Up until now, Microsoft clients have always had the free, practical video editing software Windows Movie Maker available to them. This tool allowed users to make home movies, edit smaller movie projects, and add sound and text to plain video files. The free Windows program has become something of the past, however, as Microsoft of­fi­cial­ly dis­con­tin­ued support for Windows 10 in January 2017 and removed the download link for the program from its website. So, if you need a program to work on video projects, it's time to look for an al­ter­na­tive to Windows Movie Maker.

Free al­ter­na­tives to Windows Movie Maker

The best al­ter­na­tive to Windows Movie Maker should be free of charge, and there’s a good variety of options to choose from online. But which ones are really worth using? Below are some rec­om­mend­ed free al­ter­na­tives to Windows Movie Maker.

Vir­tu­al­Dub: the beginner-friendly editing program

Vir­tu­al­Dub is a very simple program that is primarily suitable for smaller tasks, such as video re­touch­ing or editing. Pro­gram­mer Avery Lee wanted to create a compact tool for fast, linear video editing, meaning that Vir­tu­al­Dub has limited options, but what it can do is well done and efficient. This includes the separate pro­cess­ing of video and audio data, which the program can handle for files up to 4 GB. For fine-tuning the video’s image, Vir­tu­al­Dub offers a small selection of filters. However, since it’s an open source software, you can always add third-party filters such as blur, bright­ness, and contrast ad­just­ments via the plugin interface.

Image: VirtualDub's User Interface
Vir­tu­al­Dub may not look like much, but it allows fast and efficient editing of .avi files

The ap­pli­ca­tion also has an in­te­grat­ed capture tool that allows you to capture movies from a TV card, connected webcam, or other video source. All video and audio codecs pre-installed on Windows can be used for real-time com­pres­sion. Vir­tu­al­Dub is spe­cial­ized for .avi format files, and the results with .avi files are very good. Although it also supports MPEG videos and various image file formats for editing, videos can only be saved as .avi files.

Pros Cons
Efficient and quick editing Very few functions
File sizes of up to 4GB are not an issue Interface requires some getting used to
Filters from external sources can be imported Videos can only be saved in the .avi format
In­te­grat­ed capture tool Not all external filters work

VSDC Free Video Editor: a tool for video editing en­thu­si­asts

The VSDC Free Video Editor is a much more complex al­ter­na­tive to Windows Movie Maker than Vir­tu­al­Dub. With its wide range of functions, however, it offers users more pos­si­bil­i­ties than many paid programs. As a non-linear video editing system, it allows you to cut, move, and edit all video, audio, image, and text elements in any order. It also offers a wide variety of effects, tran­si­tions, and filters. VSDC also has a desktop recording and sound recording tool. A large number of wizards (elec­tron­ic in­struc­tions) will help you fa­mil­iar­ize yourself with the various functions.

Image: VSDC Free Video Editor Interface
The VSDC Free Video Editor has a wide range of functions and allows non-linear video editing on multiple tracks and is very easy to use.

The sleekly-designed software supports all common file formats and also includes an in­te­grat­ed converter. 15 pre-installed output profiles make it easy to choose the right format and settings to create a video for a DVD player, smart­phone, or Xbox One. VSDC's export algorithm enables fast rendering – if desired, the program uses all CPU cores to achieve maximum video pro­cess­ing speed. Videos can be output in a res­o­lu­tion of up to 1980x1080 full HD, with stereo sound and a frame rate of 30 fps.

Pros Cons
Lots of different functions Beginners need time to get used to it
Nice interface design Many functions are somewhat hidden
In­te­grat­ed tool for desktop recording
Various file export pos­si­bilites
Helpful wizards

Light­works: the software for pro­fes­sion­als

Light­works by Editshare has been around since 1989, and is one of the first tools for computer-based video editing which is used by Hollywood film­mak­ers. It has been used for the pro­duc­tion of numerous in­ter­na­tion­al­ly renowned and award-winning films (such as Shutter Island and Pulp Fiction), as well as TV pro­duc­tions.

