No Copyright Worries: Top 10 Public Domain Image Sites

10 Best Public Domain Image Websites

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Finding an image you like on the Internet doesn’t take long, since almost every website you can stumble upon, contains at least one picture. This doesn’t mean that you can just download any photo and use it in your blog, online marketing campaign or for any other purpose. Moreover, stock image websites like Getty Images or iStock let you purchase the right to use a photo commercially. As a reaction to an expanding stock image industry, many photographers, museums and cultural institutions are choosing to forfeit their rights and to publish public domain images. So, in this article, we are going to take you through the ten best public domain image websites where you can download pictures for free.

What Are Public Domain Images?

By definition, public domain images are photos, vectors or clip art that are available to anyone because their copyright has either expired or they never had a copyright owner. Consequently, anyone can use these images for both commercial or private projects without having to purchase the rights to do so. An image can enter a public domain under the following circumstances:

• Scientists, educators or artists can use the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license to dedicate their images to the public domain
• A picture’s copyright is no longer in effect
• A photo was never the subject to copyright

It is of utmost importance to check if an image is within the public domain before you use it publicly in order to avoid potential legal complications.

How and Where to Find Public Domain Images?

A simple google search will reveal hundreds of websites that let you download public domain and royalty-free images. Which source you’re going to use depends on the type of image you’re looking for, since some websites are dedicated only to photography, while others feature impressive collections of public domain images of artworks. In addition, you’ll only want to download public domain images from the websites that offer information about the author because using a public domain image without crediting its author is strictly prohibited.

Best Websites for Downloading Public Domain Images

We’ve searched the Internet and we utilized our results to compile a collection of the most reliable websites that grant its users access to vast numbers of public domain images. Let’s take a look at some of the best websites that let you download public domain images.

1. Pexels

Graphic designers and all other creatives in constant need of a fresh supply of public domain images don’t need a special introduction to Pexels. The stock image platform is dedicated to photography and video, so you can’t use it to search for vectors or clip art. Even so, you can use Pexles to search for public domain images based on a particular keyword or browse through its collection of free images and discover photos spontaneously. Clicking on the Popular Searches tab will enable you to see the images from Light, Nature or Animals and it will shorten the amount of time you have to spend looking for a photo you want to download.

Pros:

• Neatly organized website
• Free and easy sign-up
• Offers a huge selection of free public domain images and videos according to the CC0 license
• Hand-picked High quality Images

Cons:

• Some categories should contain more images
• Optimizing the search terms can be difficult

2. Pixabay

Besides offering an impressive collection of royalty-free photos, Pixabay also lets you search for public domain vectors, illustrations, and videos. The website hosts more than a million high-resolution photos and videos you can download for free. To make things even better, becoming a member of the Pixabay’s community and creating an account on this platform won’t take more than a few minutes of your time. Pixabay also offers advanced search tools that enable you to combine searches, search for the author of an image or group search terms. In addition, you can also browse through the photographers that contribute their images to the platform on a regular basis.

Pros:

• Powerful search tools and various filters
• Huge collection of public domain images

Cons

• Customer support could be better

3. Wikimedia Commons

This is probably the largest website on the Internet where you can download public domain images. There are more than 49 million images, illustrations, vector graphics and videos available that can be downloaded for free. Some media files on Wikimedia Commons have certain restrictions, but these restrictions are mostly related to image citations, which means that you can use them only if you credit the author. Such a huge selection of media files can be overwhelming for the newcomers to the Wikimedia Commons platform, but once you grow accustomed to the website’s interface discovering images becomes a straightforward process.

Pros:

• All images are available in high resolution
• Nearly all images can be used without any restrictions

Cons:

• Getting used to the website’s interface takes time
• The number of search results can be overwhelming

4. Flickr Commons

For more than a decade Flickr has been a popular online destination for photographers in need of a platform that enables them to present their work. The Flickr Commons is a project that unites more than a hundred institutions in an effort to create a library of public domain images. The project makes available a stunning amount of historical photographs and it grants you access to highly esteemed collections of photographs. Flick Commons is perfectly suited for researchers and scholars in need of public domain photos, they can use in their essays or research papers.

