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"2024 Approved Uncovering the Truth Behind Zero Viewer Counts in Youtube"
Uncovering the Truth Behind Zero Viewer Counts in Youtube
Create High-Quality Video - Wondershare Filmora
An easy and powerful YouTube video editor
Numerous video and audio effects to choose from
Detailed tutorials provided by the official channel
Many content creators wonder why they have 0 views YouTube. Everyone wants tons of people to watch their YouTube videos when they upload them on their channel. This guide will go through some of the reasons why your videos are not gaining any views. We will also explain how you can fix each problem so that your YouTube videos can amass views.
In this article
01 How Many Videos on YouTube Have 0 Views?
02 10 Reasons Why Your YouTube Videos Have 0 Views & Solutions
How Many Videos on YouTube Have 0 Views?
According to Pex, around 90% of videos people upload on their YouTube channels never reach 1,000 views. For a video-sharing site that gets more than 5 billion views daily, it is surprising that a high percentage of the uploaded videos never reach the target audience.
10 Reasons Why Your YouTube Videos Have 0 Views & Solutions
If you’re asking yourself: Why do my videos have 0 views YouTube? We have got you covered. Here are ten reasons that might be causing this:
1) Your YouTube Video Thumbnail Is Not Catchy
A video thumbnail is the first thing your audience will see on search results. It allows viewers to see a quick snapshot of a video while browsing YouTube. For these reasons, it plays a role in helping you get more views on YouTube.
Titles and thumbnails are like billboards, as they help viewers determine if they will watch your videos on YouTube. A well-designed thumbnail and a video title will undoubtedly attract more followers to your channel. In turn, more people will watch your videos. Additionally, this will make your content appealing to many YouTube advertisers.
Most of the YouTube videos with 0 views do not have an image or thumbnail that is eye-catching. Therefore, viewers can end up skipping over them.
How to Fix It
Create contrasting, engaging thumbnails for your YouTube videos to get more views. Avoid selecting screenshots from your video as your thumbnail picture. Instead, make sure you use high-quality and high-resolution images for your thumbnails.
2) You Are Not Consistent
Consistency gives your audience, subscribers, and viewers reason to be thrilled about your next YouTube video. If you are consistent, your audience will always know what they will get.
Failing to show consistency will see your viewers’ count dropping significantly. Your subscribers won’t know when you’ll be posting your next video on your channel.
What’s more? Failing to upload videos regularly may damage your ranking on YouTube. YouTube algorithm keeps channels that upload videos regularly and those that are consistent on top.
How to Fix It
Decide when and what you’ll be publishing videos and stick to it. Be sure to stay with the relative niche and be clear on what kind of YouTube videos you’ll be creating and uploading. In turn, you will increase the probability of YouTube’s algorithm picking your channel quickly.
3) Low-quality Videos
Videos with the most views on YouTube are of high quality. Viewers do not like watching videos with poor audio and video quality. That makes it a crucial factor you need to consider before uploading YouTube videos.
How to Fix It
Use Filmora to create high-quality YouTube videos. This software improves the quality of videos with low resolution. The tool can remove the shakiness in your video to make it look professional. You can also adjust white balance, 3D LUT, brightness, contrast, and tone.
You can improve the quality of your audio by adjusting the pitch, fade-out, fade-in, and output volume. The best part is: Filmora allows you to remove the background noises and add overlays, filters, and transitions to your videos.
For Win 7 or later (64-bit)
For macOS 10.12 or later
4) You Are Not Making the Content That Your Audience Wants
A high percentage of YouTube videos with 0 views is that the content isn’t for your audience. A YouTube channel can only grow when it is getting niche visitors to watch its videos. For that reason, the viewers watching your YouTube videos have to be interested in the niche of your video to allow your channel to grow naturally.
If the videos you create are not for your audience, you’ll get 0 views YouTube never, as you’ll not build subscribers. Your current subscribers will also stop watching your videos because they believe they won’t do anything for them.
How to Fix It
You need to choose your niche and analyze your viewers to find out what topics they are interested in; YouTube Analytics can help you find out which topics are trending. You can also get the details of interesting topics, enabling you to create relevant content for your target audience.
5) Not Responding to Your Audience
Engaging with your audience will create trust. If you do not respond to your viewers, they might stop watching your videos. And your future videos could end up with zero views.
How to Fix It
Be active on your channel, community, and other social media channels. Reply in the comment section, and this will make sure the videos you upload next will get views.
6) Your Videos Are Not Optimized
You can’t just upload your videos and expect millions of views without doing anything. If you look at a random YouTube video with 0 views, you’ll likely find it is not optimized. YouTube optimization can help to take your videos an extra step further.
How to Fix It
If you want your videos to get views, you have to do optimization with the factors below:
- Channel Design
- SEO
- Search Volume
- Keywords
- Target Niche and Viewers
- Custom Thumbnails
The most successful YouTubers constantly implement the above YouTube optimization methods. Input relevant keywords and titles for your videos. Using online tools to optimize your videos and channel with the latest techniques will help you earn YouTube views. YouTube optimization tools can find the best keywords to use on your videos.
7) You Didn’t Use the Right Tags
Always follow YouTube SEO optimization methods and never leave the tag section blank. When you use tags, make sure you choose the right ones. YouTube works just like Google: Viewers enter a keyword for the YouTube video they are searching for, and it lists down the videos that best match the keyword. The more relevant YouTube thinks your videos are, the higher they will be positioned in the rank. Videos in the top pages of YouTube’s search engine earn the most views, and YouTube videos with 0 views will often appear at the lowest portion.
How to Fix It
Insert the specific keyword tags first when creating video tags. YouTube’s search engine prioritizes the first tag. You can use any YouTube optimization tool to make tags. After that, you can now enter the other video tags types, including generic tags and compound tags.
8) Your YouTube Videos Don’t Provide Any Value to Your Audience
Value is an essential part of being a content creator; it’s also a vital aspect of recognizing what you are bringing to the table in the viewer to YouTube relationship. Viewers will come to your channel if they have a reason to watch the videos you upload, whether for information or entertainment purposes. Before you upload a video, take a step back and ask yourself will people love it.
How to Fix It
Make sure you create value-rich content that your audience will find useful. Have a clear goal before you start making a video. There are always people who lack the knowledge you have, and they would love to learn it from you.
Think about what your audience is looking for when they come to YouTube and provide them with what they need. Do not forget to look for trending topics, searchable topics within your niche, and related topics. Your videos should answer all the questions your viewers have. They should also provide an exhilarating experience.
9) You Are Not Sharing Your Videos on Your Social Channels
Social media platforms are a powerful tool that helps YouTubers get more visitors to their channel. In turn, your video will get views. If you do not share your videos on your social media platform, none of your friends and followers will know about it, and you can end up having 0 views YouTube.
How to Fix It
You can get YouTube views from social media platforms like SubReddits, Facebook, Instagram, Quora, and more. Be sure to follow the terms and conditions of these platforms. You can also self-promote your videos on these platforms to get views. However, you should avoid spamming your YouTube videos in a community for the forum you belong to.
10) You Are Not Patient
Most YouTubers fail because they are not patient enough to run their channel. They upload a video and want it to get views immediately. If you’re serious about making videos on YouTube, you need patience and determination. If you continue uploading videos consistently, they will get views.
How to Fix It
Once you post your videos, give them some time to see if people will view them. Allow your videos to settle in the YouTube algorithm and search engine, and you’ll see the magic soon.
Conclusion
● These are the main reasons your videos have 0 views YouTube and their solutions. Remember the quality of your videos can affect your YouTube view count. Use Filmora to create HD videos that will attract more viewers.
Many content creators wonder why they have 0 views YouTube. Everyone wants tons of people to watch their YouTube videos when they upload them on their channel. This guide will go through some of the reasons why your videos are not gaining any views. We will also explain how you can fix each problem so that your YouTube videos can amass views.
In this article
01 How Many Videos on YouTube Have 0 Views?
02 10 Reasons Why Your YouTube Videos Have 0 Views & Solutions
How Many Videos on YouTube Have 0 Views?
According to Pex, around 90% of videos people upload on their YouTube channels never reach 1,000 views. For a video-sharing site that gets more than 5 billion views daily, it is surprising that a high percentage of the uploaded videos never reach the target audience.
10 Reasons Why Your YouTube Videos Have 0 Views & Solutions
If you’re asking yourself: Why do my videos have 0 views YouTube? We have got you covered. Here are ten reasons that might be causing this:
1) Your YouTube Video Thumbnail Is Not Catchy
A video thumbnail is the first thing your audience will see on search results. It allows viewers to see a quick snapshot of a video while browsing YouTube. For these reasons, it plays a role in helping you get more views on YouTube.
Titles and thumbnails are like billboards, as they help viewers determine if they will watch your videos on YouTube. A well-designed thumbnail and a video title will undoubtedly attract more followers to your channel. In turn, more people will watch your videos. Additionally, this will make your content appealing to many YouTube advertisers.
Most of the YouTube videos with 0 views do not have an image or thumbnail that is eye-catching. Therefore, viewers can end up skipping over them.
How to Fix It
Create contrasting, engaging thumbnails for your YouTube videos to get more views. Avoid selecting screenshots from your video as your thumbnail picture. Instead, make sure you use high-quality and high-resolution images for your thumbnails.
2) You Are Not Consistent
Consistency gives your audience, subscribers, and viewers reason to be thrilled about your next YouTube video. If you are consistent, your audience will always know what they will get.
Failing to show consistency will see your viewers’ count dropping significantly. Your subscribers won’t know when you’ll be posting your next video on your channel.
What’s more? Failing to upload videos regularly may damage your ranking on YouTube. YouTube algorithm keeps channels that upload videos regularly and those that are consistent on top.
How to Fix It
Decide when and what you’ll be publishing videos and stick to it. Be sure to stay with the relative niche and be clear on what kind of YouTube videos you’ll be creating and uploading. In turn, you will increase the probability of YouTube’s algorithm picking your channel quickly.
3) Low-quality Videos
Videos with the most views on YouTube are of high quality. Viewers do not like watching videos with poor audio and video quality. That makes it a crucial factor you need to consider before uploading YouTube videos.
How to Fix It
Use Filmora to create high-quality YouTube videos. This software improves the quality of videos with low resolution. The tool can remove the shakiness in your video to make it look professional. You can also adjust white balance, 3D LUT, brightness, contrast, and tone.
You can improve the quality of your audio by adjusting the pitch, fade-out, fade-in, and output volume. The best part is: Filmora allows you to remove the background noises and add overlays, filters, and transitions to your videos.
For Win 7 or later (64-bit)
For macOS 10.12 or later
4) You Are Not Making the Content That Your Audience Wants
A high percentage of YouTube videos with 0 views is that the content isn’t for your audience. A YouTube channel can only grow when it is getting niche visitors to watch its videos. For that reason, the viewers watching your YouTube videos have to be interested in the niche of your video to allow your channel to grow naturally.
If the videos you create are not for your audience, you’ll get 0 views YouTube never, as you’ll not build subscribers. Your current subscribers will also stop watching your videos because they believe they won’t do anything for them.