It’s im­me­di­ate­ly evident that Light­works was developed with the best of the business in mind. Even in its simplest version, the program, which in the full version costs around 400 dollars, has many cus­tomiz­able modules, among them a media manager, a timeline with preview view, and a virtual editing console.

Image: Lightworks user interface
The modular structure of Light­works seems a little un­fa­mil­iar at first, but it struc­tures a video project into clear work­spaces

After importing the desired video and audio material, extensive editors allow you to edit the video with a variety of functions that fulfill every editing need.

Helpful analysis tools and a com­pre­hen­sive toolbox with numerous effects enable ex­pe­ri­enced users to produce im­pres­sive results that can be output in HD and even 3D. The free version of Light­works differs from the full version only in that it offers fewer export options, and supports fewer file formats.

Pros Cons
Modular interface Too complex for amateurs
Almost unique function diversity in the Freeware segment Limited export options compared to the full version (paid)
Com­pat­i­ble with other programs such as After Effects or Sapphire

Paid al­ter­na­tive to Windows Movie Maker: Adobe Premiere Elements

Last but not least, a paid al­ter­na­tive to Windows Movie Maker that is well worth the money – Adobe Premiere Elements, a scaled down version of the premium video editing software Adobe Premiere, is available for about 70 dollars. It provides all the functions and features a semi-pro­fes­sion­al user needs: frames and texts, effects and re­touch­ing tools, as well as themes and tran­si­tions. The finished videos with a refresh rate of up to 60 fps can be easily syn­chro­nized with mobile devices or shared directly via social networks such as Facebook or YouTube. What is striking is the different user interface compared to the Pro version, which together with a variety of helpful tutorials should make it easier for beginners to get started with video editing.

Pros Cons
Good price (plus a free trial) Reduced features cost a lot to upgrade to full
Un­beat­able variety of functions and features
Sim­pli­fied user interface for beginners

The best al­ter­na­tives to Windows Movie Maker at a glance

The market for Windows Movie Maker al­ter­na­tives offers practical programs for every target group – from beginners to en­thu­si­asts to pro­fes­sion­als. Many of them are simple freeware ap­pli­ca­tions that don’t cost a cent. There are also some pro­fes­sion­al and semi-pro­fes­sion­al video editing tools available at reduced prices or even free of charge, which – although they usually offer less functions than the full price versions – provide very good results.

Free? Ideal for Supported formats
Vir­tu­al­Dub Yes Beginners AVI (Import und Export); DIVX, MPG, MPEG, MPV, M1V, ANIM, PNG, BMP, TGA, JPG, JPEG, AVS, VDR (nur Import)
VSDC Free Video Editor Yes En­thu­si­ats AVI, MP4/M4V, 3GP/2G2, MOV, WMV, DVD, VCD/SVCD, MPEG, MKV, RM/RMVB, SWF, FLV, AMV, MTV, MP3, M4A, AAC, OGG, WAV, BMP, JPEG, PNG, GIF (Import und Export) QT, HDVideo/AVCHD, ASF, DVR-MS, VOB, MPG, DAT, DV, NUT, H.264/MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, MJPEG, MP2, WMA, FLAC, RA, RAM, VOC, AC3, AIFF, MPA, AU, APE, CUE, CDA, JPG, PSD, ICO, CUR (nur Import) AMR (nur Export)
Light­works Yes Pro­fes­sion­als MXF OP1a, MXF OPAtom – P2, MXF OPAtom – native Avid support, Quicktime, AVI, MTS, M2TS, M2T, MPG, MP4 (Import und Export) TS, M2V, ASF, VOB (nur Import) WMV (nur Export)
Adobe Premiere Elements No Advanced en­thu­si­ats to pro­fes­sion­als MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, DV, AVI, QuickTime, 3GP, WAV, JPEG, DVD (Import und Export) JVC Everio MOD, ASF, WMA, PSD, PNG (nur Import) BluRay-Disc (nur Export)
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