Pros:

• Unlimited access to historical photos
• Extends the knowledge available to the general public

Cons:

• Doesn’t offer videos or illustrations
• Search results are poorly organized

5. Unsplash

With a library that contains over 800,000 photos, Unsplash is easily one of the largest websites that offer public domain images. All pictures on this platform are organized into different categories, which makes finding a photo you want to use in a commercial or non-commercial project a relatively simple process. Alternatively, you can insert a keyword into a search bar and Unsplash will show you the results within seconds. However, the images you can find on this platform are similar to those you can purchase on stock photography websites, although some of them have an artistic touch that is hard to find on the majority of stock photos.

Pros:

• Excellent source of high-resolution photos
• Quick and easy search

Cons:

• Unsplash is dedicated solely to photography
• Limited amount of available public domain images

6. From Old Books

In case you are searching for images from old books you should look no further. This is a private collection of 2,600 images that are hard to find anywhere else on the Internet. You can browse through woodcuts, old texts or old holiday images, which makes this platform an excellent choice for anyone interested in rare images that were featured in old books. All pictures you can find on the From Old Books website are free to use on non-commercial projects, but you must pay a small fee if you want to download a high-resolution image you can use on a commercial project.

• Images are organized into categories
• Access to rare images

Cons

• Some images are not free
• Rudimentary website design

7. Morguefile

Morguefile is a website that offers stock footage to its users, but some of the images can’t be downloaded for free. That’s why you must click on the Free Photos tab before you start searching for public domain images on this website. The website hosts nearly 400.000 photos, videos, and vector graphics, but you must make sure that a file you want to download is within the public domain before you download it. The only downside is that the images aren’t organized into categories which can make finding the images you’re searching for more difficult than it needs to be.

Pros:

• Creating an account on Morguefile is free
• All free photos can be used on commercial projects

Cons:

• Images can be organized better
• Fewer free images than on other public domain image websites

8. Public Domain Archive

As the website’s name indicates, this is an archive of public domain images you can download for free and use in commercial contexts. All photos are organized into categories like abstract, free stock photos, people or wood which makes the search simpler. However, these categories don’t contain more than a few hundred photos and some of them offer as few as five pictures you can download. All photos are in high resolution and ready for professional use. The download process can be completed effortlessly in just a few quick steps. New images are added on a weekly basis.

Pros:

• Professional quality of images
• All images are free

Cons:

• A limited selection of photos
• Doesn’t offer vector graphics

9. NYPL Digital Gallery

NYPL Digital Gallery is an excellent resource for anyone who is not interested in stock photography. The New Your Public Library has made hundreds of thousands of historical images available to the public and you can use it to browse through items, collections or divisions. Before you enter a keyword you should click on the search only public domain materials tick box to ensure that the search results are going to display only images that can be used without restrictions. Additionally, the NYPL Digital Gallery lets you browse through its collection of digital books while its collections of photographs include the work of some of the highly esteemed American photographers.

Pros

• Public domain images are available in different resolutions
• Offers valuable research materials

Cons

• Some images are subject to copyright
• Only aimed at scholars and researchers

10. Viintage

Viintage is a gold mine for graphic designers as it grants them access to hundreds of vintage posters, book covers, and images. However, the amount of public domain images this website offers is limited and if you want to download the images from the collections of works created by famous artists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries you must purchase the premium version of Viintage. The website lacks some basic search options as it only allows you to type in the search term into the search bar. The images are not organized into categories which further complicates the process of finding a public domain image you’re looking for.

Pros:

• Offers a collection of rare vintage public domain images
• A great resource for graphic designers

Cons:

• Most images on Viintage can’t be downloaded for free
• Search tools are far from perfect

You may also like: Best Image Hosting Sites >>

How to Cite Public Domain Images Properly?

If you’re planning on using a public domain image in a blog or on your website, you must cite the source from which you acquired a particular image. The image citations should include the following information:

• The title of the image
• Author’s name
• Information about the institution at which an image is kept
• The source from which you acquired an image

In case you don’t have access to all of these information or if the information is simply not available you should include all details about a public domain image you have the access to. Furthermore, there are several styles of image citations that depend on the source from which an image was acquired.

Conclusion

Spending large sums of money on images you can use in commercial or private projects is not always necessary. The public domain images are widely available and they can be used in a broad range of contexts. Which website that lets you download public domain images do you like to use the most? Leave a comment and share your opinions with us.