How to Fix It
You need to choose your niche and analyze your viewers to find out what topics they are interested in; YouTube Analytics can help you find out which topics are trending. You can also get the details of interesting topics, enabling you to create relevant content for your target audience.
5) Not Responding to Your Audience
Engaging with your audience will create trust. If you do not respond to your viewers, they might stop watching your videos. And your future videos could end up with zero views.
How to Fix It
Be active on your channel, community, and other social media channels. Reply in the comment section, and this will make sure the videos you upload next will get views.
6) Your Videos Are Not Optimized
You can’t just upload your videos and expect millions of views without doing anything. If you look at a random YouTube video with 0 views, you’ll likely find it is not optimized. YouTube optimization can help to take your videos an extra step further.
How to Fix It
If you want your videos to get views, you have to do optimization with the factors below:
- Channel Design
- SEO
- Search Volume
- Keywords
- Target Niche and Viewers
- Custom Thumbnails
The most successful YouTubers constantly implement the above YouTube optimization methods. Input relevant keywords and titles for your videos. Using online tools to optimize your videos and channel with the latest techniques will help you earn YouTube views. YouTube optimization tools can find the best keywords to use on your videos.
7) You Didn’t Use the Right Tags
Always follow YouTube SEO optimization methods and never leave the tag section blank. When you use tags, make sure you choose the right ones. YouTube works just like Google: Viewers enter a keyword for the YouTube video they are searching for, and it lists down the videos that best match the keyword. The more relevant YouTube thinks your videos are, the higher they will be positioned in the rank. Videos in the top pages of YouTube’s search engine earn the most views, and YouTube videos with 0 views will often appear at the lowest portion.
How to Fix It
Insert the specific keyword tags first when creating video tags. YouTube’s search engine prioritizes the first tag. You can use any YouTube optimization tool to make tags. After that, you can now enter the other video tags types, including generic tags and compound tags.
8) Your YouTube Videos Don’t Provide Any Value to Your Audience
Value is an essential part of being a content creator; it’s also a vital aspect of recognizing what you are bringing to the table in the viewer to YouTube relationship. Viewers will come to your channel if they have a reason to watch the videos you upload, whether for information or entertainment purposes. Before you upload a video, take a step back and ask yourself will people love it.
How to Fix It
Make sure you create value-rich content that your audience will find useful. Have a clear goal before you start making a video. There are always people who lack the knowledge you have, and they would love to learn it from you.
Think about what your audience is looking for when they come to YouTube and provide them with what they need. Do not forget to look for trending topics, searchable topics within your niche, and related topics. Your videos should answer all the questions your viewers have. They should also provide an exhilarating experience.
9) You Are Not Sharing Your Videos on Your Social Channels
Social media platforms are a powerful tool that helps YouTubers get more visitors to their channel. In turn, your video will get views. If you do not share your videos on your social media platform, none of your friends and followers will know about it, and you can end up having 0 views YouTube.
How to Fix It
You can get YouTube views from social media platforms like SubReddits, Facebook, Instagram, Quora, and more. Be sure to follow the terms and conditions of these platforms. You can also self-promote your videos on these platforms to get views. However, you should avoid spamming your YouTube videos in a community for the forum you belong to.
10) You Are Not Patient
Most YouTubers fail because they are not patient enough to run their channel. They upload a video and want it to get views immediately. If you’re serious about making videos on YouTube, you need patience and determination. If you continue uploading videos consistently, they will get views.
How to Fix It
Once you post your videos, give them some time to see if people will view them. Allow your videos to settle in the YouTube algorithm and search engine, and you’ll see the magic soon.
Conclusion
● These are the main reasons your videos have 0 views YouTube and their solutions. Remember the quality of your videos can affect your YouTube view count. Use Filmora to create HD videos that will attract more viewers.
Many content creators wonder why they have 0 views YouTube. Everyone wants tons of people to watch their YouTube videos when they upload them on their channel. This guide will go through some of the reasons why your videos are not gaining any views. We will also explain how you can fix each problem so that your YouTube videos can amass views.
In this article
01 How Many Videos on YouTube Have 0 Views?
02 10 Reasons Why Your YouTube Videos Have 0 Views & Solutions
How Many Videos on YouTube Have 0 Views?
According to Pex, around 90% of videos people upload on their YouTube channels never reach 1,000 views. For a video-sharing site that gets more than 5 billion views daily, it is surprising that a high percentage of the uploaded videos never reach the target audience.
10 Reasons Why Your YouTube Videos Have 0 Views & Solutions
If you’re asking yourself: Why do my videos have 0 views YouTube? We have got you covered. Here are ten reasons that might be causing this:
1) Your YouTube Video Thumbnail Is Not Catchy
A video thumbnail is the first thing your audience will see on search results. It allows viewers to see a quick snapshot of a video while browsing YouTube. For these reasons, it plays a role in helping you get more views on YouTube.
Titles and thumbnails are like billboards, as they help viewers determine if they will watch your videos on YouTube. A well-designed thumbnail and a video title will undoubtedly attract more followers to your channel. In turn, more people will watch your videos. Additionally, this will make your content appealing to many YouTube advertisers.
Most of the YouTube videos with 0 views do not have an image or thumbnail that is eye-catching. Therefore, viewers can end up skipping over them.
How to Fix It
Create contrasting, engaging thumbnails for your YouTube videos to get more views. Avoid selecting screenshots from your video as your thumbnail picture. Instead, make sure you use high-quality and high-resolution images for your thumbnails.
2) You Are Not Consistent
Consistency gives your audience, subscribers, and viewers reason to be thrilled about your next YouTube video. If you are consistent, your audience will always know what they will get.
Failing to show consistency will see your viewers’ count dropping significantly. Your subscribers won’t know when you’ll be posting your next video on your channel.
What’s more? Failing to upload videos regularly may damage your ranking on YouTube. YouTube algorithm keeps channels that upload videos regularly and those that are consistent on top.
How to Fix It
Decide when and what you’ll be publishing videos and stick to it. Be sure to stay with the relative niche and be clear on what kind of YouTube videos you’ll be creating and uploading. In turn, you will increase the probability of YouTube’s algorithm picking your channel quickly.
3) Low-quality Videos
Videos with the most views on YouTube are of high quality. Viewers do not like watching videos with poor audio and video quality. That makes it a crucial factor you need to consider before uploading YouTube videos.
How to Fix It
Use Filmora to create high-quality YouTube videos. This software improves the quality of videos with low resolution. The tool can remove the shakiness in your video to make it look professional. You can also adjust white balance, 3D LUT, brightness, contrast, and tone.
You can improve the quality of your audio by adjusting the pitch, fade-out, fade-in, and output volume. The best part is: Filmora allows you to remove the background noises and add overlays, filters, and transitions to your videos.
For Win 7 or later (64-bit)
For macOS 10.12 or later
4) You Are Not Making the Content That Your Audience Wants
A high percentage of YouTube videos with 0 views is that the content isn’t for your audience. A YouTube channel can only grow when it is getting niche visitors to watch its videos. For that reason, the viewers watching your YouTube videos have to be interested in the niche of your video to allow your channel to grow naturally.
If the videos you create are not for your audience, you’ll get 0 views YouTube never, as you’ll not build subscribers. Your current subscribers will also stop watching your videos because they believe they won’t do anything for them.
How to Fix It
You need to choose your niche and analyze your viewers to find out what topics they are interested in; YouTube Analytics can help you find out which topics are trending. You can also get the details of interesting topics, enabling you to create relevant content for your target audience.
5) Not Responding to Your Audience
Engaging with your audience will create trust. If you do not respond to your viewers, they might stop watching your videos. And your future videos could end up with zero views.
How to Fix It
Be active on your channel, community, and other social media channels. Reply in the comment section, and this will make sure the videos you upload next will get views.
6) Your Videos Are Not Optimized
You can’t just upload your videos and expect millions of views without doing anything. If you look at a random YouTube video with 0 views, you’ll likely find it is not optimized. YouTube optimization can help to take your videos an extra step further.
How to Fix It
If you want your videos to get views, you have to do optimization with the factors below:
- Channel Design
- SEO
- Search Volume
- Keywords
- Target Niche and Viewers
- Custom Thumbnails
The most successful YouTubers constantly implement the above YouTube optimization methods. Input relevant keywords and titles for your videos. Using online tools to optimize your videos and channel with the latest techniques will help you earn YouTube views. YouTube optimization tools can find the best keywords to use on your videos.
7) You Didn’t Use the Right Tags
Always follow YouTube SEO optimization methods and never leave the tag section blank. When you use tags, make sure you choose the right ones. YouTube works just like Google: Viewers enter a keyword for the YouTube video they are searching for, and it lists down the videos that best match the keyword. The more relevant YouTube thinks your videos are, the higher they will be positioned in the rank. Videos in the top pages of YouTube’s search engine earn the most views, and YouTube videos with 0 views will often appear at the lowest portion.
How to Fix It
Insert the specific keyword tags first when creating video tags. YouTube’s search engine prioritizes the first tag. You can use any YouTube optimization tool to make tags. After that, you can now enter the other video tags types, including generic tags and compound tags.
8) Your YouTube Videos Don’t Provide Any Value to Your Audience
Value is an essential part of being a content creator; it’s also a vital aspect of recognizing what you are bringing to the table in the viewer to YouTube relationship. Viewers will come to your channel if they have a reason to watch the videos you upload, whether for information or entertainment purposes. Before you upload a video, take a step back and ask yourself will people love it.
How to Fix It
Make sure you create value-rich content that your audience will find useful. Have a clear goal before you start making a video. There are always people who lack the knowledge you have, and they would love to learn it from you.
Think about what your audience is looking for when they come to YouTube and provide them with what they need. Do not forget to look for trending topics, searchable topics within your niche, and related topics. Your videos should answer all the questions your viewers have. They should also provide an exhilarating experience.
9) You Are Not Sharing Your Videos on Your Social Channels
Social media platforms are a powerful tool that helps YouTubers get more visitors to their channel. In turn, your video will get views. If you do not share your videos on your social media platform, none of your friends and followers will know about it, and you can end up having 0 views YouTube.
How to Fix It
You can get YouTube views from social media platforms like SubReddits, Facebook, Instagram, Quora, and more. Be sure to follow the terms and conditions of these platforms. You can also self-promote your videos on these platforms to get views. However, you should avoid spamming your YouTube videos in a community for the forum you belong to.
10) You Are Not Patient
Most YouTubers fail because they are not patient enough to run their channel. They upload a video and want it to get views immediately. If you’re serious about making videos on YouTube, you need patience and determination. If you continue uploading videos consistently, they will get views.
How to Fix It
Once you post your videos, give them some time to see if people will view them. Allow your videos to settle in the YouTube algorithm and search engine, and you’ll see the magic soon.
Conclusion
● These are the main reasons your videos have 0 views YouTube and their solutions. Remember the quality of your videos can affect your YouTube view count. Use Filmora to create HD videos that will attract more viewers.
