 Windows Movie Maker was a top-rated video editing program for beginners and a staple for many Windows users. The program arrived pre-installed on all Windows devices and was beloved for its simplicity and fun special effects. Most importantly, it was entirely free. Show
However, Microsoft stopped supporting Windows Movie Maker in 2017 and warns that free downloads of Movie Maker provided by 3rd parties may contain malware, viruses, or hidden costs. If you’re looking for a Windows Movie Maker alternative, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve compiled a list of top 13 free replacement options. Best of all, the Windows Movie Maker alternatives on our list offer much more than the discontinued software ever did.
Top 3 Free Windows Movie Maker Alternatives Snapshot
1. PowerDirector 365 - Best OverallPowerDirector is the best Windows Movie Maker alternative to create Hollywood-level films or YouTube-ready videos. It is packed with advanced features, yet user-friendly with a customizable interface. This movie maker for Windows is updated monthly so it is always on the cutting edge of the newest technology and trends. Detailed Review >
2. VideoProc Vlogger - Best for Action Cam FootageAn entirely free Windows Movie Maker alternative that is easy to use and comes with lots of speed and motion effects. Detailed Review >
3. Magix Movie Studio - Best for Video CollagesA Windows Movie Maker alternative with both one-click solutions and detailed control over effects for any level of expertise. Detailed Review > What is Windows Movie Maker?Windows Movie Maker is a discontinued software program created by Microsoft. It was initially part of the Windows Essentials software suite and allowed users to create, edit, and publish videos. Windows Movie Maker was beginner friendly and allowed users to create simple projects such as home videos. 13 Free Alternatives to the Discontinued Windows Movie Maker1. PowerDirector 365 - Best OverallCompatible: Windows, Mac TechRadar Rating: 4.5/5 Beginner-Friendly Tools: 5/5 Price: Free Key Features:
PowerDirector is an intuitive, modern Windows Movie Maker alternative with a range of unique tools and features. It’s simple to learn and navigate and allows you to create Hollywood-level films and clips right from your Windows or Mac computer. New users can learn the ins and outs of this movie maker for Windows quickly to achieve incredible, studio-quality results. You don’t have to be an editing pro to use green-screen effects, add cool filters and graphics, or enhance raw footage — PowerDirector does all of the work for you. If you have ever used Windows Movie Maker, you know the frustration of navigating an awkward, complicated interface. PowerDirector's user-friendly design makes it easy to incorporate advanced visual effects into your video with the touch of a button. This movie maker utilizes a dual-screen, customizable editing workspace to streamline your video editing process. Once you finish crafting the perfect video, PowerDirector offers a range of high-resolution exporting formats, including Ultra HD 4K, to help you preserve your video’s quality. You can also share your video straight to YouTube or other social media sites, saving you time. Because of these features and more, the critically acclaimed PowerDirector is recommended as the #1 Windows Movie Maker alternative. Pros
Click the button below to download PowerDirector and start making high-quality video content today. PowerDirector App The best full-featured video editor 2. VideoProc Vlogger - Best for Action Cam FootageImage from Capterra. Compatibility: Windows, Mac KommandoTech Rating: 4/5 Beginner-Friendly Tools: 4.5/5 Price: Free Key Features:
If you need a Windows Movie Maker alternative to edit footage taken on an action camera or drone, VideoProc Vlogger is for you. This free software comes with all the tools you need to fix action cam footage, including video stabilization, fisheye removal, and noise reduction. This movie maker for Windows also has advanced speed adjustment tools and a motion simulator. VideoProc Vlogger is beginner-friendly and has advanced tools such as bezier curves, visualized speed ramping, and automatic keyframes. This movie maker for Windows also has a time-lapse tool, audio editor, and picture-in-picture effects. The biggest issue with VideoProc Vlogger we found in our test and user reviews was rendering speed. This Windows Movie Maker alternative took a very long time to render short videos. Our top choice PowerDirector is also beginner-friendly, with many of the advanced features found in this software. However, PowerDirector has some of the fastest rendering times in the business, so you can upload finished videos in no time and get on with your day. Pros
