Comparison of video editing software
This is a comparison of non-linear video editing software applications. See also a more complete list of video editing software.
General information
This table gives basic general information about the different editors:
| Program | Developer | Year of first release | Year of latest release | Latest version | List price (USD) | License |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Premiere/Premiere Pro | Adobe Systems | 1991 | 2008 | CS4 | $799 | Proprietary |
| Adobe Premiere Elements | Adobe Systems | 2004 | 2008 | 7.0 | $100 | Proprietary |
| Avid Free DV | Avid | ? | ? | 1.8 | Free (No Longer Available) | Proprietary |
| Avid Xpress DV | Avid | 2000 | ? | 4.8 | No longer Available | Proprietary |
| Avid Xpress Pro Studio HD | Avid | 2003 | ? | 5.8 | $1695 | Proprietary |
| Avid Liquid | Avid | 2003 | ? | 7.2 | $999 | Proprietary |
| Avid Media Composer | Avid | 1989 | 2008 | 3.1.1 | $2495 | Proprietary |
| Avidemux | 2009 | 2.44 | Free | GPL | ||
| Cinelerra | Heroine Virtual | 2002 | 2008 | 4.0 | Free | GPL |
| Dayang Montage Extreme | Dayang | 2007 | 2009 | 1.2 | $898 | Proprietary |
| EditDV/Cinestream | Radius | 1997 | 2002 | 3.0 | $999 | Proprietary |
| Edius | Grass Valley Canopus | 2002 | 2008 | 5.0 | $799 | Proprietary |
| Final Cut Express | Apple | 2003 | 2007 | 4.0.1 | $199 | Proprietary |
| Final Cut Pro/Studio | Apple | 1999 | 2007 | 6 | $1299 | Proprietary |
| Avid Free DV | Avid Technology | 2001 | 2008 | 7 | $69.95, $119.95 | Proprietary |
| CyberLink PowerDirector [1] | Cyberlink | 2008 | 7 | $69.95, $119.95 | Proprietary | |
| FORscene | Forbidden Technologies | 2004 | ? | 15 April 2007 | from $2/hour | Proprietary |
| iMovie | Apple | 1999 | 2009 | 8.0.1 | $79 (as part of the iLife suite); free on new Macs | Proprietary |
| PiTiVi | Open Source Community | 2004 | 2009 | 0.13 | Free | LGPL |
| Kdenlive | Open Source Community | 2002 | 2009 | 0.7.2.1 | Free | GPL |
| Kino | Open Source Community | 2000 | 2008 | 1.3.0 | Free | GPL |
| LiVES | Salsaman | 2002 | 2009 | 0.9.9.7 | Free | GPL |
| MainActor | MainConcept | 2004 | 2007 | 5.5 | $199 (No longer available) | Proprietary |
| Media 100 | Media 100 (now part of Boris FX) | 2006 | ? | 11.6.3 | $1495.00 | Proprietary |
| Mpeg Video Wizard | Womble Multimedia | 2004 | 2008 | December 2008 | $49.00 | Proprietary |
| Mpeg Video Wizard DVD | Womble Multimedia | 2006 | 2008 | 4.0.4.112 | $69.00 | Proprietary |
| Pinnacle Studio MediaSuite | Pinnacle Systems (now part of Avid) | 2000 | 2007 | 11 | $129.99 | Proprietary |
| Pinnacle Studio | Pinnacle Systems | 2007 | 2008 | 12.1 | $129.99 | Proprietary |
| Serif MoviePlus | Serif (Europe) Ltd. | 2003 | 2008 | X3 (6.0.1) | $79.99 | Proprietary |
| Sony Vegas | Sony Media Software | ? | 2007 | 8.0c | $449.96 | Proprietary |
| Ulead MediaStudio Pro | Ulead Systems (now part of Corel Corporation) | ? | ? | 8.1 | $399.99 | Proprietary |
| Ulead VideoStudio Plus | Ulead Systems (now part of Corel Corporation) | 2000 | 2007 | 11 | $99.99 | Proprietary |
| VideoThang TM | VideoThang LLC | 2007 | 2008 | 2.0.1 | Free | Proprietary |
| VirtualDub | Avery Lee | 2000 | 2009 | 1.8.8 | Free | GPL |
| VirtualDubMod | 2002 | 2006 | 1.5.10.2 b2542 | Free | GPL | |
| Windows Movie Maker | Microsoft | 2000 | ? | 6.0.6000.16386 | Bundled with Windows | Proprietary |
| MAGIX Movie Edit Pro | MAGIX | 2000 | 2009 | 15 | 60$ | Proprietary |
System requirements
This table lists the operating systems that different editors can run on without emulation, as well as other system requirements. Note that minimum system requirements are listed; some features (like High Definition support) may be unavailable with these specifications.