Many content creators wonder why they have 0 views YouTube. Everyone wants tons of people to watch their YouTube videos when they upload them on their channel. This guide will go through some of the reasons why your videos are not gaining any views. We will also explain how you can fix each problem so that your YouTube videos can amass views.
In this article
01 How Many Videos on YouTube Have 0 Views?
02 10 Reasons Why Your YouTube Videos Have 0 Views & Solutions
How Many Videos on YouTube Have 0 Views?
According to Pex, around 90% of videos people upload on their YouTube channels never reach 1,000 views. For a video-sharing site that gets more than 5 billion views daily, it is surprising that a high percentage of the uploaded videos never reach the target audience.
10 Reasons Why Your YouTube Videos Have 0 Views & Solutions
If you’re asking yourself: Why do my videos have 0 views YouTube? We have got you covered. Here are ten reasons that might be causing this:
1) Your YouTube Video Thumbnail Is Not Catchy
A video thumbnail is the first thing your audience will see on search results. It allows viewers to see a quick snapshot of a video while browsing YouTube. For these reasons, it plays a role in helping you get more views on YouTube.
Titles and thumbnails are like billboards, as they help viewers determine if they will watch your videos on YouTube. A well-designed thumbnail and a video title will undoubtedly attract more followers to your channel. In turn, more people will watch your videos. Additionally, this will make your content appealing to many YouTube advertisers.
Most of the YouTube videos with 0 views do not have an image or thumbnail that is eye-catching. Therefore, viewers can end up skipping over them.
How to Fix It
Create contrasting, engaging thumbnails for your YouTube videos to get more views. Avoid selecting screenshots from your video as your thumbnail picture. Instead, make sure you use high-quality and high-resolution images for your thumbnails.
2) You Are Not Consistent
Consistency gives your audience, subscribers, and viewers reason to be thrilled about your next YouTube video. If you are consistent, your audience will always know what they will get.
Failing to show consistency will see your viewers’ count dropping significantly. Your subscribers won’t know when you’ll be posting your next video on your channel.
What’s more? Failing to upload videos regularly may damage your ranking on YouTube. YouTube algorithm keeps channels that upload videos regularly and those that are consistent on top.
How to Fix It
Decide when and what you’ll be publishing videos and stick to it. Be sure to stay with the relative niche and be clear on what kind of YouTube videos you’ll be creating and uploading. In turn, you will increase the probability of YouTube’s algorithm picking your channel quickly.
3) Low-quality Videos
Videos with the most views on YouTube are of high quality. Viewers do not like watching videos with poor audio and video quality. That makes it a crucial factor you need to consider before uploading YouTube videos.
How to Fix It
Use Filmora to create high-quality YouTube videos. This software improves the quality of videos with low resolution. The tool can remove the shakiness in your video to make it look professional. You can also adjust white balance, 3D LUT, brightness, contrast, and tone.
You can improve the quality of your audio by adjusting the pitch, fade-out, fade-in, and output volume. The best part is: Filmora allows you to remove the background noises and add overlays, filters, and transitions to your videos.
For Win 7 or later (64-bit)
For macOS 10.12 or later
4) You Are Not Making the Content That Your Audience Wants
A high percentage of YouTube videos with 0 views is that the content isn’t for your audience. A YouTube channel can only grow when it is getting niche visitors to watch its videos. For that reason, the viewers watching your YouTube videos have to be interested in the niche of your video to allow your channel to grow naturally.
If the videos you create are not for your audience, you’ll get 0 views YouTube never, as you’ll not build subscribers. Your current subscribers will also stop watching your videos because they believe they won’t do anything for them.
How to Fix It
You need to choose your niche and analyze your viewers to find out what topics they are interested in; YouTube Analytics can help you find out which topics are trending. You can also get the details of interesting topics, enabling you to create relevant content for your target audience.
5) Not Responding to Your Audience
Engaging with your audience will create trust. If you do not respond to your viewers, they might stop watching your videos. And your future videos could end up with zero views.
How to Fix It
Be active on your channel, community, and other social media channels. Reply in the comment section, and this will make sure the videos you upload next will get views.
6) Your Videos Are Not Optimized
You can’t just upload your videos and expect millions of views without doing anything. If you look at a random YouTube video with 0 views, you’ll likely find it is not optimized. YouTube optimization can help to take your videos an extra step further.
How to Fix It
If you want your videos to get views, you have to do optimization with the factors below:
- Channel Design
- SEO
- Search Volume
- Keywords
- Target Niche and Viewers
- Custom Thumbnails
The most successful YouTubers constantly implement the above YouTube optimization methods. Input relevant keywords and titles for your videos. Using online tools to optimize your videos and channel with the latest techniques will help you earn YouTube views. YouTube optimization tools can find the best keywords to use on your videos.
7) You Didn’t Use the Right Tags
Always follow YouTube SEO optimization methods and never leave the tag section blank. When you use tags, make sure you choose the right ones. YouTube works just like Google: Viewers enter a keyword for the YouTube video they are searching for, and it lists down the videos that best match the keyword. The more relevant YouTube thinks your videos are, the higher they will be positioned in the rank. Videos in the top pages of YouTube’s search engine earn the most views, and YouTube videos with 0 views will often appear at the lowest portion.
How to Fix It
Insert the specific keyword tags first when creating video tags. YouTube’s search engine prioritizes the first tag. You can use any YouTube optimization tool to make tags. After that, you can now enter the other video tags types, including generic tags and compound tags.
8) Your YouTube Videos Don’t Provide Any Value to Your Audience
Value is an essential part of being a content creator; it’s also a vital aspect of recognizing what you are bringing to the table in the viewer to YouTube relationship. Viewers will come to your channel if they have a reason to watch the videos you upload, whether for information or entertainment purposes. Before you upload a video, take a step back and ask yourself will people love it.
How to Fix It
Make sure you create value-rich content that your audience will find useful. Have a clear goal before you start making a video. There are always people who lack the knowledge you have, and they would love to learn it from you.
Think about what your audience is looking for when they come to YouTube and provide them with what they need. Do not forget to look for trending topics, searchable topics within your niche, and related topics. Your videos should answer all the questions your viewers have. They should also provide an exhilarating experience.
9) You Are Not Sharing Your Videos on Your Social Channels
Social media platforms are a powerful tool that helps YouTubers get more visitors to their channel. In turn, your video will get views. If you do not share your videos on your social media platform, none of your friends and followers will know about it, and you can end up having 0 views YouTube.
How to Fix It
You can get YouTube views from social media platforms like SubReddits, Facebook, Instagram, Quora, and more. Be sure to follow the terms and conditions of these platforms. You can also self-promote your videos on these platforms to get views. However, you should avoid spamming your YouTube videos in a community for the forum you belong to.
10) You Are Not Patient
Most YouTubers fail because they are not patient enough to run their channel. They upload a video and want it to get views immediately. If you’re serious about making videos on YouTube, you need patience and determination. If you continue uploading videos consistently, they will get views.
How to Fix It
Once you post your videos, give them some time to see if people will view them. Allow your videos to settle in the YouTube algorithm and search engine, and you’ll see the magic soon.
Conclusion
● These are the main reasons your videos have 0 views YouTube and their solutions. Remember the quality of your videos can affect your YouTube view count. Use Filmora to create HD videos that will attract more viewers.
Mastering YouTube Videos Without Spending A Dime - With the 8 Best Tools
The Best Free Video Editing Software for YouTube (Top 8 Reviews)
Richard Bennett
Dec 02, 2022• Proven solutions
What makes a YouTube video good? The most important element is obviously you, the creator. Your personality, ideas, and unique viewpoint are what will make your content special and turn viewers into subscribers.
The next most important thing – even more important than the camera you use – is editing.
Editing a YouTube video doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, it should be simple. Your focus when you’re perfecting your video should be on that ‘most important thing’ we mentioned earlier – your creativity. Editing for a YouTube video should be art, not mechanical engineering.
Below is a list of the top free video editing software ranked according to how appropriate it is for YouTube videos.
| Rank | Editor | Make Cuts | Audio Features | Multiple Video Tracks | Video Effects | Intuitive Score (1-5) | Compatibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | OpenShot Video Editor | Yes | Fade In/Out, set volume levels | Yes | Transitions, text, ability to animate. Blur/Saturation/Brightness controls. | 5 | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 2. | Shotcut | Yes | Detailed audio editing | Yes | You can customize color presets and other effects. No animations. | 4 | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 3. | Hitfilm Express | Yes | Audio effects and transitioning. | Yes | Every imaginable picture customization. Some FX (more if you pay). Text tool. | 4 | Windows, Mac |
| 4. | VideoPad Video Editor | Yes | Noise removal, equalizer, audio effects. | Yes | Moving text, transitions, filters. | 5 | Windows |
| 5. | Lightworks | Yes | Detailed audio editing | Yes | No premade effects, but you can add text/color edit. | 3 | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 6. | VSDC Video Editor | Yes | Some audio features blocked in free version | Yes | Filters, transitions, text, and more. | 1 | Windows |
| 7. | Machete Video Editor Lite | Yes | None | No | None | 3 | Windows |
| 8. | Avidemux | Yes | Some audio features | No | Some picture adjustments | 2 | Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD |
Ready to upgrade to a simple, powerful, paid software that’s perfect for YouTube? Check out the free trial of Wondershare Filmora . It is an advanced tool that is focused more on newbie editors who are new to the videography world but want to compete with professionals!
1. OpenShot Video Editor – Open Source (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Pros
- Easy to use
- Includes transitions
- Keyframing
- Alpha Channel
- Unlimited video tracks
OpenShot Video Editor Review
OpenShot completely lives up to the claim that it was designed to be ‘easy to use, quick to learn, and surprisingly powerful’.
The first time you use OpenShot there will be helpful tutorial notes to guide you through the program. The interface is intuitive enough that you may not always need them, but having them should erase any confusion.
All of the basic editing features, like cutting clips up, are easy to access in the timeline. You have unlimited tracks, and it’s easy to drag your clips between them. There’s a helpful magnet feature that fits clips together if you slide them together, but which still allows for blank space if you choose to leave it.
Most other functions – setting volume levels, adjusting the speed, adding movement/zoom effect – are accessible simply by right-clicking on your clip in the timeline and choosing what you want from the menu that pops up.
Is OpenShot Video Editor good for YouTube?
OpenShot is a great, free, choice for YouTubers at any editing skill level.
Beyond simply ordering your clips, OpenShot includes text and transition options within the program. You can even animate the text, and access Animated Titles if you use OpenShot in tandem with a free animation program called Blender. Titles and transitions are vital to a lot of popular YouTube styles.
OpenShot does not provide the same level of detail as the runner up, Shotcut, when it comes to color correction or audio editing. However, the features it does have (volume levels, control of saturation) will satisfy most YouTubers.
2. Shotcut – Open Source (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Pros
- Detailed audio editing
- Color grading, ability to save presets
- Fairly intuitive timeline
Shotcut Review
Shotcut delivers a smooth, detailed, editing experience for free. It is not as easy to jump into as some of the other programs on this list, but it still only takes a half-hour or so of playing around to understand it well enough to make a video. There are also tutorials up on Shotcut’s site that can help you.
