I’ve spent a lot of time wrestling with video editors that feel like they’re built for full-blown studio productions, all just to make a few cuts and add some titles to my clips. So, I set out to find something lighter — a tool that covers all my bases without turning every edit into a technical marathon.

Enter OpenShot. One of my favorite open-source video editing apps. It strips away the excess while providing all the essentials I actually use for everyday editing. Think trimming clips, adding transitions, and making subtle audio tweaks. The best part is that OpenShot actually offers some of the more advanced features with its Advanced View mode.

What makes OpenShot better?

A simple interface that anyone can learn

The first thing you’ll notice about OpenShot is how simple the UI is. By default, it opens to three windows — the timeline, the preview, and a toggleable window for files and effects. These windows aren’t inundated with buttons and menus. Compare this layout to DaVinci Resolve or its open-source alternative Kdenlive, for example, which have loads of features all over the place.

Another thing I love is that it's a drag-and-drop program. Sure, every editor has drag-and-drop functions, but with OpenShot, this is how you use everything in it. Drag your clips into the media pool and onto the timeline, drag effects right onto the clips where you want them, and drop transitions perfectly between split clips. I can slap together an entire edit just by dragging elements around and never finessing any of the other settings.

OpenShot’s feature set is very compact yet capable; it lets you go from zero to producing a polished video without a weekend of tutorials. Even though I’ll never rid my kit of advanced tools like Resolve, I’m equally here for the simple apps that non-editors can use. Entering the video editing world usually starts with something simple and accessible, after all. And not everyone wants to be an editor; some just need something bite-sized to get the job done. Whichever category you’re in, you can’t go wrong with OpenShot.

Features that make OpenShot a viable editor

Unlimited layers, built-in title editor, keyframing, and loads of supported formats

As lightweight as the app is, there’s no cap on the number of layers (or tracks) that you can add to the timeline. Not that a simple project would require a million layers, but many free tools have a pretty unreasonable limit. So if I want to add 20 different emojis to a video for my Instagram story with unique effects for each, there’s no need to worry about whether there’s enough space for all of them.

OpenShot doesn’t have a text tool, but rather, a Title Editor. This editor is a modal window with a list of vector text templates and customization options like color, size, and font. Once you’ve created your text, you’ll find it in the Images section of the media pool and can drag it onto a layer. While it’s not a real-time text tool like in other editors, having it as a modal window reduces cognitive load, tying into the simple nature of OpenShot. This is perfect for creating my lower thirds, intro cards, or other simple text tasks. Another cool thing is that OpenShot lets you animate text by integrating with Blender.

Most simple video editors don’t offer keyframing at all, but you will find it in OpenShot’s Advanced View. Even though a more advanced feature, it’s the simplest keyframe system I’ve used. All I have to do is plop the keyframe diamonds on my clips, make a change to the properties, and select an interpolation curve. So, for simple edits that still require some animation or real-time property changes like fades, this setup serves me well.

Lastly, OpenShot supports a wide range of formats and codecs for video, audio, and images, including MP4, MOV, AVI, AAC, MP3, WAV, JPG, PNG, GIF, SVG, and more. It also utilizes the FFmpeg library, which supports a wide range of codecs, including WebM, AVCHD, and HEVC. I can drop almost anything into my timeline without having to convert it first, and there are no “unsupported format” errors.

Where OpenShot outperforms more professional tools

It's lightweight, cross-platform, and has an active community

My litmus test for accessible editing software is being able to install and run it on my Chromebook, and OpenShot passes the test. It doesn’t require a GPU powerhouse or 32GB RAM. It’s also cross-platform – the same interface for Mac, Windows, and Linux.

There are also no other restrictions, such as watermarks or paywalled features. And because it’s an open-source tool, it receives fast updates and has an active community. Bugs actually get fixed, and troubleshooting and tutorials are relatively easy to find. There’s no data collection or tracking baked into the software; you completely own the entire workflow.

The most convenient video editor there is

A lot of the time, I just need something that can handle the simple edits without drowning in the complexity of a video production suite. OpenShot is perfect for quick cuts, simple animations, and text edits because it’s so fast to navigate. This app is proof that you don’t need a budget, robust hardware, or a steep learning curve to produce great video content.