9 Best Free Non Linear Video Editor Software For Windows

Here is a list of best free non-linear video editor software for Windows. In non-linear video editing, you can edit video and other media elements from any point and arrange them over the timeline in any order. The introduction of multi-track timelines and some handy editing tools (slice, split, etc.) provided in these software allow you to perform non-linear video editing. These tools also let a single person create a video project consisting of many media elements (video, images, audio, etc.). For novice users, some software can be a little challenging to use but after a small learning curve, they can easily edit videos using these video editors.

These non-linear video editors can handle video files of various formats like AVI, MP4, MOV, FLV, WMV, and more. Plus, many of these can also handle audio, images, and other media elements of different formats with ease. In these video editors, you can find primarily four main features which are essential to perform non-linear video editing and save output namely Timeline, Editing Tools, Preview Window, and Export. Besides this, you can also find many additional features in these editors like video effects, video filters, color grading, color correction, video conversion, etc. In general, all of these software are very capable non linear video editing software. Go through the list to know more about these software.

My Favorite Non Linear Video Editor Software For Windows:

VSDC Video Editor is my favorite software because it offers all essential features which you need in a non-linear video editor. I also like its ability to edit and export videos of up to 4K resolution.

You can also check out lists of best free Lightweight Video Editor, Mirror Video Editor, and Slow Motion Video Editor software for Windows.

VSDC Video Editor

VSDC Video Editor is a free non-linear video editor software for Windows. It is a powerful yet very easy video editor to operate. In it, you can edit vlogs, game videos, short movies, and other video projects with ease. All the essential non-linear video editing features are present in it like a multi-track timeline, video cutting tools, video slicing tools, video alignment tools, etc. Plus, it is one of the very few free video editors that provide the ability to edit and export 4K H256/HEVC videos. In this editor, you can load and edit videos of various formats like MP4, AVI, MOV, WMV, FLV, 3GP, VOB, and more. Along with the video, you can also load 3D objects, audio, text, and charts into the video.

Main Features:

• Timeline: This software comes with a multi-track timeline editor. Multi-track timeline allows you to add video clips and samples in multiple parallel tracks that makes editing videos easier. Timeline feature also provides all necessary editing tools like slicing, cutting,  splitting, aligning, etc.
• Editor: It is a tab that provides standard editing tools along with options to import more video clips, 3D objects, video effects, etc.
• Live Preview Window: It is another very important feature of this software using which you can view all the changes made by you to the video project in real-time.
• Export Project: After the completion of a video, you can use this feature to export it in standard video formats like AVI, MPG, MOV, MKV, etc. Besides this, it also provides options to export portable devices (iPhone, iPad, PMP, Zune, etc.) compatible videos.

Additional Features:

• Conversion: It is basically an inbuilt video conversion feature through which you can convert videos of one format to some other video format.
• Video Capture: With its help, you can record the entire screen or a selected part of the screen and immediately edit it.
• Voice Recorder: It is a simple voice recording feature that allows you to directly record voice or music.

Final Thoughts:

It is a really great video editor software that offers almost all essential features which you can expect from a good non-linear video editor.

HITFILM EXPRESS

HITFILM EXPRESS is another free non-linear video editor software for Windows. It is a popular video editing software that offers some really advanced tools and features to create and edit different types of video projects like vlogs, movies, tutorials, game videos, etc. The process of making any type of video project through this software is quite similar. The process includes the creation of a project, importing of media files, dropping of media files over the timeline, editing of video using editing tools, and lastly exporting the final video in the supported video format. The interface of this software is not very user-friendly but after some practice, you can will get used to it. As it is a non-linear video editor, thus it allows you to add multiple tracks in the timeline and edit videos over them.

Main Features:

• Timeline: On the timeline of this software, you can easily drop media files (video, audio, and images) and arrange them with the help of your mouse. You can add multiple tracks on the timeline of this software.
• Editing Tools: This software offers some handy editing tools like slide tool, slice tool, slip tool, ripple edit tool, roll edit tool, rate stretch tool, etc.
• Viewer: On the viewer of this software, you can immediately verify the changes made by you to the video project timeline.
• Export: Using it, you can export the video in MP4, MOV, and PNG Image sequence. Options to export Vimeo, Facebook, and Apple devices compatible formats are also available.

Additional Features:

• History: It is a handy feature that allows you to quickly jump to any previous editing step.
• Effects: It is a menu that offers many impressive video effects which you can quickly apply over a video like Blurs, Distort, Grunge, Color Correction, Warp, etc.

Limitations:

In this free version of HITFILM EXPRESS, you will not get some advanced features like 360 degree video filters, import 3D animation, VFX library, etc.

Final Thoughts:

It is an advanced non-linear video editor software through which you can create impressive videos.

Note: You need to first create an FXHOME account in order to get the download link of this software at your registered email address.