You can edit using multiple video tracks in Shotcut, making it easy to combine multiple clips, and basic functions like splitting or copying clips are as easy as clicking the right icon on the toolbar.
All of the video and audio effects, including things like chroma key, you might want to apply to your video are found under the Filters menu. It will look empty when you first open it, and you have to click the plus sign to see what your options are. If you want to create a color tint (like what you might think of as an Instagram filter) then you can do that through the Color Grading option. If you want to do something like invert your colors or add an ‘old film’ look, you’ll find that here as well along with all of the audio editing features (balance, bass and treble, and gain to name just a few).
Is Shotcut good for YouTube?
Shotcut is a great choice for YouTubers. It allows you to do some advanced editing, and it’s easy to learn compared to a program targeted at professional editors.
The only complication with Shotcut for entry-level editors who will primarily use the program for YouTube might be that animations – like moving text – are not available through the program (you can add and customize text, but it just sits there). You can get them from elsewhere and use them in the program (Shotcut has an alpha channel), but it’s a bit more involved a process than simply customizing something that’s already provided.
3. Hitfilm Express – Windows, Mac
Pros
- Compositing mode (2D and 3D)
- The Most effect customization
- Helpful User Guide & tutorials
Cons
- Can be overwhelming
- Its main strength is FX, but you only get a couple for free. Most have to be bought separately.
Hitfilm Express Review
Hitfilm Express is the best free editor if you want to add special effects to your projects. OpenShot’s alpha channel will be enough for most people, but if you think of yourself as an aspiring filmmaker then it’s hard to beat Hitfilm’s range of functions.
This is an editor designed for people who want to make movies, and it’s a lot more intuitive than most professional-grade software. Film-quality FX (lasers, explosions, etc.) are available through Hitfilm Express for a reasonable price ($10-$50, depending on what you want), and even without paying extra for the packs, there’s a lot you can do to give your video a ‘film look’ using compositing layers and the multitude of customizable effects provided through the program.
Another highlight of Hitfilm Express is the extensive selection of tutorials and helpful information they have available both through YouTube videos and their User Guide. You will need those because this program can be overwhelming. It has so many functions and areas you can customize that it is easy to get lost.
That said, basic editing in Hitfilm Express is not difficult to jump into. It’s only when you start getting fancy that things get dicey.
Is Hitfilm Express good for YouTube?
Yes. It will not be the best option for everyone, but it’s not a bad option for anyone either.
If what you want to make is a vlog where you have a series of clips, and intro, and maybe a couple of title effects, then Hitfilm express might be overkill. You don’t want to have to master compositing just to add some text.
If what you want to make is a vlog that’s interrupted by an alien invasion and turns into an action sequence with lasers and falling debris, it’d be hard to do better than Hitfilm Express.
4. VideoPad Video Editor – Windows
Pros
- Easy to jump into
- Moving text
- Huge audio waveforms
- Audio and visual effects
- Lossless exports
Cons
- No longer updated
VideoPad Video Editor Review
VideoPad Video Editor is an extremely easy to use program. It may be the easiest program on this list to jump into, which you could also realistically create your entire video inside (there are easier programs, but you can only do some of your work in them). Part of its simplicity comes from not being as feature-rich as the programs ranking higher than it on this list, however.
You do not get the same range of functions with VideoPad as you do from the top 3 free editors, but it has enough to satisfy people who are just starting out. Creating moving text effects is easy, you have huge audio waves to work with while you’re syncing, and effects like transitions and filters are easy to find.
VideoPad does suffer a bit from being dated. This program is no longer being worked on, and the interface doesn’t look particularly modern. This is a bit more than a cosmetic issue because some features, while not difficult to find, are placed a bit oddly compared to other editors.
One slightly annoying feature of VideoPad is that it will prompt you to buy the commercial version sometimes (the free version is only for non-commercial use). There have been reports of exports being blocked in the free version, but I exported several times for the sake of this review and the issue never came up.
Is VideoPad Video Editor good for YouTube?
VideoPad makes a decent YouTube editor. You can jump right in and start making cuts, adding filters, and ordering your clips. If you have the kind of channel where voiceovers are important (like in gaming or makeup), then you’ll be happy with the size of the audio waves you have to work with for syncing.
The thing about VideoPad is that you’re probably going to outgrow it quickly as you become a more capable editor.
5. Lightworks – Windows, Mac, Linux
Pros
- Detailed color and audio editing
- Multicam editing
Cons
- Exports limited to 720p for the free version
- Difficult to learn compared to other free software
Lightworks Review
On their website, Lightworks claims to have an ‘intuitive interface’ and ‘easy timeline editing’. This is true if you compare it to other professional-level editing suites. Compared to the other programs on this list, Lightworks is complicated.
The first thing I attempt when I review this program is to simply split a clip, and it took me a ridiculous amount of time to figure this feature out in Lightworks (a more advanced editor could have found it faster, but these reviews are meant to help people with less experience). Lightworks does have a whole tutorial series on using the software, so if you are interested in learning to use it there is ample material out there to help you.
Lightworks has a wide range of functions (i.e. detailed audio editing and color correction), and it has been used for big movies like ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’. It is the most professional program on this list, and it’s a great free alternative to something like Adobe Premiere Pro.
Note: there is no time limit on the free version of Lightworks, but it will ask you to renew your free license every 7 days. When it says your license is ‘expired’ it isn’t kicking you off the free version, you just need to renew.
Is Lightworks good for YouTube?
Whether or not Lightworks is right for your YouTube channel depends on your goals as a video editor.
If what you want is to jump in and start making YouTube videos quickly, Lightworks might not be a great choice. It’s not an easy program to just jump into, you’ll have to either take time to learn it or accept that it’ll take some trial and error to get the hang of.
If what you want is to become a professional-level video editor, then Lightworks is a great program to start on (although, Hitfilm Express may still be better). Taking the time to learn it could certainly pay off in the long run.
However, if one of your priorities is for your YouTube channel to come across as professional, then the free version of Lightworks does have some disappointing limitations. You can only export videos in 720p, which is lower quality than viewers on YouTube expect (you probably want at least 1080p). Your output format is limited too. The royalty-free audio and video content Lightworks offers are also not free; you can just buy them through the program.
6. VSDC Video Editor – Windows
Pros
- Diagrams and charts
- How To Get Started Guide
- Lots of features
Cons
- Very confusing
- Paid features show up in the free version, but they’re blocked
Review of VSDC Video Editor
There’s a lot to like about VSDC Video Editor, but you have to do a lot of work to uncover any of it. Accessing even the most basic features is confusing.
One of the first things I tried to do as I tested the program was make a jump cut (where you cut out part of a video so the playback ‘jumps over’ the deleted segment) and, while I was able to do it, it was not an intuitive process. There is a multitude of toolbars and icons surrounding your preview window in VSDC, and none of those icons was for making cuts to your clips. To make any cuts you have to find the ‘cutting and splitting’ option under the Editor tab at the top of the page, which will open a second window in which you still cannot make any cuts. Instead what you can do is place markers, and when you click ‘apply changes’ to exit the window cuts will be made where you placed markers. There is nothing in the window to explain what the markers are for.
Other basic functions, like adding text, are just as complicated.
Is VSDC Video Editor good for YouTube?
I would not recommend VSDC for YouTube. It ranks higher than two other items on this list because they are, do to functional limitations, unable to create full YouTube videos without the support of other programs (at least realistically). You certainly could create your full YouTube video in VSDC, but it’d be a headache.
7. Machete Video Editor Lite – Windows
Pros
- Great for harvesting clips from longer footage
- Lossless exports
Cons
- Cannot swap or add audio
- Only supports two formats (AVI and WMV)
- Slightly awkward timeline
Machete Video Editor Lite Review
Machete Lite claims that you’ll be able to edit your videos “within a few minutes after downloading the program, even if you’ve never edited a video before”, and that is true. It might even be better if you haven’t edited a video before because the interface is slightly awkward if you’ve come from a program with a more traditional timeline setup. Machete Lite is easy to use for the most part, but it doesn’t work like most other editors and that can be awkward to navigate around.
Instead of seeing a timeline with all of your individual clips, Machete treats your entire video as one clip. You will only be able to see where you have inserted a separate video clip or cut out a portion of the video by watching the video back or jumping through it (Machete Lite does allow frame-by-frame scrolling). You won’t be able to see this information at a glance, and you won’t be able to adjust the lengths of clips you’ve added separately.
To take out any portion of your overall video you’ll need to find a keyframe at the beginning, set that as the beginning of your selection, then find a key frame at the end and set that as the end of your selection. You will then be able to delete that selection. This will not work if the frames you have set as the beginning and end are not considered keyframes by the program, so it can be difficult to be precise, but since the program allows you to jump through keyframes it’s not difficult to find a point that works.
Is Machete Video Editor Lite good for YouTube?
Machete Lite is not a good choice for YouTubers unless it is used in combination with another program.
It doesn’t work as a YouTube editor because you cannot edit or swap audio, the transition between clips, or create layers of videos and images.
However, the thing Machete Lite is really good at is cutting out clips from longer videos. You can create a selection of a part of your longer clip and then export it (with no quality loss) as its own video file.
This is what the Machete Lite toolbar looks like when you’ve created a selection. Tools like cut and copy which were greyed out before are now available, as is the save icon on the far right. If you click the save icon, you’ll be able to save that selection as its own video.
You can’t create a complete YouTube video in Machete Lite, but you can harvest clips to use in a different program.
8. Avidemux – Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD
Pros
- Can add subtitle files
Cons
- Not intuitive
- Doesn’t support MOV or WMV
- The website is not informative, no tutorials
Avidemux Review
Avidemux is not an easy program to jump into. I almost wrote that it couldn’t do anything besides make cuts to a clip before I saw a YouTube tutorial about how to find the contrast and brightness tools. If you decide to try it out, remember that you have to choose your output format before Avidemux will let you access tools like Hue/Saturation and Contrast (click Filters under Video Output to find them).
There are no official tutorials for Avidemux you can access from their site, so you’ll have to rely on the forums and tutorials from users if you want to learn it.
You can import multiple clips into Avidemux, but you have to import them in the order you want because you can’t drag them around the timeline after. Everything becomes one big clip.
Is Avidemux good for YouTube?
No. It has more functionality than Machete, which is ranked higher on this list, but the difference is that Machete is excellent at one thing. They both suffer from the same main weakness – you could not complete your full YouTube video either (at least not without a lot of trouble). Machete could still be useful to a YouTuber, though, because it allows for the lossless exporting of segments of clips. You can use it to harvest clips for your larger project in another program.
In theory, you could do some picture editing and snipping in Avidemux and then put your project together/add titles in another program, but your other program can probably do all that just as well if not better. Avidemux isn’t a bad program, but it doesn’t excel at anything. There are a lot of better options which are also free.
What has your experience with free video editors been like?
