There can be only one video editing winner

HEAD TO HEAD WINNER

As it’s bundled with Windows 11, it’s easy to get up and running with Clipchamp.

© MICROSOFT

THERE’S PROBABLY a reason for the explosion in popularity of YouTube and the rise of multi-core PCs with GPUs happening at around the same time.

Sure, you can shoot and edit video on a smartphone, but for a really professionallooking job, nothing beats getting your footage onto a fast SSD and viewing it on a big screen.

To make your edits, you’re going to need software, and there’s a lot available, from the market-leading Adobe Premiere Pro or Sony’s Vegas Pro with their monthly subscriptions, to pay-once options, and free apps. It’s the last category that has become especially interesting, as there are some capable apps available for absolutely nothing, such as the mighty DaVinci Resolve from Blackmagic design—the makers of some fearsome cinema cameras who use the software to bait users into their ecosystem—and apps like Shotcut and Lightworks that are good for beginners.

Then there are the more humble options; the perfect thing for quickly cutting together something to amuse your friends on Instagram. Windows 11 comes with such an option: the ambitiously named Microsoft Clipchamp, which has a premium version with a monthly subscription if you find it useful. Creative software powerhouse Adobe also gets in on the act with a few options, the Adobe Express free editor that runs in your browser, and Adobe Premiere Rush, which operates as a desktop app.