Lightworks

Lightworks is yet another free non-linear video editor software for Windows, Linux, and MacOS. Using this software, you can create video projects and edit videos of multiple formats like MP4, AVI, MOV, WMV, FLV, and more. In comparison to some other non-linear video editors, it is easy to use. Its interface is also quite simple and divided in just Four main sections namely LOG, Edit, VFX, and Audio. Besides editing the video, you can also use this software to add color grading and VFX effects to a video.

Main Features:

• Timeline: This software allows you to add multiple tracks on the timeline so that you can edit your videos in a non-linear fashion. You can easily drag and drop videos, audio, and other objects from the Project contents to the timeline. Plus, by using your mouse, you can easily set the position of each video clip over the timeline.
• Editing Tools: A good set of editing tools are present in this editor like Trim In, Slide, Speed (to change segment speed), Delete, etc. All the tools are quite simple to use.
• Preview Window: It is another important feature as it lets you preview all the modifications made by you in the video. Once the video gets fully completed, you can take a final look at the video in this preview window before actually exporting it.
• Export: After completing a video, you can use this feature to export the video in MP4 video format or in the Vimeo compatible video format.

Additional Features:

• Color Correction: You can access this feature from the VFX section through which you can adjust the color profile of the entire or a selected part of the video. This tool is also used in color grading.
• Audio Tools: In the Audio section of this software, you can view a good set of audio tools like crossfade, equalizer, boost treble, low-end booster, positive reduction, etc.

Limitations:

In this free version of Lightworks, you will face some limitations like maximum export resolution of 720p, lack of Stereoscopic output, no timeline rendering, etc.

Final Thoughts:

It is simple to use non-linear video editor software that offers some really good video editing and color grading features.

Easy Video Maker

Easy Video Maker is one more free non-linear video editor software for Windows. As its name implies, it is quite simple to use. In this software, you can edit small videos, vlogs, tutorials, and other video projects. The interface of this software is simple and is divided into three main parts namely Media, Video Previewer, and Timeline. Using its Media section, you can import video, audio, image, and objects of different formats. After importing required elements, you can drop it over the timeline and start editing them using various available video editing tools. During and after video editing, you can use the preview player to view the output video.

Main Features:

• Timeline: On the timeline of this software, you can add as many tracks you want and drop videos, audio files, and other elements on it to perform non-linear video editing. To make the editing task easier, you can use your mouse to change the position of video clips over the timeline.
• Edit: It is a menu that offers many important video editing tools such as cut selected, rotate selected, split selected, enable/disable audio, set position, scale line position, and more.
• Preview Player: This player helps you view the changes made by you to the video timeline.
• Settings: It allows you to set the video parameters before the rendering like frame rate, video format, video quality, video resolution, audio sample rate, etc.
• Render: Once the video gets fully completed, just press the Render button to render and export the video in a selected video format.

Additional Features:

• Video/ Audio Recorder: It lets you record both the audio and video which you can later edit within this software
• Lyric Maker: Through this tool, you can create custom lyrics and save them in a lyric file (.rzlrc).
• Audio Mixer: Using it, you can mix multiple audio samples with the help of multiple audio tracks and save the final audio in the WAV format.

Limitations:

In this free version of this software, you can only export videos of up to 5-minute length. Plus, various advanced features like create 3D videos, make 3D video lyrics, etc., are also locked. To remove all the limitations, you need to purchase the premium version of this software.

Final Thoughts:

It is an easy to use non-linear video editing software, but it also has some significant limitations that may not make it an ideal non-linear video editor for all.

OpenShot

OpenShot is a free open source non-linear video editor software for Windows, Linux, and MacOS. It is another easy to use video editor software. Using this software, you can easily edit simple video projects. However, for advanced video projects, it is not an ideal software. For novice users, it is one of the best software to learn about non-linear video editors. Its simple interface also helps a lot in the editing process as you can easily find stuff you need during the editing.

Main Features:

• Timeline: The timeline editor of this software allows you to add as many tracks as you want. From the Project Files section, you can easily drag and drop video and audio files over to any track of the timeline.
• Editing Tools: This software comes with some important editing tools like slice, cut, separate audio, add marker, rotate, etc.
• Video Preview: It is used to view all the modifications made so that you can take correct decisions for the next editing steps.
• Export Video: This feature helps you set the video properties like video format, video resolution, video quality, etc., and then export the video.

Additional Features:

• Transition and Effects: This feature comes with some inbuilt transition effects which you can add between two clips. Plus, standard video effects are also present in it, which you can apply over the entire video like blur, wave, color shift, chroma key, etc.
• Animated Title: This feature provides inbuilt animated templates over which you can add text to quickly create animated titles.

Final Thoughts:

It is another good non-linear video editor that makes the task of video editing really easy.

VideoPad

VideoPad is the next free non-linear video editor software for Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android. Like all other non-linear video editor software, it also comes with a multi-track timeline editor. According to your requirements, you can also add more tracks in the timeline. Other important tools like standard transformation tools, filters, transitions, preview player, export, etc., are also present in it. I also like its ability to support video files of different formats such as MP4, WMV, AVI, FLC, MOV, etc. It also lets you import audio, images, image sequence, etc., to a video project.