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Dec 02, 2022• Proven solutions
What makes a YouTube video good? The most important element is obviously you, the creator. Your personality, ideas, and unique viewpoint are what will make your content special and turn viewers into subscribers.
The next most important thing – even more important than the camera you use – is editing.
Editing a YouTube video doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, it should be simple. Your focus when you’re perfecting your video should be on that ‘most important thing’ we mentioned earlier – your creativity. Editing for a YouTube video should be art, not mechanical engineering.
Below is a list of the top free video editing software ranked according to how appropriate it is for YouTube videos.
| Rank | Editor | Make Cuts | Audio Features | Multiple Video Tracks | Video Effects | Intuitive Score (1-5) | Compatibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | OpenShot Video Editor | Yes | Fade In/Out, set volume levels | Yes | Transitions, text, ability to animate. Blur/Saturation/Brightness controls. | 5 | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 2. | Shotcut | Yes | Detailed audio editing | Yes | You can customize color presets and other effects. No animations. | 4 | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 3. | Hitfilm Express | Yes | Audio effects and transitioning. | Yes | Every imaginable picture customization. Some FX (more if you pay). Text tool. | 4 | Windows, Mac |
| 4. | VideoPad Video Editor | Yes | Noise removal, equalizer, audio effects. | Yes | Moving text, transitions, filters. | 5 | Windows |
| 5. | Lightworks | Yes | Detailed audio editing | Yes | No premade effects, but you can add text/color edit. | 3 | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 6. | VSDC Video Editor | Yes | Some audio features blocked in free version | Yes | Filters, transitions, text, and more. | 1 | Windows |
| 7. | Machete Video Editor Lite | Yes | None | No | None | 3 | Windows |
| 8. | Avidemux | Yes | Some audio features | No | Some picture adjustments | 2 | Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD |
Ready to upgrade to a simple, powerful, paid software that’s perfect for YouTube? Check out the free trial of Wondershare Filmora . It is an advanced tool that is focused more on newbie editors who are new to the videography world but want to compete with professionals!
1. OpenShot Video Editor – Open Source (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Pros
- Easy to use
- Includes transitions
- Keyframing
- Alpha Channel
- Unlimited video tracks
OpenShot Video Editor Review
OpenShot completely lives up to the claim that it was designed to be ‘easy to use, quick to learn, and surprisingly powerful’.
The first time you use OpenShot there will be helpful tutorial notes to guide you through the program. The interface is intuitive enough that you may not always need them, but having them should erase any confusion.
All of the basic editing features, like cutting clips up, are easy to access in the timeline. You have unlimited tracks, and it’s easy to drag your clips between them. There’s a helpful magnet feature that fits clips together if you slide them together, but which still allows for blank space if you choose to leave it.
Most other functions – setting volume levels, adjusting the speed, adding movement/zoom effect – are accessible simply by right-clicking on your clip in the timeline and choosing what you want from the menu that pops up.
Is OpenShot Video Editor good for YouTube?
OpenShot is a great, free, choice for YouTubers at any editing skill level.
Beyond simply ordering your clips, OpenShot includes text and transition options within the program. You can even animate the text, and access Animated Titles if you use OpenShot in tandem with a free animation program called Blender. Titles and transitions are vital to a lot of popular YouTube styles.
OpenShot does not provide the same level of detail as the runner up, Shotcut, when it comes to color correction or audio editing. However, the features it does have (volume levels, control of saturation) will satisfy most YouTubers.
2. Shotcut – Open Source (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Pros
- Detailed audio editing
- Color grading, ability to save presets
- Fairly intuitive timeline
Shotcut Review
Shotcut delivers a smooth, detailed, editing experience for free. It is not as easy to jump into as some of the other programs on this list, but it still only takes a half-hour or so of playing around to understand it well enough to make a video. There are also tutorials up on Shotcut’s site that can help you.
You can edit using multiple video tracks in Shotcut, making it easy to combine multiple clips, and basic functions like splitting or copying clips are as easy as clicking the right icon on the toolbar.
All of the video and audio effects, including things like chroma key, you might want to apply to your video are found under the Filters menu. It will look empty when you first open it, and you have to click the plus sign to see what your options are. If you want to create a color tint (like what you might think of as an Instagram filter) then you can do that through the Color Grading option. If you want to do something like invert your colors or add an ‘old film’ look, you’ll find that here as well along with all of the audio editing features (balance, bass and treble, and gain to name just a few).
Is Shotcut good for YouTube?
Shotcut is a great choice for YouTubers. It allows you to do some advanced editing, and it’s easy to learn compared to a program targeted at professional editors.
The only complication with Shotcut for entry-level editors who will primarily use the program for YouTube might be that animations – like moving text – are not available through the program (you can add and customize text, but it just sits there). You can get them from elsewhere and use them in the program (Shotcut has an alpha channel), but it’s a bit more involved a process than simply customizing something that’s already provided.
3. Hitfilm Express – Windows, Mac
Pros
- Compositing mode (2D and 3D)
- The Most effect customization
- Helpful User Guide & tutorials
Cons
- Can be overwhelming
- Its main strength is FX, but you only get a couple for free. Most have to be bought separately.
Hitfilm Express Review
Hitfilm Express is the best free editor if you want to add special effects to your projects. OpenShot’s alpha channel will be enough for most people, but if you think of yourself as an aspiring filmmaker then it’s hard to beat Hitfilm’s range of functions.
This is an editor designed for people who want to make movies, and it’s a lot more intuitive than most professional-grade software. Film-quality FX (lasers, explosions, etc.) are available through Hitfilm Express for a reasonable price ($10-$50, depending on what you want), and even without paying extra for the packs, there’s a lot you can do to give your video a ‘film look’ using compositing layers and the multitude of customizable effects provided through the program.
Another highlight of Hitfilm Express is the extensive selection of tutorials and helpful information they have available both through YouTube videos and their User Guide. You will need those because this program can be overwhelming. It has so many functions and areas you can customize that it is easy to get lost.
That said, basic editing in Hitfilm Express is not difficult to jump into. It’s only when you start getting fancy that things get dicey.
Is Hitfilm Express good for YouTube?
Yes. It will not be the best option for everyone, but it’s not a bad option for anyone either.
If what you want to make is a vlog where you have a series of clips, and intro, and maybe a couple of title effects, then Hitfilm express might be overkill. You don’t want to have to master compositing just to add some text.
If what you want to make is a vlog that’s interrupted by an alien invasion and turns into an action sequence with lasers and falling debris, it’d be hard to do better than Hitfilm Express.
4. VideoPad Video Editor – Windows
Pros
- Easy to jump into
- Moving text
- Huge audio waveforms
- Audio and visual effects
- Lossless exports
Cons
- No longer updated
VideoPad Video Editor Review
VideoPad Video Editor is an extremely easy to use program. It may be the easiest program on this list to jump into, which you could also realistically create your entire video inside (there are easier programs, but you can only do some of your work in them). Part of its simplicity comes from not being as feature-rich as the programs ranking higher than it on this list, however.
You do not get the same range of functions with VideoPad as you do from the top 3 free editors, but it has enough to satisfy people who are just starting out. Creating moving text effects is easy, you have huge audio waves to work with while you’re syncing, and effects like transitions and filters are easy to find.
VideoPad does suffer a bit from being dated. This program is no longer being worked on, and the interface doesn’t look particularly modern. This is a bit more than a cosmetic issue because some features, while not difficult to find, are placed a bit oddly compared to other editors.
One slightly annoying feature of VideoPad is that it will prompt you to buy the commercial version sometimes (the free version is only for non-commercial use). There have been reports of exports being blocked in the free version, but I exported several times for the sake of this review and the issue never came up.
Is VideoPad Video Editor good for YouTube?
VideoPad makes a decent YouTube editor. You can jump right in and start making cuts, adding filters, and ordering your clips. If you have the kind of channel where voiceovers are important (like in gaming or makeup), then you’ll be happy with the size of the audio waves you have to work with for syncing.
The thing about VideoPad is that you’re probably going to outgrow it quickly as you become a more capable editor.
5. Lightworks – Windows, Mac, Linux
Pros
- Detailed color and audio editing
- Multicam editing
Cons
- Exports limited to 720p for the free version
- Difficult to learn compared to other free software
Lightworks Review
On their website, Lightworks claims to have an ‘intuitive interface’ and ‘easy timeline editing’. This is true if you compare it to other professional-level editing suites. Compared to the other programs on this list, Lightworks is complicated.
The first thing I attempt when I review this program is to simply split a clip, and it took me a ridiculous amount of time to figure this feature out in Lightworks (a more advanced editor could have found it faster, but these reviews are meant to help people with less experience). Lightworks does have a whole tutorial series on using the software, so if you are interested in learning to use it there is ample material out there to help you.
Lightworks has a wide range of functions (i.e. detailed audio editing and color correction), and it has been used for big movies like ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’. It is the most professional program on this list, and it’s a great free alternative to something like Adobe Premiere Pro.
Note: there is no time limit on the free version of Lightworks, but it will ask you to renew your free license every 7 days. When it says your license is ‘expired’ it isn’t kicking you off the free version, you just need to renew.
Is Lightworks good for YouTube?
Whether or not Lightworks is right for your YouTube channel depends on your goals as a video editor.
If what you want is to jump in and start making YouTube videos quickly, Lightworks might not be a great choice. It’s not an easy program to just jump into, you’ll have to either take time to learn it or accept that it’ll take some trial and error to get the hang of.
If what you want is to become a professional-level video editor, then Lightworks is a great program to start on (although, Hitfilm Express may still be better). Taking the time to learn it could certainly pay off in the long run.
However, if one of your priorities is for your YouTube channel to come across as professional, then the free version of Lightworks does have some disappointing limitations. You can only export videos in 720p, which is lower quality than viewers on YouTube expect (you probably want at least 1080p). Your output format is limited too. The royalty-free audio and video content Lightworks offers are also not free; you can just buy them through the program.
6. VSDC Video Editor – Windows
Pros
- Diagrams and charts
- How To Get Started Guide
- Lots of features
Cons
- Very confusing
- Paid features show up in the free version, but they’re blocked
Review of VSDC Video Editor
There’s a lot to like about VSDC Video Editor, but you have to do a lot of work to uncover any of it. Accessing even the most basic features is confusing.
One of the first things I tried to do as I tested the program was make a jump cut (where you cut out part of a video so the playback ‘jumps over’ the deleted segment) and, while I was able to do it, it was not an intuitive process. There is a multitude of toolbars and icons surrounding your preview window in VSDC, and none of those icons was for making cuts to your clips. To make any cuts you have to find the ‘cutting and splitting’ option under the Editor tab at the top of the page, which will open a second window in which you still cannot make any cuts. Instead what you can do is place markers, and when you click ‘apply changes’ to exit the window cuts will be made where you placed markers. There is nothing in the window to explain what the markers are for.
Other basic functions, like adding text, are just as complicated.
Is VSDC Video Editor good for YouTube?
I would not recommend VSDC for YouTube. It ranks higher than two other items on this list because they are, do to functional limitations, unable to create full YouTube videos without the support of other programs (at least realistically). You certainly could create your full YouTube video in VSDC, but it’d be a headache.
