Video Editors

17 Best Free and Open Source Linux Video Editors

Video editing is the process of editing motion video footage. In the new age of personal video, video editing is becoming a central function of the desktop, with the popularity of video editing software ever increasing.

Any self-respecting operating system that has ambitions on becoming the dominant force on the desktop therefore needs to have a good selection of video editing software. Video sharing websites such as YouTube are now enormously popular with hundreds of thousands of new videos uploaded every day.

In the past, video editing in Linux significantly lagged behind other popular operating system. While there was a good range of software, the vast majority offered limited functionality. However, the situation dramatically improved, in part because of development on multimedia frameworks (such as GStreamer and MLT). Furthermore, the versatility of Linux video editors has improved markedly. Linux now represents an excellent platform for editing video.

Our recommendations are captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion here.

Ratings chart

Our ratings reflect our opinion of the software as a video editor. Therefore the rating doesn’t reflect the capabilities of software that offers other functionality.

Click the links in the table below to learn more about each editor.

Video Editors
OpenShotNon-linear editor built with Python and Qt
ShotcutVery powerful video editor
KdenliveNon-linear video editor for KDE
Blender3D content creation suite targeted at media professionals and artists
PiTiViNon-linear audio/video editor using GStreamer
EditlyTool and framework for declarative NLE using Node.js and ffmpeg
LosslessCutSwiss army knife of lossless video/audio editing
LiVESVideo Editing System designed to be simple to use, yet powerful
FlowbladeMultitrack non-linear video editor
AvidemuxDesigned for simple cutting, filtering and encoding tasks
Cinelerra3 main functions: capturing, compositing, and editing audio/video
VidCutterSimple media cutter and joiner
VimixMixing and blending of movie clips and computer generated graphics
Video TrimmerQuickly trim videos
Auto-EditorAutomatically edit video and audio
OliveNon-linear video editor
FootageSimple video editing tool

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