Main Features:

• Timeline:  It is the primary tool of this software over which you can add multiple video clips, sound samples, objects, etc. After dropping the elements, you can arrange them in a particular manner through your mouse to create a seamless video.
• Editing Tools: This software offers various editing tools which are really important for video editing like split selected tracks, split all tracks, reverse clips, unlink from audio, etc.
• Sequence Preview: In it, you can preview the video during and after completing the video editing, to get the idea about how the final video will look.
• Export: This feature lets you define the output video properties like output video format, video resolution, aspect ratio, frame rate, etc. After that, you can start the export process. This Export feature also allows you to export videos compatible with online platforms like Vimeo, Flickr, OneDrive, etc.

Additional Features:

• Effects: It is a menu in which you can find many video effects like color adjust, motion, saturation, temperature, etc.
• Clips: Using it, you can add text and blank slides in your videos.
• Record: It lets you record your screen video along with the audio.

Limitations:

This software is only free for non-commercial use. To use it commercially, you need to purchase the paid version of this software.

Final Thoughts:

It is another decent non-linear video editor through which you can edit videos quite easily.

Shotcut

Shotcut is another free open source non-linear video editor software for Windows, MacOS, and Linux. Using this software, you can edit and export videos of up to 4K resolution. Plus, it allows you to include video, audio, and images of popular formats. In it, you can also find many standard and advanced video editing tools which allow you to create simple as well as complex videos. Overall, it is a very capable non-linear video editor through which you can create and edit various different types of video projects.

Main Features:

• Timeline: The timeline tool of this software is similar to the timeline tools of other non-linear video editor software where you can add as many tracks you want. In each track, you can add multiple video clips and other elements to create a video in the non-linear fashion.
• Editing Tools: In this editor, you can find many useful video editing tools such as split at playhead, toggle snapping, detach audio, ripple trim and drop, etc.
• Preview Player: In it, you can preview your videos after making small or major changes to your project.
• Export: Once the video gets fully completed, you can use it to export in various formats like WebM, MPEG, H.264, etc.

Additional Features:

• Filters: This software offers many inbuilt video filters which you can apply over a video like contrast, brightness, fade in, white balance, etc.
• History: It is a handy feature that allows you to view all your previous changes and also lets you jump to any previous step.

Final Thoughts:

This non-linear video editor offers all essential tools to create different types of video projects, but its cluttered interface makes it slightly difficult to find the right tools.

DaVinci Resolve

DaVinci Resolve is another advanced non-linear video editor software for Windows, Linux, and MacOS. It is a feature-rich non-linear video editing software which is used by professional video editors. In this editor, you can find all the main editing features along with many additional features. Despite having a lot of tools and features, the interface of this software is quite clean and easy to understand.

Main Features:

• Timeline: This software offers a class-leading dual timeline that allows you to quickly navigate between different parts of the timeline without wasting time in scrolling and zooming. Just like any other timeline tool, you can also drop media files over it and arrange them.
• Editing Tools: In this software, you can find almost all the required editing tools which you may require because it offers a lot of them. Some of the editing tools provided by this software are freeze frame, multicam cut, trim, insert, replace, overwrite, mark clip, and more.
• Dual Preview Windows: The presence of two preview windows allow you to preview the whole timeline in one window and a particular video sample in another window.
• Export: After making a video, use this feature to set the video properties and to export it in the desired video format.

Additional Features:

• Fusion: This tool allows you to import scenes and projects of other software in the form of FBX, SVG, PSD, etc. After importing projects, you can directly add them to your timeline just like any other media file.
• Color: It is a menu that offers a set of color-related features through which you can manually color grade a video and change the color profile of the project.
• Auto Color Balance: It is an advanced tool that automatically assesses the current project and according to the assessment, it changes the color profile or color balance of the project.

Limitations:

In this free version of this software, some image processing features and image filters are locked. To unlock all of its features, you need to purchase the premium version of this video editor.

Final Thoughts:

It is a free and feature-rich non linear video editor software through which you can create any type of video project.

Vidiot

Vidiot is a free open source non-linear video editor software for Windows. It is another decent software, but its interface is quite dated. Plus, it does not have any additional or advanced features like other similar software. Still, you can use it to make basic video projects.

Main Features:

• Timeline: The timeline of this software allows you to add multiple video and audio tracks on which you can drop video and audio clips to perform the non-linear video editing.
• Editing Tools: This software provides some really good editing tools like crop, rotation, scaling, position, fade in, and more.
• Preview Player: Using it, you can quickly view all changes made by you on a video.
• Render: After the completion of a video, you can use this feature to first set the video properties (video codec, bitrate, Gop size, etc.) and then render or export the video.

Final Thoughts:

It is not an ideal non-linear video editing software, but it provides all the essential features to get the job done. It may not have advanced features, but it is quite flexible with audio and video files of different formats.