7. Machete Video Editor Lite – Windows
Pros
- Great for harvesting clips from longer footage
- Lossless exports
Cons
- Cannot swap or add audio
- Only supports two formats (AVI and WMV)
- Slightly awkward timeline
Machete Video Editor Lite Review
Machete Lite claims that you’ll be able to edit your videos “within a few minutes after downloading the program, even if you’ve never edited a video before”, and that is true. It might even be better if you haven’t edited a video before because the interface is slightly awkward if you’ve come from a program with a more traditional timeline setup. Machete Lite is easy to use for the most part, but it doesn’t work like most other editors and that can be awkward to navigate around.
Instead of seeing a timeline with all of your individual clips, Machete treats your entire video as one clip. You will only be able to see where you have inserted a separate video clip or cut out a portion of the video by watching the video back or jumping through it (Machete Lite does allow frame-by-frame scrolling). You won’t be able to see this information at a glance, and you won’t be able to adjust the lengths of clips you’ve added separately.
To take out any portion of your overall video you’ll need to find a keyframe at the beginning, set that as the beginning of your selection, then find a key frame at the end and set that as the end of your selection. You will then be able to delete that selection. This will not work if the frames you have set as the beginning and end are not considered keyframes by the program, so it can be difficult to be precise, but since the program allows you to jump through keyframes it’s not difficult to find a point that works.
Is Machete Video Editor Lite good for YouTube?
Machete Lite is not a good choice for YouTubers unless it is used in combination with another program.
It doesn’t work as a YouTube editor because you cannot edit or swap audio, the transition between clips, or create layers of videos and images.
However, the thing Machete Lite is really good at is cutting out clips from longer videos. You can create a selection of a part of your longer clip and then export it (with no quality loss) as its own video file.
This is what the Machete Lite toolbar looks like when you’ve created a selection. Tools like cut and copy which were greyed out before are now available, as is the save icon on the far right. If you click the save icon, you’ll be able to save that selection as its own video.
You can’t create a complete YouTube video in Machete Lite, but you can harvest clips to use in a different program.
8. Avidemux – Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD
Pros
- Can add subtitle files
Cons
- Not intuitive
- Doesn’t support MOV or WMV
- The website is not informative, no tutorials
Avidemux Review
Avidemux is not an easy program to jump into. I almost wrote that it couldn’t do anything besides make cuts to a clip before I saw a YouTube tutorial about how to find the contrast and brightness tools. If you decide to try it out, remember that you have to choose your output format before Avidemux will let you access tools like Hue/Saturation and Contrast (click Filters under Video Output to find them).
There are no official tutorials for Avidemux you can access from their site, so you’ll have to rely on the forums and tutorials from users if you want to learn it.
You can import multiple clips into Avidemux, but you have to import them in the order you want because you can’t drag them around the timeline after. Everything becomes one big clip.
Is Avidemux good for YouTube?
No. It has more functionality than Machete, which is ranked higher on this list, but the difference is that Machete is excellent at one thing. They both suffer from the same main weakness – you could not complete your full YouTube video either (at least not without a lot of trouble). Machete could still be useful to a YouTuber, though, because it allows for the lossless exporting of segments of clips. You can use it to harvest clips for your larger project in another program.
In theory, you could do some picture editing and snipping in Avidemux and then put your project together/add titles in another program, but your other program can probably do all that just as well if not better. Avidemux isn’t a bad program, but it doesn’t excel at anything. There are a lot of better options which are also free.
What has your experience with free video editors been like?
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Dec 02, 2022• Proven solutions
What makes a YouTube video good? The most important element is obviously you, the creator. Your personality, ideas, and unique viewpoint are what will make your content special and turn viewers into subscribers.
The next most important thing – even more important than the camera you use – is editing.
Editing a YouTube video doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, it should be simple. Your focus when you’re perfecting your video should be on that ‘most important thing’ we mentioned earlier – your creativity. Editing for a YouTube video should be art, not mechanical engineering.
Below is a list of the top free video editing software ranked according to how appropriate it is for YouTube videos.
| Rank | Editor | Make Cuts | Audio Features | Multiple Video Tracks | Video Effects | Intuitive Score (1-5) | Compatibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | OpenShot Video Editor | Yes | Fade In/Out, set volume levels | Yes | Transitions, text, ability to animate. Blur/Saturation/Brightness controls. | 5 | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 2. | Shotcut | Yes | Detailed audio editing | Yes | You can customize color presets and other effects. No animations. | 4 | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 3. | Hitfilm Express | Yes | Audio effects and transitioning. | Yes | Every imaginable picture customization. Some FX (more if you pay). Text tool. | 4 | Windows, Mac |
| 4. | VideoPad Video Editor | Yes | Noise removal, equalizer, audio effects. | Yes | Moving text, transitions, filters. | 5 | Windows |
| 5. | Lightworks | Yes | Detailed audio editing | Yes | No premade effects, but you can add text/color edit. | 3 | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 6. | VSDC Video Editor | Yes | Some audio features blocked in free version | Yes | Filters, transitions, text, and more. | 1 | Windows |
| 7. | Machete Video Editor Lite | Yes | None | No | None | 3 | Windows |
| 8. | Avidemux | Yes | Some audio features | No | Some picture adjustments | 2 | Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD |
Ready to upgrade to a simple, powerful, paid software that’s perfect for YouTube? Check out the free trial of Wondershare Filmora . It is an advanced tool that is focused more on newbie editors who are new to the videography world but want to compete with professionals!
1. OpenShot Video Editor – Open Source (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Pros
- Easy to use
- Includes transitions
- Keyframing
- Alpha Channel
- Unlimited video tracks
OpenShot Video Editor Review
OpenShot completely lives up to the claim that it was designed to be ‘easy to use, quick to learn, and surprisingly powerful’.
The first time you use OpenShot there will be helpful tutorial notes to guide you through the program. The interface is intuitive enough that you may not always need them, but having them should erase any confusion.
All of the basic editing features, like cutting clips up, are easy to access in the timeline. You have unlimited tracks, and it’s easy to drag your clips between them. There’s a helpful magnet feature that fits clips together if you slide them together, but which still allows for blank space if you choose to leave it.
Most other functions – setting volume levels, adjusting the speed, adding movement/zoom effect – are accessible simply by right-clicking on your clip in the timeline and choosing what you want from the menu that pops up.
Is OpenShot Video Editor good for YouTube?
OpenShot is a great, free, choice for YouTubers at any editing skill level.
Beyond simply ordering your clips, OpenShot includes text and transition options within the program. You can even animate the text, and access Animated Titles if you use OpenShot in tandem with a free animation program called Blender. Titles and transitions are vital to a lot of popular YouTube styles.
OpenShot does not provide the same level of detail as the runner up, Shotcut, when it comes to color correction or audio editing. However, the features it does have (volume levels, control of saturation) will satisfy most YouTubers.
2. Shotcut – Open Source (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Pros
- Detailed audio editing
- Color grading, ability to save presets
- Fairly intuitive timeline
Shotcut Review
Shotcut delivers a smooth, detailed, editing experience for free. It is not as easy to jump into as some of the other programs on this list, but it still only takes a half-hour or so of playing around to understand it well enough to make a video. There are also tutorials up on Shotcut’s site that can help you.
You can edit using multiple video tracks in Shotcut, making it easy to combine multiple clips, and basic functions like splitting or copying clips are as easy as clicking the right icon on the toolbar.
All of the video and audio effects, including things like chroma key, you might want to apply to your video are found under the Filters menu. It will look empty when you first open it, and you have to click the plus sign to see what your options are. If you want to create a color tint (like what you might think of as an Instagram filter) then you can do that through the Color Grading option. If you want to do something like invert your colors or add an ‘old film’ look, you’ll find that here as well along with all of the audio editing features (balance, bass and treble, and gain to name just a few).
Is Shotcut good for YouTube?
Shotcut is a great choice for YouTubers. It allows you to do some advanced editing, and it’s easy to learn compared to a program targeted at professional editors.
The only complication with Shotcut for entry-level editors who will primarily use the program for YouTube might be that animations – like moving text – are not available through the program (you can add and customize text, but it just sits there). You can get them from elsewhere and use them in the program (Shotcut has an alpha channel), but it’s a bit more involved a process than simply customizing something that’s already provided.
3. Hitfilm Express – Windows, Mac
Pros
- Compositing mode (2D and 3D)
- The Most effect customization
- Helpful User Guide & tutorials
Cons
- Can be overwhelming
- Its main strength is FX, but you only get a couple for free. Most have to be bought separately.
Hitfilm Express Review
Hitfilm Express is the best free editor if you want to add special effects to your projects. OpenShot’s alpha channel will be enough for most people, but if you think of yourself as an aspiring filmmaker then it’s hard to beat Hitfilm’s range of functions.
This is an editor designed for people who want to make movies, and it’s a lot more intuitive than most professional-grade software. Film-quality FX (lasers, explosions, etc.) are available through Hitfilm Express for a reasonable price ($10-$50, depending on what you want), and even without paying extra for the packs, there’s a lot you can do to give your video a ‘film look’ using compositing layers and the multitude of customizable effects provided through the program.
Another highlight of Hitfilm Express is the extensive selection of tutorials and helpful information they have available both through YouTube videos and their User Guide. You will need those because this program can be overwhelming. It has so many functions and areas you can customize that it is easy to get lost.
That said, basic editing in Hitfilm Express is not difficult to jump into. It’s only when you start getting fancy that things get dicey.
Is Hitfilm Express good for YouTube?
Yes. It will not be the best option for everyone, but it’s not a bad option for anyone either.
If what you want to make is a vlog where you have a series of clips, and intro, and maybe a couple of title effects, then Hitfilm express might be overkill. You don’t want to have to master compositing just to add some text.
If what you want to make is a vlog that’s interrupted by an alien invasion and turns into an action sequence with lasers and falling debris, it’d be hard to do better than Hitfilm Express.
4. VideoPad Video Editor – Windows
Pros
- Easy to jump into
- Moving text
- Huge audio waveforms
- Audio and visual effects
- Lossless exports
Cons
- No longer updated
VideoPad Video Editor Review
VideoPad Video Editor is an extremely easy to use program. It may be the easiest program on this list to jump into, which you could also realistically create your entire video inside (there are easier programs, but you can only do some of your work in them). Part of its simplicity comes from not being as feature-rich as the programs ranking higher than it on this list, however.
You do not get the same range of functions with VideoPad as you do from the top 3 free editors, but it has enough to satisfy people who are just starting out. Creating moving text effects is easy, you have huge audio waves to work with while you’re syncing, and effects like transitions and filters are easy to find.
VideoPad does suffer a bit from being dated. This program is no longer being worked on, and the interface doesn’t look particularly modern. This is a bit more than a cosmetic issue because some features, while not difficult to find, are placed a bit oddly compared to other editors.
One slightly annoying feature of VideoPad is that it will prompt you to buy the commercial version sometimes (the free version is only for non-commercial use). There have been reports of exports being blocked in the free version, but I exported several times for the sake of this review and the issue never came up.
