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The following charts compare the various non-linear video editing software programs. Not all software programs are still being supported. Please look at the latest version in the General Information section. Please feel free to comment on this article.

This table gives basic general information about the different editors:

Program Platform Developer Year of first release Year of latest release Latest version License target audience & function scope
Adobe Premiere Elements Windows, Mac Adobe Inc. 2004 2018 2019 Trialware prosumer
Adobe Premiere Pro Windows, Mac Adobe Inc. 1991 2020 (Adobe CC 2020) CC 2020 (14.1) (April 21, 2020; 3 months ago (2020-04-21)) Commercial professional
Autodesk Smoke Mac Autodesk ? 2015 2016 Commercial professional
Avid Media Composer Windows, Mac Avid 1989 2020 2020.4 Commercial professional
Avid Media Composer First Windows, Mac Avid 2017 2019 2019.9 Freeware professional
Avidemux Windows, Mac, BSD, Linux Mean, Gruntster and Fahr 2020 2.7.6 GPL basic
AVS Video Editor Windows Online Media Technologies Ltd. 2003 2020 9.4.1 Commercial prosumer
Blender (VSE: Video Sequence Editor) Windows, Mac, Solaris, Irix, Linux Blender Foundation 2002 2020 2.82a GNU GPLv2 + professional
Cinelerra Linux Heroine Virtual 2002 2019 7.2 GPL professional
Cinelerra-GG Infinity Linux, FreeBSD Open Source Community 2016
(as Cinelerra 5.1)
2020 2020-06 GPL professional
Corel VideoStudio Windows Corel Corporation 1993 (Under Ulead) 2020 VS 2020 Trialware prosumer
CyberLink PowerDirector Windows CyberLink 2001 2019 18 Commercial prosumer
DaVinci Resolve Windows, Mac, Linux Blackmagic Design 2004 2020 16.2.2 Freeware professional
EDIUS Windows Grass Valley Canopus 2002 2018 9.10 Commercial professional
Final Cut Pro X Mac Apple Inc. 2011 2019 10.4.8 Commercial professional
Flowblade Linux Open Source Community 2012 2020 2.4.0.1 GPL prosumer
Blackbird Cross-Platform (JavaScript, Java, iOS, Android) Blackbird PLC 2004 2020 Commercial professional
iMovie Mac, iOS Apple Inc. 1999 2019 10.1.14 Commercial prosumer
ivsEdits Windows Interactive Video Systems 2008 2017 5.0.607 Freeware, Commercial professional
Kdenlive Linux, BSD, Mac, Windows Open Source Community 2002 2020 20.04.1 GPL prosumer
Lightworks Windows, Linux, Mac Editshare 1989 2018 14.5.0 Freeware,Commercial professional
LiVES GNU/Linux, Unix-like Gabriel Finch and others 2002 2019 3.0.2 GNU GPLv3 + prosumer
Magix Movie Edit Pro Windows Magix circa 2001 (VideoDeluxe 1.0) 2018 2019, 2019 Plus,
2019 Premium
Commercial prosumer
MPEG Video Wizard DVD Windows Womble Multimedia ? 2012 5.0.1.105 Trialware prosumer
Natron Windows, Mac, Linux Alexandre Gauthier, Frédéric Devernay 2014 2020 2.3.15 GNU GPLv2 + prosumer ? (vfx)
Nero Video Windows Nero AG 2002 2015 2016 Commercial prosumer
OpenShot Windows, Mac, Linux Open Source Community 2008 2020 2.5.1 GPL prosumer
Microsoft Photos (Video Editor) Windows Microsoft Corporation 2017 2017 Freeware basic
Pinnacle Studio Windows Pinnacle Systems 1999 2019 23 Commercial prosumer
Pitivi Linux Open Source Community 2004 2018 0.999 LGPL prosumer (in development)
Shotcut Windows, Mac, Linux, OpenBSD -current, as a port. Meltytech, LLC 2011 2020 20.04.12 GNU GPLv3 prosumer
Vegas Movie Studio Windows Magix 2000 2019 17 prosumer
Vegas Pro Windows Magix 1999 2019 17 Commercial professional
VideoPad Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android NCH Software 2008 2020 8.15 Trialware prosumer
VSDC Free Video Editor Windows Flash-Intergro LLC 2008 2020 6.4.2 Freeware prosumer

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 *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 Yes Yes 600 MHz 256 MB 1 GB
OpenShot Video Editor No Yes 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 ? ? 3 Mb
Windows Movie Maker Yes No No 1 GHz for best performance 128 MB 10 Mb
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
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  ?  ?  ?
OpenShot Video Editor Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
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  ?  ? Yes (as of Pro 9)
Ulead MediaStudio Pro Yes Yes  ? Yes No  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?
Ulead VideoStudio Plus Yes Yes  ? Yes No Yes  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?
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 Linear 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, 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)

Yes

(on first, second or all monitors, configurable)

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
OpenShot Video Editor Yes Yes No No Unlimited Unlimited 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 ? Yes No No 1 1 Yes
Windows Movie Maker Yes No Yes Yes 1 1 Yes
HD Non-destructive Full-screen Storyboard Video tracks Audio tracks Timecode display

Target market

Consumer Prosumer Professional
Least

expensive

Most

expensive

Kino

OpenShot Video Editor

PiTiVi

LiVES

Pinnacle VideoSpin

Adobe Premiere Elements

MAGIX Movie Edit Pro

CyberLink PowerDirector

Avid Free DV

Windows Movie Maker

Clesh

MPEG Video Wizard

MPEG Video Wizard DVD

Ulead VideoStudio

Grass Valley EDIUS Neo

Sony Vegas Movie Studio

iMovie

Pinnacle Studio

Final Cut Express

Avid Xpress DV

Ulead MediaStudio Pro

LiVES

OpenShot Video Editor

MAGIX Video Pro X

Cinelerra

Kdenlive

Dayang Montage Extreme

FORscene

Sony Vegas Pro

Adobe Premiere Pro

Grass Valley EDIUS

Final Cut Studio

Avid Xpress Pro

Merging Technologies VCube

Avid Media Composer

Original Article from from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_video_editing_software