| Windows | Mac OS X | *nix | Processor | RAM | HDD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Premiere Pro | Yes | Yes (as of CS3) | No | 1.4 GHz, SSE2 compatible processor | 1 GB / 2 GB when editing HD | 4 GB |
| Adobe Premiere Elements | Yes | No | No | SSE2 compatible processor | 512 MB | 4.5 GB |
| Avid Free DV | Yes | Yes | No | 933 MHz Pentium, 667 MHz PPC | 1 GB | ? |
| Avid Xpress DV | Yes | Yes | No | 933 MHz Pentium, 667 MHz PPC | 1 GB | 20 GB |
| Avid Xpress Pro HD | Yes | Yes | No | Pentium 4, PowerMac G5 | 1 GB | 20 GB |
| Avid Liquid | Yes | No | No | Pentium 4 or higher | 1 GB | 20 GB |
| Avid Media Composer | Yes | Yes | No | Pentium 4 or higher | 2 GB | 20 GB |
| Avidemux | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
| Cinelerra | No | Yes | Yes | 500 MHz | 256 MB | ? |
| Dayang Montage Extreme | Yes | No | No | Pentium 4 or higher | 1 GB | 20 GB |
| EDIUS | Yes | No | No | Pentium 4 3.0 GHz+ | 1 GB | 800 MB |
| Final Cut Express | No | Yes | No | 500 MHz | 384 MB | 1 GB |
| Final Cut Studio | No | Yes | No | 1.25 GHz G4, Intel Core Duo or Xeon | 1 GB | 4 GB Apps |
| FORscene | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | 256 MB | Any |
| iMovie HD | No | Yes | No | PPC G4 or faster, Intel based Macs | 256 MB | 10 GB |
| LiVES | No | Yes | Yes | 800 MHz | 128 MB | 10 GB |
| Kdenlive | No | No | Yes | 600 MHz | 256 MB | 1 GB |
| PiTiVi | No | No | Yes | ? | ? | 2 MB |
| Kino GTK | No | No | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
| MainActor | Yes | No | Yes | 700 MHz | 128 MB | ? |
| MPEG Video Wizard | Yes | No | No | 233 MHz | 32 MB | 20 MB |
| MPEG Video Wizard DVD | Yes | No | No | 233 MHz | 32 MB | 20 MB |
| Pinnacle Studio MediaSuite | Yes | No | No | 1.4 GHz | 512 MB | 1.7 GB |
| Pinnacle VideoSpin | Yes | No | No | 1.4 GHz | 512 MB | 150 MB |
| Serif MoviePlus | Yes | No | No | Pentium II or AMD Athlon XP | 128 MB | 149 MB |
| Sony Vegas | Yes | No | No | 1.0 GHz | 1.0 GB | 200 MB |
| Ulead MediaStudio Pro | Yes | No | No | 800 MHz | 256 MB | 800 MB |
| Ulead VideoStudio Plus | Yes | No | No | Pentium 4 or higher, SSE2 when editing HD | 256 MB | 1 GB |
| Merging Technologies VCube | Yes | No | No | Pentium 4 or higher | 512 MB | 800 MB |
| VideoThang TM | Yes | No | No | Pentium 4 or higher | 512 MB | 300 MB |
| Video Edit Magic / Express | Yes | No | No | 500 MHz or higher | 256 MB | 200 MB |
| VirtualDub | Yes | No | No | ? | ? | ? |
| Windows Movie Maker | Yes | No | No | 1 GHz for best performance | 128 MB | 2 GB |
| Windows | Mac OS X | Unix | Processor | RAM | HDD |
"Unix" includes the similar Linux, BSD and Unix-like operating systems.
High definition import
The table below indicates the ability of each program to import various High Definition video formats for editing.
| 720p HDV | 1080i HDV | DVCPRO HD | Uncompressed HD | IMX | AVCHD | XDCAM HD | HDV | AVC-1 | DNxHD | REDCODE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Premiere Pro | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (3rd party) | Yes (As of CS4, third party in CS3) | Yes (As of CS3) | Yes | ? | ? | Yes (3rd party) |
| Adobe Premiere Elements | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
| Avid Media Composer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Avid Xpress DV | No | No | No | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | No | No |
| Avid Xpress Pro | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | Yes | ? |
| Avid Liquid | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | No | No |
| Avidemux | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Cinelerra | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Dayang Montage Extreme | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| EDIUS Neo | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| EDIUS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? |
| Final Cut Express | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Final Cut Studio | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes |
| FORscene | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| iMovie HD | Yes | Yes | Yes (3rd party) | No | No | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| LiVES | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| PiTiVi | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Kdenlive | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Kino GTK | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| MainActor | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| MPEG Video Wizard | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | No | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
| MPEG Video Wizard DVD | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | No | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
| Pinnacle Studio | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
| PowerDirector | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Serif MoviePlus | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Sony Vegas | Yes | Yes | Yes (3rd party) | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | ? | Yes (as of Pro 9) |
| Ulead MediaStudio Pro | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Ulead VideoStudio Plus | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | No | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Merging Technologies VCube | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Video Edit Magic | ? | ? | No | ? | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| VirtualDub | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Windows Movie Maker | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
| 720p HDV | 1080i HDV | DVCPRO HD | Uncompressed | IMX | AVCHD | XDCAM HD | HDV | AVC-1 | DNxHD | REDCODE |
Feature set
| High Definition support | Non-destructive editing | Full-screen playback | Storyboard mode | Video tracks | Audio tracks / max channels | Timecode display | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Premiere Pro | Yes | Yes | Yes, on separate monitor | Yes | 99 | 99 | Yes |