Is VideoPad Video Editor good for YouTube?
VideoPad makes a decent YouTube editor. You can jump right in and start making cuts, adding filters, and ordering your clips. If you have the kind of channel where voiceovers are important (like in gaming or makeup), then you’ll be happy with the size of the audio waves you have to work with for syncing.
The thing about VideoPad is that you’re probably going to outgrow it quickly as you become a more capable editor.
5. Lightworks – Windows, Mac, Linux
Pros
- Detailed color and audio editing
- Multicam editing
Cons
- Exports limited to 720p for the free version
- Difficult to learn compared to other free software
Lightworks Review
On their website, Lightworks claims to have an ‘intuitive interface’ and ‘easy timeline editing’. This is true if you compare it to other professional-level editing suites. Compared to the other programs on this list, Lightworks is complicated.
The first thing I attempt when I review this program is to simply split a clip, and it took me a ridiculous amount of time to figure this feature out in Lightworks (a more advanced editor could have found it faster, but these reviews are meant to help people with less experience). Lightworks does have a whole tutorial series on using the software, so if you are interested in learning to use it there is ample material out there to help you.
Lightworks has a wide range of functions (i.e. detailed audio editing and color correction), and it has been used for big movies like ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’. It is the most professional program on this list, and it’s a great free alternative to something like Adobe Premiere Pro.
Note: there is no time limit on the free version of Lightworks, but it will ask you to renew your free license every 7 days. When it says your license is ‘expired’ it isn’t kicking you off the free version, you just need to renew.
Is Lightworks good for YouTube?
Whether or not Lightworks is right for your YouTube channel depends on your goals as a video editor.
If what you want is to jump in and start making YouTube videos quickly, Lightworks might not be a great choice. It’s not an easy program to just jump into, you’ll have to either take time to learn it or accept that it’ll take some trial and error to get the hang of.
If what you want is to become a professional-level video editor, then Lightworks is a great program to start on (although, Hitfilm Express may still be better). Taking the time to learn it could certainly pay off in the long run.
However, if one of your priorities is for your YouTube channel to come across as professional, then the free version of Lightworks does have some disappointing limitations. You can only export videos in 720p, which is lower quality than viewers on YouTube expect (you probably want at least 1080p). Your output format is limited too. The royalty-free audio and video content Lightworks offers are also not free; you can just buy them through the program.
6. VSDC Video Editor – Windows
Pros
- Diagrams and charts
- How To Get Started Guide
- Lots of features
Cons
- Very confusing
- Paid features show up in the free version, but they’re blocked
Review of VSDC Video Editor
There’s a lot to like about VSDC Video Editor, but you have to do a lot of work to uncover any of it. Accessing even the most basic features is confusing.
One of the first things I tried to do as I tested the program was make a jump cut (where you cut out part of a video so the playback ‘jumps over’ the deleted segment) and, while I was able to do it, it was not an intuitive process. There is a multitude of toolbars and icons surrounding your preview window in VSDC, and none of those icons was for making cuts to your clips. To make any cuts you have to find the ‘cutting and splitting’ option under the Editor tab at the top of the page, which will open a second window in which you still cannot make any cuts. Instead what you can do is place markers, and when you click ‘apply changes’ to exit the window cuts will be made where you placed markers. There is nothing in the window to explain what the markers are for.
Other basic functions, like adding text, are just as complicated.
Is VSDC Video Editor good for YouTube?
I would not recommend VSDC for YouTube. It ranks higher than two other items on this list because they are, do to functional limitations, unable to create full YouTube videos without the support of other programs (at least realistically). You certainly could create your full YouTube video in VSDC, but it’d be a headache.
7. Machete Video Editor Lite – Windows
Pros
- Great for harvesting clips from longer footage
- Lossless exports
Cons
- Cannot swap or add audio
- Only supports two formats (AVI and WMV)
- Slightly awkward timeline
Machete Video Editor Lite Review
Machete Lite claims that you’ll be able to edit your videos “within a few minutes after downloading the program, even if you’ve never edited a video before”, and that is true. It might even be better if you haven’t edited a video before because the interface is slightly awkward if you’ve come from a program with a more traditional timeline setup. Machete Lite is easy to use for the most part, but it doesn’t work like most other editors and that can be awkward to navigate around.
Instead of seeing a timeline with all of your individual clips, Machete treats your entire video as one clip. You will only be able to see where you have inserted a separate video clip or cut out a portion of the video by watching the video back or jumping through it (Machete Lite does allow frame-by-frame scrolling). You won’t be able to see this information at a glance, and you won’t be able to adjust the lengths of clips you’ve added separately.
To take out any portion of your overall video you’ll need to find a keyframe at the beginning, set that as the beginning of your selection, then find a key frame at the end and set that as the end of your selection. You will then be able to delete that selection. This will not work if the frames you have set as the beginning and end are not considered keyframes by the program, so it can be difficult to be precise, but since the program allows you to jump through keyframes it’s not difficult to find a point that works.
Is Machete Video Editor Lite good for YouTube?
Machete Lite is not a good choice for YouTubers unless it is used in combination with another program.
It doesn’t work as a YouTube editor because you cannot edit or swap audio, the transition between clips, or create layers of videos and images.
However, the thing Machete Lite is really good at is cutting out clips from longer videos. You can create a selection of a part of your longer clip and then export it (with no quality loss) as its own video file.
This is what the Machete Lite toolbar looks like when you’ve created a selection. Tools like cut and copy which were greyed out before are now available, as is the save icon on the far right. If you click the save icon, you’ll be able to save that selection as its own video.
You can’t create a complete YouTube video in Machete Lite, but you can harvest clips to use in a different program.
8. Avidemux – Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD
Pros
- Can add subtitle files
Cons
- Not intuitive
- Doesn’t support MOV or WMV
- The website is not informative, no tutorials
Avidemux Review
Avidemux is not an easy program to jump into. I almost wrote that it couldn’t do anything besides make cuts to a clip before I saw a YouTube tutorial about how to find the contrast and brightness tools. If you decide to try it out, remember that you have to choose your output format before Avidemux will let you access tools like Hue/Saturation and Contrast (click Filters under Video Output to find them).
There are no official tutorials for Avidemux you can access from their site, so you’ll have to rely on the forums and tutorials from users if you want to learn it.
You can import multiple clips into Avidemux, but you have to import them in the order you want because you can’t drag them around the timeline after. Everything becomes one big clip.
Is Avidemux good for YouTube?
No. It has more functionality than Machete, which is ranked higher on this list, but the difference is that Machete is excellent at one thing. They both suffer from the same main weakness – you could not complete your full YouTube video either (at least not without a lot of trouble). Machete could still be useful to a YouTuber, though, because it allows for the lossless exporting of segments of clips. You can use it to harvest clips for your larger project in another program.
In theory, you could do some picture editing and snipping in Avidemux and then put your project together/add titles in another program, but your other program can probably do all that just as well if not better. Avidemux isn’t a bad program, but it doesn’t excel at anything. There are a lot of better options which are also free.
What has your experience with free video editors been like?
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Dec 02, 2022• Proven solutions
What makes a YouTube video good? The most important element is obviously you, the creator. Your personality, ideas, and unique viewpoint are what will make your content special and turn viewers into subscribers.
The next most important thing – even more important than the camera you use – is editing.
Editing a YouTube video doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, it should be simple. Your focus when you’re perfecting your video should be on that ‘most important thing’ we mentioned earlier – your creativity. Editing for a YouTube video should be art, not mechanical engineering.
Below is a list of the top free video editing software ranked according to how appropriate it is for YouTube videos.
| Rank | Editor | Make Cuts | Audio Features | Multiple Video Tracks | Video Effects | Intuitive Score (1-5) | Compatibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | OpenShot Video Editor | Yes | Fade In/Out, set volume levels | Yes | Transitions, text, ability to animate. Blur/Saturation/Brightness controls. | 5 | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 2. | Shotcut | Yes | Detailed audio editing | Yes | You can customize color presets and other effects. No animations. | 4 | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 3. | Hitfilm Express | Yes | Audio effects and transitioning. | Yes | Every imaginable picture customization. Some FX (more if you pay). Text tool. | 4 | Windows, Mac |
| 4. | VideoPad Video Editor | Yes | Noise removal, equalizer, audio effects. | Yes | Moving text, transitions, filters. | 5 | Windows |
| 5. | Lightworks | Yes | Detailed audio editing | Yes | No premade effects, but you can add text/color edit. | 3 | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 6. | VSDC Video Editor | Yes | Some audio features blocked in free version | Yes | Filters, transitions, text, and more. | 1 | Windows |
| 7. | Machete Video Editor Lite | Yes | None | No | None | 3 | Windows |
| 8. | Avidemux | Yes | Some audio features | No | Some picture adjustments | 2 | Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD |
Ready to upgrade to a simple, powerful, paid software that’s perfect for YouTube? Check out the free trial of Wondershare Filmora . It is an advanced tool that is focused more on newbie editors who are new to the videography world but want to compete with professionals!
1. OpenShot Video Editor – Open Source (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Pros
- Easy to use
- Includes transitions
- Keyframing
- Alpha Channel
- Unlimited video tracks
OpenShot Video Editor Review
OpenShot completely lives up to the claim that it was designed to be ‘easy to use, quick to learn, and surprisingly powerful’.
The first time you use OpenShot there will be helpful tutorial notes to guide you through the program. The interface is intuitive enough that you may not always need them, but having them should erase any confusion.
All of the basic editing features, like cutting clips up, are easy to access in the timeline. You have unlimited tracks, and it’s easy to drag your clips between them. There’s a helpful magnet feature that fits clips together if you slide them together, but which still allows for blank space if you choose to leave it.
Most other functions – setting volume levels, adjusting the speed, adding movement/zoom effect – are accessible simply by right-clicking on your clip in the timeline and choosing what you want from the menu that pops up.
Is OpenShot Video Editor good for YouTube?
OpenShot is a great, free, choice for YouTubers at any editing skill level.
Beyond simply ordering your clips, OpenShot includes text and transition options within the program. You can even animate the text, and access Animated Titles if you use OpenShot in tandem with a free animation program called Blender. Titles and transitions are vital to a lot of popular YouTube styles.
OpenShot does not provide the same level of detail as the runner up, Shotcut, when it comes to color correction or audio editing. However, the features it does have (volume levels, control of saturation) will satisfy most YouTubers.
2. Shotcut – Open Source (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Pros
- Detailed audio editing
- Color grading, ability to save presets
- Fairly intuitive timeline
Shotcut Review
Shotcut delivers a smooth, detailed, editing experience for free. It is not as easy to jump into as some of the other programs on this list, but it still only takes a half-hour or so of playing around to understand it well enough to make a video. There are also tutorials up on Shotcut’s site that can help you.
You can edit using multiple video tracks in Shotcut, making it easy to combine multiple clips, and basic functions like splitting or copying clips are as easy as clicking the right icon on the toolbar.
