trimming, joining and adjusting videos.
• Royalty-free music, photos and sound effects.
• Built-in support. 

Vimeo Create 

Vimeo is a popular video software solution with over 200 million users. An all-in-one solution tool, so you can manage, and deliver all your videos from one place, streamlining your workflow. 

 Key features:

• Choose from over 1,000 templates.
• Face detection, filters, effects, auto crop.
• Ability to share videos across marketing channels.
• Unlimited high-quality stock images with iStock integration.
• Professional automatic editing features.

Key Takeaways 

Editing YouTube videos doesn’t have to be a challenging task, and it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. With the free video editing tools we have shared in this blog post, you can create professional-looking videos that engage with your audience.

Some key takeaways to keep in mind:

• Choose a video editing tool that suits your skill level and requirements.
• Use transitions and effects to add a professional touch to your videos.
• Take advantage of the features offered by the tool to enhance your videos.
• Use quality music and sound effects to “boost” the overall experience.

Go ahead and experiment with these tools, and start creating content your viewers will like to watch!