3. Magix Movie Studio - Best for Video CollagesImage from Magix Tutorials Compatibility: Windows TechRadar Rating: 4/5 Beginner-Friendly Tools: 4.5/5 Price: 30-day free trial, then $69.99 for Movie Studio, $250 for Platinum, and $280 for Suite Key Features:
We liked using this Windows Movie Maker alternative to make video collages. The newest version of Magix Movie Studio allowed us to move multiple videos around in the main preview window, making collage creation a breeze. We also appreciated the extra-large manipulation tools, so we could easily make precise adjustments to a clip’s size and rotation. This movie maker for Windows has tools to suit any level of expertise. Beginners can start videos in Storyboard mode and use one-click solutions such as Remove Beginning or Split Movie. More experienced editors can switch to frame-by-frame editing and manually tweak over 900 effects, transitions, and titles found in this movie maker for Windows. Like our top choice, PowerDirector, Magix Movie Studio offers tools for both beginners and professional video editors. However, this Windows Movie Maker alternative is too unreliable to give it a top spot on our list. In our research, we found many users complained of frequent crashing, and that older projects didn’t carry over to newer versions of the software. Also, there is no dedicated free version, only a free trial, which places it below the entirely free VideoProc Vlogger. Pros
4. WeVideo - Best for TemplatesCompatibility: Web Browser G2 Rating: 4.4/5 Beginner-Friendly Tools: 4/5 Price: Free Key Features:
WeVideo is a web-based Windows Movie Maker alternative you can get for free. We like WeVideo for its social-media-friendly templates in very specific categories such as How-To Makeup, Unboxing, Livestream Coming Soon, and Just Sold. It also comes with a variety of text templates and animated titles. WeVideo’s customizable templates are perfect for beginners and busy influencers. Users can apply cool green screen effects using the chroma key tool found in this movie maker for Windows. WeVideo has green screen footage available in its stock library. There are 30 other effects available that are easily applied with one click. This is a good choice for beginners, but unlike PowerDirector, it lacks the control over effects that more seasoned editors would need. WeVideo is a good Windows Movie Maker alternative, but only if you are willing to pay. While we like the online program for content creators, the free version is unrealistic for any serious influencers or YouTubers. It only allows 5 minutes of exported content per month, and the max resolution is 480p. Key features like branding assets and direct upload to YouTube are saved for their pricey Professional or Business plans. Professional content creators on a budget should try Lightroom or Avid Media Composer First. Pros
5. VideoPad Video Editor - Best for Exporting to Social MediaCompatibility: Windows, Mac G2 Rating: 4.1/5 Beginner-Friendly Tools: 4/5 Price: Free Key Features:
VideoPad Video Editor is a beginner-friendly video editing application with a straightforward but slightly outdated interface. This Windows Movie Maker alternative includes features to streamline your social publishing workflow. Efficiently complete your video’s metadata, such as the title tags and description— without using YouTube’s publishing tools. Then export to one of over 60 supported formats. This movie maker for Windows has basic editing features and tools for direct content capture, including voiceover. You can add files to your project by dragging and dropping them onto the timeline, and you can resize the content. Other features include stereoscopic 2D to 3D conversion, title animations, and camera shake reduction. There are also audio effects like choral, echo, and distortion. VideoPad doesn’t put a watermark on the free version, which is rare for a free video editor. However, the program is somewhat outdated and lacks advanced features such as multi-camera editing. This movie maker for Windows has a library containing extra features, but you will have to pay for each one you want to add. For a free Windows Movie Maker alternative with advanced features, try PowerDirector or Lightworks. Pros
6. Lightworks - Best for Intermediate EditorsCompatibility: Windows, Mac, Linux Tom’s Guide Rating: 4/5 Beginner-Friendly Tools: 4/5 Price: Free Key Features:
Lightworks is a completely free and less-complicated version of Lightworks Pro, which has been used to edit Oscar-winning films. Although the website labels this software “easy to use,” we found in our test it was too difficult for most beginners. That’s why we think this Windows Movie Maker alternative is a good choice for intermediate editors, who can learn the slightly pared-down professional-level software at no cost. This Windows Movie Maker alternative offers a comprehensive range of sound controls, advanced color correction, and editing features like ripple, roll, slide, trim-slip, and backfill which are uncommon in free software. It offers both simple and advanced trimming and helpful tooltips that pop up to explain each feature (these can be turned off as your editing skills grow). Lightworks is easier to use than the other professional movie maker for Windows on our list, Avid Media Composer First, but still more complicated than the other Windows Movie Maker alternatives. If you are just starting as a video editor, try VideoPad or PowerDirector instead. Pros
7. Shotcut - Best for Color AdjustmentsCompatibility: Windows, Mac, Linux TechRadar Rating: 4/5 Beginner-Friendly Tools: 4/5 Price: Free Key Features:
Shotcut is a free, open-source, cross-platform video editor. It offers wide format support for audio, video, and images. While Windows Movie Maker was greatly lacking in color adjustment tools, this movie maker for Windows offers color wheels for color correction and grading, and an eyedropper tool to help with white balancing. Users will love the batch encoding for those editing multiple videos in one go, and unlimited undo and redo options. This movie maker for Windows offers a large selection of transitions and filters - including 360-degree video filters. And because Shotcut is open-source, it has regular upgrades made by the community. Shotcut has a higher learning curve than Windows Movie Maker, and the interface is not as clean. Although both Lightworks and Shotcut have a slight learning curve and are rated the same, we put Lightworks above it on our list because it is more feature-rich. If you want a beginner-friendly Windows Movie Maker alternative with a clean, user-friendly interface, try PowerDirector or OpenShot. Pros
8. VSDC Free Video Editor - Best for Older ComputersCompatibility: Windows TrustPilot Rating: 3.7/5 Beginner-Friendly Tools: 4/5 Price: Free Key Features:
We think VSDC Free Video Editor is an excellent Windows Movie Maker alternative for beginner editors with older or outdated PCs because VSDC is extremely light on computer resources. Also, VSDC has built-in hardware acceleration which lowers the CPU and increases editing speed. This program is similar to Movie Maker for Windows because it is easy to use and offers a range of fun editing features for beginners and casual editors. These include voice-over, chroma key editing, 360-degree video editing, and a library of trendy video effects, filters, and transitions. If you’re planning to do any higher-level editing, such as motion tracking or video stabilization, you will need to pay for VSDC’s premium version or try a more fully-featured free editor like PowerDirector. Pros
9. Movavi Video Editor Plus - Best for Automated EffectsCompatibility: Windows, Mac PCMag Rating: 4/5 Beginner-Friendly Tools: 3.5/5 Price: 7-day free trial, then $74.95 Key Features:
Movavi Video Editor is a video editing software with a user-friendly interface and low learning curve. This movie maker for Windows has a wide selection of automated effects like fading or panning, so you can have a completed video in minutes. Editing videos with Movavi is straightforward, and you can shorten and lengthen clips with the in/out points by dragging the edges. It has key features like color adjustment, pan/zoom, and crop/rotate. There are also video effects like blur, vignette, and slow-mo found in this movie maker for Windows. Movavi’s Video Editor lacks advanced features like keyframing and screen recording and like Windows Movie Maker, gives you limited control over effects. It’s also only available for free as a 7-day trial. Try PowerDirector for a Windows Movie Maker alternative with advanced features and a free-forever version. Pros
10. Premiere Elements - Best for OrganizationCompatibility: Windows, Mac TechRadar Rating: 3.5/5 Beginner-Friendly Tools: 4/5 Price: 30-day free trial, then $99.99 Key Features:
Adobe’s Premiere Elements is a consumer-targeted, pared-down version of the company’s Premiere Pro, making it a great Windows Movie Maker alternative. With Premiere Elements, your videos are automatically curated by quality, so you can save time searching for the best clips. You can also organize by faces, subjects, smart tags, and locations. There’s a video creation wizard for quick video editing, and its auto movie themes are much more extensive than what movie maker for Windows had to offer. Other great features include various slideshow styles, a time-lapse function, and the ability to extract beautiful photos from raw video footage. Premiere Elements has a simple interface and step-by-step tutorials, making it an easy choice for beginners. However, it lacks more advanced offerings such as 360-degree editing, multi-cam editing, and screen recording. Editors in a hurry could be turned off by the very slow rendering times and output speed, which is one area where Windows Movie Maker had Premiere Elements beat. For these reasons, we placed it below the similarly-rated Movavi Video Editor. Pros
11. OpenShot - Best for BeginnersCompatibility: Windows, Mac, Linux TechRadar Rating: 3/5 Beginner-Friendly Tools: 4.5/5 Price: Free Key Features:
If you’re looking for a straightforward, free Windows Movie Maker alternative, OpenShot is an excellent option. This program goes above and beyond Movie Maker’s capabilities but still keeps its interface easy to use for beginners. Nothing is intimidating about OpenShot’s workspace, making it an excellent choice for amateur editors. OpenShot offers a range of impressive-looking editing features, such as 3D animations, slow-motion effects, and text editors. You can add unlimited tracks and layers to your timeline and use keyframes and frame accuracy to create precise, detailed edits. The movie maker for Windows has a straightforward platform that makes it easy to customize your film precisely to your liking. Though OpenShot includes a decent selection of filters and templates, the program lacks some of the advanced features you’ll find in other video editors. This Windows Movie Maker alternative does not offer professional tools such as chroma key, picture-in-picture, and blending modes. Pros
12. HitFilm - Best for VFXImage from HitFilm Pro. Compatibility: Windows, Mac TechRadar Rating: 4/5 Beginner-Friendly Tools: 3/5 Price: Free Key Features:
HitFilm (formerly HitFilm Express) is the perfect Windows Movie Maker alternative if you want to create Hollywood-style visual effects. It includes one of the largest free VFX toolkits on the market, with effects such as light swords, lens flares, a particle simulator, and 3D geometry effects. This Windows Movie Maker alternative has unlimited audio and video tracks, so you can layer as many effects as you need on a single video clip. We liked using HitFilm’s puppet tool, which adds natural motion to graphics and text, and the 3D muzzle flashes for any kind of weapon. The free version of HitFilm offers more VFX effects than any of the other Windows Movie Maker alternatives on our list, however, it offers far fewer basic editing tools. Unless you regularly create videos with lots of effects, this video editor is not for you. And unlike VSDC Free Video Editor, HitFilm takes up a lot of hard drive space. Pros
13. Avid Media Composer First - Best for ProfessionalsImage from Avid. Compatibility: Windows, Mac G2 Rating: 4.1/5 Beginner-Friendly Tools: 2/5 Price: Free Key Features:
Avid Media Composer First is a Windows Movie Maker alternative for professional video editors or anyone who wants to become proficient on Avid. it’s an entirely free and slightly scaled-down version of Avid Media Composer, which is the industry standard for independent filmmakers. It offers tons of very advanced tools you aren’t likely to find in other free software. Advanced tools include frame flex, time codes, advanced color tools, and 4-way multicam editing. We like this Windows Movie Maker alternative for its excellent audio module, where you can create soundtracks, edit and mix audio, and record voice-overs. We highly recommend Avid Media Composer First for budding professionals or professional editors on a budget. However, beginners or intermediate editors who desire a movie maker for Windows with easy-to-use tools and quick, automatic edits should look elsewhere. For those users, we recommend PowerDirector or WeVideo. Pros
Best Windows Movie Maker Alternatives Comparison ChartOnce you give these movie makers for Windows a try, you’ll see why Windows Movie Maker is a thing of the past and come to learn the outstanding features of modern platforms. You’ll never look back. PowerDirector also includes dozens of tools and features that Windows Movie Maker omits. Check out some of them below:
Show More PowerDirector vs Windows Movie Maker VideoProc Vlogger Magix Movie Studio WeVideo VideoPad Video Editor Lightworks Shotcut VSDC Free Video Editor Movavi Video Editor Plus Premiere Elements OpenShot HitFilm Avid Media Composer First OS Mac, Windows - Beginner-friendly Yes - Supported Input/Audio Formats H.265/HEVC, MOD, MVC, MOV, Side-by-Side Video, MPEG-1, Top-under Video, MPEG-2, Dual-Stream AVI, MPEG-4 AVC, FLV, MP4, MKV, TOD, 3GPP2, VOB, AVCHD, VRO, AVI, WMV, DAT, WMV-HD, WTV, DV-AVI, Dolby Digital audio*, DVR-MS, WebM, HDR, ProRes, MXF AVC, V210, XAVC,360 Video, Dolby Digital audio WAV, MP3, WMA, M4A, OGG, FLAC, AAC, AMR-NB, Opus - Royalty-Free Stock Library Videos, photos, music, and sound effects - How to Edit a Video with a Windows Movie Maker AlternativeHere are the most basic steps to video editing on your Windows device using our #1 Windows Movie Maker alternative, PowerDirector. Click the button below to download PowerDirector for free. Once it is installed, open the software and follow along. PowerDirector App The best full-featured video editor
Even though your video is displayed in the preview pane, you cannot start editing until you drag the video thumbnail onto the editing timeline. In the Title Designer enter the text you want to use. Select the text, click on the Character Presets option on the left, and then select a preset to modify the text. Click OK to save. For a detailed look at adding special effects to your video, go to How to Edit with Special Effects to Create Cool Videos. Download the Best Windows Movie Maker Alternative for FreeIf you’re looking for a Windows Movie Maker alternative, PowerDirector will amaze you with its large selection of features, from basic to advanced. Edit with cinematic effects like animated overlays, slow motion, video stabilization, chroma key, and so much more. It has a large royalty-free library of background music, sound effects, photos, and videos, as well as fun audio effects like a voice-changer. PowerDirector is a favorite movie maker for Windows amongst editors at all skill levels because it combines the advanced features of the expensive, professional video suites with the user-friendliness and price which appeals to beginners. It also comes with guided edits, templates, and tutorials to help with every aspect of the editing process. If you’re looking for a movie maker for Windows that is easy to learn, has a robust toolset, and can scale to any size production level, click the button below and download PowerDirector today. PowerDirector App The best full-featured video editor Windows Movie Maker Alternatives FAQ1. What are the best free Windows Movie Maker Alternatives for Mac?2. What are the Best Free Windows Movie Maker Alternatives for Mobile?3. What Features Should I Look for in a Windows Movie Maker Alternative?The top ten features you should look for in a movie maker for Windows are:
If you are looking for a Windows Movie Maker alternative that checks all of these boxes, we recommend PowerDirector. 4. Why was Windows Movie Maker Discontinued?Windows Movie Maker did not achieve the success Microsoft wanted, and they didn’t like the cost of updating and supporting old Win32 software. 5. Is Windows Movie Maker Still Available?
Windows Movie Maker was officially discontinued on January 10, 2017 and is replaced by Video Editor (formerly Microsoft Story Remix), which is built-in with Microsoft Photos on Windows 10. Beware of free downloads of Windows Movie Maker offered by 3rd parties as they may contain malware, viruses, or hidden costs. 6. Does Windows 10/11 Have a Movie Maker?Yes, Windows Video Editor which is found in the native photos app on Windows 10 and 11. 7. How Do I Get Movie Maker on My Laptop for Free?Download PowerDirector for free on your laptop. It is the best Windows Movie Maker alternative available. Is there a free alternative to Windows Movie Maker?If you're looking for a straightforward, free Windows Movie Maker alternative, OpenShot is an excellent option. This program goes above and beyond Movie Maker's capabilities but still keeps its interface easy to use for beginners.
Is Windows Movie Maker Free 2022?Windows Movie Maker 2022 is Free Trial software. You can try the software for free. Then you can decide whether to buy the full-featured software. The classic version Windows Movie Maker is Free software.
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