All of the video and audio effects, including things like chroma key, you might want to apply to your video are found under the Filters menu. It will look empty when you first open it, and you have to click the plus sign to see what your options are. If you want to create a color tint (like what you might think of as an Instagram filter) then you can do that through the Color Grading option. If you want to do something like invert your colors or add an ‘old film’ look, you’ll find that here as well along with all of the audio editing features (balance, bass and treble, and gain to name just a few).
Is Shotcut good for YouTube?
Shotcut is a great choice for YouTubers. It allows you to do some advanced editing, and it’s easy to learn compared to a program targeted at professional editors.
The only complication with Shotcut for entry-level editors who will primarily use the program for YouTube might be that animations – like moving text – are not available through the program (you can add and customize text, but it just sits there). You can get them from elsewhere and use them in the program (Shotcut has an alpha channel), but it’s a bit more involved a process than simply customizing something that’s already provided.
3. Hitfilm Express – Windows, Mac
Pros
- Compositing mode (2D and 3D)
- The Most effect customization
- Helpful User Guide & tutorials
Cons
- Can be overwhelming
- Its main strength is FX, but you only get a couple for free. Most have to be bought separately.
Hitfilm Express Review
Hitfilm Express is the best free editor if you want to add special effects to your projects. OpenShot’s alpha channel will be enough for most people, but if you think of yourself as an aspiring filmmaker then it’s hard to beat Hitfilm’s range of functions.
This is an editor designed for people who want to make movies, and it’s a lot more intuitive than most professional-grade software. Film-quality FX (lasers, explosions, etc.) are available through Hitfilm Express for a reasonable price ($10-$50, depending on what you want), and even without paying extra for the packs, there’s a lot you can do to give your video a ‘film look’ using compositing layers and the multitude of customizable effects provided through the program.
Another highlight of Hitfilm Express is the extensive selection of tutorials and helpful information they have available both through YouTube videos and their User Guide. You will need those because this program can be overwhelming. It has so many functions and areas you can customize that it is easy to get lost.
That said, basic editing in Hitfilm Express is not difficult to jump into. It’s only when you start getting fancy that things get dicey.
Is Hitfilm Express good for YouTube?
Yes. It will not be the best option for everyone, but it’s not a bad option for anyone either.
If what you want to make is a vlog where you have a series of clips, and intro, and maybe a couple of title effects, then Hitfilm express might be overkill. You don’t want to have to master compositing just to add some text.
If what you want to make is a vlog that’s interrupted by an alien invasion and turns into an action sequence with lasers and falling debris, it’d be hard to do better than Hitfilm Express.
4. VideoPad Video Editor – Windows
Pros
- Easy to jump into
- Moving text
- Huge audio waveforms
- Audio and visual effects
- Lossless exports
Cons
- No longer updated
VideoPad Video Editor Review
VideoPad Video Editor is an extremely easy to use program. It may be the easiest program on this list to jump into, which you could also realistically create your entire video inside (there are easier programs, but you can only do some of your work in them). Part of its simplicity comes from not being as feature-rich as the programs ranking higher than it on this list, however.
You do not get the same range of functions with VideoPad as you do from the top 3 free editors, but it has enough to satisfy people who are just starting out. Creating moving text effects is easy, you have huge audio waves to work with while you’re syncing, and effects like transitions and filters are easy to find.
VideoPad does suffer a bit from being dated. This program is no longer being worked on, and the interface doesn’t look particularly modern. This is a bit more than a cosmetic issue because some features, while not difficult to find, are placed a bit oddly compared to other editors.
One slightly annoying feature of VideoPad is that it will prompt you to buy the commercial version sometimes (the free version is only for non-commercial use). There have been reports of exports being blocked in the free version, but I exported several times for the sake of this review and the issue never came up.
Is VideoPad Video Editor good for YouTube?
VideoPad makes a decent YouTube editor. You can jump right in and start making cuts, adding filters, and ordering your clips. If you have the kind of channel where voiceovers are important (like in gaming or makeup), then you’ll be happy with the size of the audio waves you have to work with for syncing.
The thing about VideoPad is that you’re probably going to outgrow it quickly as you become a more capable editor.
5. Lightworks – Windows, Mac, Linux
Pros
- Detailed color and audio editing
- Multicam editing
Cons
- Exports limited to 720p for the free version
- Difficult to learn compared to other free software
Lightworks Review
On their website, Lightworks claims to have an ‘intuitive interface’ and ‘easy timeline editing’. This is true if you compare it to other professional-level editing suites. Compared to the other programs on this list, Lightworks is complicated.
The first thing I attempt when I review this program is to simply split a clip, and it took me a ridiculous amount of time to figure this feature out in Lightworks (a more advanced editor could have found it faster, but these reviews are meant to help people with less experience). Lightworks does have a whole tutorial series on using the software, so if you are interested in learning to use it there is ample material out there to help you.
Lightworks has a wide range of functions (i.e. detailed audio editing and color correction), and it has been used for big movies like ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’. It is the most professional program on this list, and it’s a great free alternative to something like Adobe Premiere Pro.
Note: there is no time limit on the free version of Lightworks, but it will ask you to renew your free license every 7 days. When it says your license is ‘expired’ it isn’t kicking you off the free version, you just need to renew.
Is Lightworks good for YouTube?
Whether or not Lightworks is right for your YouTube channel depends on your goals as a video editor.
If what you want is to jump in and start making YouTube videos quickly, Lightworks might not be a great choice. It’s not an easy program to just jump into, you’ll have to either take time to learn it or accept that it’ll take some trial and error to get the hang of.
If what you want is to become a professional-level video editor, then Lightworks is a great program to start on (although, Hitfilm Express may still be better). Taking the time to learn it could certainly pay off in the long run.
However, if one of your priorities is for your YouTube channel to come across as professional, then the free version of Lightworks does have some disappointing limitations. You can only export videos in 720p, which is lower quality than viewers on YouTube expect (you probably want at least 1080p). Your output format is limited too. The royalty-free audio and video content Lightworks offers are also not free; you can just buy them through the program.
6. VSDC Video Editor – Windows
Pros
- Diagrams and charts
- How To Get Started Guide
- Lots of features
Cons
- Very confusing
- Paid features show up in the free version, but they’re blocked
Review of VSDC Video Editor
There’s a lot to like about VSDC Video Editor, but you have to do a lot of work to uncover any of it. Accessing even the most basic features is confusing.
One of the first things I tried to do as I tested the program was make a jump cut (where you cut out part of a video so the playback ‘jumps over’ the deleted segment) and, while I was able to do it, it was not an intuitive process. There is a multitude of toolbars and icons surrounding your preview window in VSDC, and none of those icons was for making cuts to your clips. To make any cuts you have to find the ‘cutting and splitting’ option under the Editor tab at the top of the page, which will open a second window in which you still cannot make any cuts. Instead what you can do is place markers, and when you click ‘apply changes’ to exit the window cuts will be made where you placed markers. There is nothing in the window to explain what the markers are for.
Other basic functions, like adding text, are just as complicated.
Is VSDC Video Editor good for YouTube?
I would not recommend VSDC for YouTube. It ranks higher than two other items on this list because they are, do to functional limitations, unable to create full YouTube videos without the support of other programs (at least realistically). You certainly could create your full YouTube video in VSDC, but it’d be a headache.
7. Machete Video Editor Lite – Windows
Pros
- Great for harvesting clips from longer footage
- Lossless exports
Cons
- Cannot swap or add audio
- Only supports two formats (AVI and WMV)
- Slightly awkward timeline
Machete Video Editor Lite Review
Machete Lite claims that you’ll be able to edit your videos “within a few minutes after downloading the program, even if you’ve never edited a video before”, and that is true. It might even be better if you haven’t edited a video before because the interface is slightly awkward if you’ve come from a program with a more traditional timeline setup. Machete Lite is easy to use for the most part, but it doesn’t work like most other editors and that can be awkward to navigate around.
Instead of seeing a timeline with all of your individual clips, Machete treats your entire video as one clip. You will only be able to see where you have inserted a separate video clip or cut out a portion of the video by watching the video back or jumping through it (Machete Lite does allow frame-by-frame scrolling). You won’t be able to see this information at a glance, and you won’t be able to adjust the lengths of clips you’ve added separately.
To take out any portion of your overall video you’ll need to find a keyframe at the beginning, set that as the beginning of your selection, then find a key frame at the end and set that as the end of your selection. You will then be able to delete that selection. This will not work if the frames you have set as the beginning and end are not considered keyframes by the program, so it can be difficult to be precise, but since the program allows you to jump through keyframes it’s not difficult to find a point that works.
Is Machete Video Editor Lite good for YouTube?
Machete Lite is not a good choice for YouTubers unless it is used in combination with another program.
It doesn’t work as a YouTube editor because you cannot edit or swap audio, the transition between clips, or create layers of videos and images.
However, the thing Machete Lite is really good at is cutting out clips from longer videos. You can create a selection of a part of your longer clip and then export it (with no quality loss) as its own video file.
This is what the Machete Lite toolbar looks like when you’ve created a selection. Tools like cut and copy which were greyed out before are now available, as is the save icon on the far right. If you click the save icon, you’ll be able to save that selection as its own video.
You can’t create a complete YouTube video in Machete Lite, but you can harvest clips to use in a different program.
8. Avidemux – Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD
Pros
- Can add subtitle files
Cons
- Not intuitive
- Doesn’t support MOV or WMV
- The website is not informative, no tutorials
Avidemux Review
Avidemux is not an easy program to jump into. I almost wrote that it couldn’t do anything besides make cuts to a clip before I saw a YouTube tutorial about how to find the contrast and brightness tools. If you decide to try it out, remember that you have to choose your output format before Avidemux will let you access tools like Hue/Saturation and Contrast (click Filters under Video Output to find them).
There are no official tutorials for Avidemux you can access from their site, so you’ll have to rely on the forums and tutorials from users if you want to learn it.
You can import multiple clips into Avidemux, but you have to import them in the order you want because you can’t drag them around the timeline after. Everything becomes one big clip.
Is Avidemux good for YouTube?
No. It has more functionality than Machete, which is ranked higher on this list, but the difference is that Machete is excellent at one thing. They both suffer from the same main weakness – you could not complete your full YouTube video either (at least not without a lot of trouble). Machete could still be useful to a YouTuber, though, because it allows for the lossless exporting of segments of clips. You can use it to harvest clips for your larger project in another program.
In theory, you could do some picture editing and snipping in Avidemux and then put your project together/add titles in another program, but your other program can probably do all that just as well if not better. Avidemux isn’t a bad program, but it doesn’t excel at anything. There are a lot of better options which are also free.
What has your experience with free video editors been like?
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
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- Title: "2024 Approved Uncovering the Truth Behind Zero Viewer Counts in Youtube"
- Author: Joseph
- Created at : 2024-05-31 13:42:06
- Updated at : 2024-06-01 13:42:06
- Link: https://youtube-stream.techidaily.com/2024-approved-uncovering-the-truth-behind-zero-viewer-counts-in-youtube/
- License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