| Adobe Premiere Elements | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 99 | 99 | Yes |
| Avid Xpress DV | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8 tracks, unlimited layers | 8 tracks, unlimited layers | Yes |
| Avid Xpress Pro | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 24 tracks, unlimited layers | 24 tracks, unlimited layers | Yes |
| Avidemux | ? | ? | ? | ? | 1 | 2 / ? | ? |
| Cinelerra | Yes (any resolution) |
Yes | Yes | No | Unlimited | Unlimited / 16 | Yes |
| Dayang Montage Extreme | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 99 per sequence | 99 per sequence | Yes |
| EDIUS Neo | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | unlimited realtime layers | unlimited realtime layers | Yes |
| EDIUS | Yes | Yes | Yes, on both PC & TV monitors in realtime | No | unlimited realtime layers | unlimited realtime layers | Yes |
| Final Cut Express | Yes | Yes | Yes, with "external video" | Yes, in the Media Browser | 99 per sequence | 99 / 2 per sequence | No |
| Final Cut Studio | Yes | Yes | Yes, with "external video" | Yes, in the Media Browser | 99 per sequence | 99 / 24 per sequence | Yes |
| FORscene | Input only | Yes | Yes (podcasts) | Beta test | 2 | 4 | Yes |
| iMovie HD | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 1 | 2 | Yes |
| PiTiVi | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Unlimited | Unlimited | ? |
| Kdenlive | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Unlimited | Yes |
| Kino GTK | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
| LiVES | Yes (any resolution) |
Yes (multitrack mode only) |
Yes | No | Unlimited | audio per video track + backing audio / 2 channels | Yes |
| MainActor | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| MPEG Video Wizard | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 1 | 3 | Yes |
| MPEG Video Wizard DVD | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 1 | 3 | Yes |
| Serif MoviePlus | Yes | Yes | Yes, & on separate monitor or TV | Yes, partial | Unlimited | Unlimited | No |
| Sony Vegas | Yes
(any resolution) |
Yes | Yes | No | Unlimited | Unlimited/Max Channel 16 | Yes |
| Pinnacle Studio | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 2 | 4 | Yes |
| Ulead MediaStudio Pro | Yes | Yes | Yes, on separate monitor | ? | 99 | ? | Yes |
| Ulead VideoStudio Plus | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7 | 9 | Yes |
| Merging Technologies VCube | Yes | Yes | Yes, on both PC & TV monitors in realtime | No | Unlimited Tracks and Layers | Unlimited / 16 | Yes |
| Video Edit Magic / Express | ? | Yes | Yes | No | 2 / 1 (Express) | 2 / 1 (Express) | No |
| VirtualDub | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Windows Movie Maker | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 1 | 1 | Yes |
| HD | Non-destructive | Full-screen | Storyboard | Video tracks | Audio tracks | Timecode display |
Output options
| DVD | High Definition | Smart phone | Java phone | QuickTime | Windows Media | MPEG-4 | XML/EDL | Print to tape | Web, not hosted | Web, hosted | Podcasting | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Premiere Pro | Yes | Yes (Blu-Ray) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
| Adobe Premiere Elements | Yes | Yes (Blu-Ray) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Avid Xpress DV | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
| Avid Xpress Pro | Yes | Yes (Blu-Ray) | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
| Avidemux | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Cinelerra | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Dayang Montage Extreme | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | No |
| EDIUS | Yes | Yes | ? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
| Final Cut Express | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes (3rd party) | Yes | No (as of 2.5) | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes |
| Final Cut Studio | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes (3rd party) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes |
| FORscene | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (MPEG 2) | Yes (MPEG 2) | ? | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| iMovie HD | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes (3rd party) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (with .Mac) | Yes |
| PiTiVi | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | No | No | ? |
| Kdenlive | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
| Kino GTK | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| LiVES | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | ? |
| MPEG Video Wizard | No | Yes | ? | ? | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| MPEG Video Wizard DVD | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Serif MoviePlus | Yes | ? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
| Sony Vegas | Yes | Yes (Blu-Ray) | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
| Pinnacle Studio | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ulead MediaStudio Pro | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
| Ulead VideoStudio Plus | Yes | Yes | Yes (via plug-in) | Yes (via plug-in) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (with DropShot) | ? |
| Merging Technologies VCube | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | No | ? |
| Video Edit Magic | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| VirtualDub | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Windows Movie Maker | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes (WMV only) | No | No |
| DVD | High Definition | Smart phone | Java phone | QuickTime | Windows Media | MPEG-4 | XML/EDL | Print to tape | Web, not hosted | Web, hosted | Podcasting |