Open Source Video Editor
Reshooting footage is cheap; the edit decisions are not, and they live in a project file that a paid upgrade or a folded company can render unopenable - so the timeline format, not the export, is where lock-in actually bites. This one label also covers jobs that share almost nothing: full non-linear timeline editing, fast lossless trimming that never re-encodes, and screen recording for demos and streams. Open source editors here keep projects in formats you can read and run on machines you control, encode to standard codecs with no subscription, and still open the cut you made years ago on hardware that is still yours.
OBS Studio
Free and open source software for live streaming and screen recording with capture, compositing, and encoding
OpenCut
Free and open source video editor that runs in your browser
LosslessCut
Cross-platform FFmpeg GUI for fast, lossless cutting, trimming, and remixing of video and audio files
Cap
Open source screen recorder for shareable videos, with local editing and full self-hosting
Screenity
Privacy-friendly screen recorder and video editor with unlimited recordings and no sign in needed
Shotcut
Free, open source video editor for Windows, macOS, and Linux
Olive Video Editor
Free non-linear video editor for Windows, macOS, and Linux
OpenShot Video Editor
Free and open-source video editor for Linux, Mac, and Windows with FFmpeg formats and timeline editing
Kdenlive
Free non-linear video editor for everything from home videos to complex projects
Our picks
Match the pick to the job: full editing, quick lossless trims, or capturing the screen.
Full non-linear timeline editing: Kdenlive A multitrack editor that scales from home videos to complex projects, built on the MLT framework. It offers timeline editing with effects through frei0r and LADSPA, transitions, titling, and proxy editing so heavy footage stays responsive, and it runs on Linux, Windows, and macOS as a KDE community project.
Wide-format editing without transcoding: Shotcut A multitrack editor built on MLT and FFmpeg that reads and writes many formats natively, so most footage edits without importing or converting first. Frei0r video filters and audio effects cover everyday editing and finishing, it runs on all three desktop platforms, and everything stays local with no subscription.
Fast lossless cutting and joining: LosslessCut An FFmpeg-powered tool that trims, cuts, merges, and rearranges without re-encoding, so clips keep their original quality and jobs finish quickly. It handles multiple tracks, chapters, subtitles, and metadata, and a CLI and HTTP API script bulk work. Ideal when you only need to remove or extract sections.
Screen recording and live streaming: OBS Studio Captures, composites, encodes, records, and streams from one app, mixing windows, displays, images, and capture cards into scenes with per-source filters. It streams to Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook Live or records locally with H264/AAC, and a studio mode previews scenes before they go live.
Picking a video editor by the job, not the feature list
A tool built for one video job is usually a clumsy fit for another, and this list spans at least four. Full non-linear editors like Kdenlive, Shotcut, OpenShot, and Flowblade give you a multitrack timeline for real assembly, trimming, and effects. Lossless trimmers like LosslessCut, Avidemux, and VidCutter cut and join without re-encoding, keeping quality and finishing in seconds when all you need is to remove a section. Screen recorders like OBS Studio, Cap, and Screenity capture demos and streams. OpenCut runs in the browser, and Olive is worth knowing but ships as alpha the project itself calls highly unstable.
For timeline work, judge the playback path before the feature list. An editor that feels fine on short clips can stall on multicam footage, high bit depth media, or long timelines, so check proxy generation, GPU acceleration, and whether it scrubs smoothly before effects render. Test the exact codecs your camera produces, because a project that always begins with transcoding turns that cost into part of every job. Prefer a project structure that keeps media paths readable and separates source files from generated cache, so moving a project between disks is not guesswork.
Interchange is the real exit path. Final renders flatten your cuts, layers, and edit history, so a rendered file is not a way to move a project - a documented interchange format is, and OpenShot, for one, imports and exports EDL and XML. Test render stability, hardware encoder support, and color range handling on your actual delivery targets rather than a benchmark clip, and keep original footage untouched so any editor can rebuild from it later.
Related categories
Frequently asked questions
These are all called video editors - how do I tell them apart?+
They do different jobs. Kdenlive, Shotcut, OpenShot, and Flowblade are full non-linear editors with a multitrack timeline for real assembly and effects. LosslessCut, Avidemux, and VidCutter are trimmers that cut and join without re-encoding. OBS Studio, Cap, and Screenity are screen and stream recorders. Choose by the task in front of you before comparing timelines and filters.
Which of these cut clips without re-encoding?+
LosslessCut is built for it, trimming, cutting, and merging through FFmpeg while keeping the original quality, so jobs finish in seconds and files stay pristine. Avidemux handles straightforward cut and re-encode tasks one file at a time, and VidCutter trims and joins clips with an mpv preview. Lossless work is ideal when you only need to remove or extract sections, not restructure a timeline.
Can I edit video in a browser without installing anything?+
OpenCut runs directly in the browser at opencut.app with no install, account, or watermark, offering timeline editing to trim, arrange, and combine clips. It is a privacy-friendly option that does not upload footage to a proprietary cloud. A full rewrite is underway, so expect the current classic editor to keep evolving toward desktop and mobile builds and a plugin system.
Which handle screen recording and live streaming?+
OBS Studio captures, composites, encodes, records, and streams from one app, mixing sources into scenes and pushing to Twitch, YouTube, or Facebook Live. Cap records screen, camera, and microphone with shareable links and full self-hosting, a Loom-style workflow. Screenity records a tab, area, or app in the browser with annotation and basic editing. Each targets recording rather than timeline editing.
Can I import a project from my current proprietary editor?+
Sometimes, but expect partial fidelity. Basic cuts, clip placement, and audio tracks survive better than custom transitions, proprietary effects, compound clips, speed ramps, masks, color grades, and titles. OpenShot reads EDL and XML, which helps for interchange. Export a small representative project first, including nested timelines and mixed frame rates, so you see what breaks before migrating a real job.
How do I keep from getting locked into one project format?+
Your safety comes from project hygiene, not the app. Keep original footage untouched, store project files with versioned backups, and periodically export a documented interchange format like EDL or XML alongside final masters. Avoid depending on obscure plugins for core edits unless you can render those sections or keep an installer archived. A clean project structure makes moving to another editor far less painful.
Which codecs and formats should I test first?+
Test the formats you actually shoot and deliver: camera originals, screen recordings, phone footage, external audio, subtitles, and your final upload or archive format. Pay special attention to variable frame rate media, 10-bit color, hardware-encoded footage, alpha channels, and multichannel audio. Editors built on MLT and FFmpeg, like Kdenlive and Shotcut, read many formats natively, but one common source can still force transcoding.
Is any of these unfinished or risky to rely on for real work?+
Two carry caveats worth heeding. Olive is a capable node-based non-linear editor but is alpha and described as highly unstable, so treat it as experimental rather than production. OpenCut is mid-rewrite, so features may shift. The mature choices for daily editing are Kdenlive, Shotcut, OpenShot, and Flowblade, with LosslessCut for quick lossless trims.