Dont worry when you forget the syntax of an HTML element, like and iframe, a link, a table, an image or anything else. Visit HTML CheatSheet and generate the code you need.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Finding an image you like on the Internet doesn’t take long, since almost every website you can stumble upon, contains at least one picture. This doesn’t mean that you can just download any photo and use it in your blog, online marketing campaign or for any other purpose. Moreover, stock image websites like Getty Images or iStock let you purchase the right to use a photo commercially. As a reaction to an expanding stock image industry, many photographers, museums and cultural institutions are choosing to forfeit their rights and to publish public domain images. So, in this article, we are going to take you through the ten best public domain image websites where you can download pictures for free.

What Are Public Domain Images?

By definition, public domain images are photos, vectors or clip art that are available to anyone because their copyright has either expired or they never had a copyright owner. Consequently, anyone can use these images for both commercial or private projects without having to purchase the rights to do so. An image can enter a public domain under the following circumstances:

• Scientists, educators or artists can use the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license to dedicate their images to the public domain
• A picture’s copyright is no longer in effect
• A photo was never the subject to copyright

It is of utmost importance to check if an image is within the public domain before you use it publicly in order to avoid potential legal complications.

How and Where to Find Public Domain Images?

A simple google search will reveal hundreds of websites that let you download public domain and royalty-free images. Which source you’re going to use depends on the type of image you’re looking for, since some websites are dedicated only to photography, while others feature impressive collections of public domain images of artworks. In addition, you’ll only want to download public domain images from the websites that offer information about the author because using a public domain image without crediting its author is strictly prohibited.

Best Websites for Downloading Public Domain Images

We’ve searched the Internet and we utilized our results to compile a collection of the most reliable websites that grant its users access to vast numbers of public domain images. Let’s take a look at some of the best websites that let you download public domain images.

1. Pexels

Graphic designers and all other creatives in constant need of a fresh supply of public domain images don’t need a special introduction to Pexels. The stock image platform is dedicated to photography and video, so you can’t use it to search for vectors or clip art. Even so, you can use Pexles to search for public domain images based on a particular keyword or browse through its collection of free images and discover photos spontaneously. Clicking on the Popular Searches tab will enable you to see the images from Light, Nature or Animals and it will shorten the amount of time you have to spend looking for a photo you want to download.

Pros:

• Neatly organized website
• Free and easy sign-up
• Offers a huge selection of free public domain images and videos according to the CC0 license
• Hand-picked High quality Images

Cons:

• Some categories should contain more images
• Optimizing the search terms can be difficult

2. Pixabay

Besides offering an impressive collection of royalty-free photos, Pixabay also lets you search for public domain vectors, illustrations, and videos. The website hosts more than a million high-resolution photos and videos you can download for free. To make things even better, becoming a member of the Pixabay’s community and creating an account on this platform won’t take more than a few minutes of your time. Pixabay also offers advanced search tools that enable you to combine searches, search for the author of an image or group search terms. In addition, you can also browse through the photographers that contribute their images to the platform on a regular basis.

Pros:

• Powerful search tools and various filters
• Huge collection of public domain images

Cons

• Customer support could be better

3. Wikimedia Commons

This is probably the largest website on the Internet where you can download public domain images. There are more than 49 million images, illustrations, vector graphics and videos available that can be downloaded for free. Some media files on Wikimedia Commons have certain restrictions, but these restrictions are mostly related to image citations, which means that you can use them only if you credit the author. Such a huge selection of media files can be overwhelming for the newcomers to the Wikimedia Commons platform, but once you grow accustomed to the website’s interface discovering images becomes a straightforward process.

Pros:

• All images are available in high resolution
• Nearly all images can be used without any restrictions

Cons:

• Getting used to the website’s interface takes time
• The number of search results can be overwhelming

4. Flickr Commons

For more than a decade Flickr has been a popular online destination for photographers in need of a platform that enables them to present their work. The Flickr Commons is a project that unites more than a hundred institutions in an effort to create a library of public domain images. The project makes available a stunning amount of historical photographs and it grants you access to highly esteemed collections of photographs. Flick Commons is perfectly suited for researchers and scholars in need of public domain photos, they can use in their essays or research papers.

Pros:

• Unlimited access to historical photos
• Extends the knowledge available to the general public

Cons:

• Doesn’t offer videos or illustrations
• Search results are poorly organized

5. Unsplash

With a library that contains over 800,000 photos, Unsplash is easily one of the largest websites that offer public domain images. All pictures on this platform are organized into different categories, which makes finding a photo you want to use in a commercial or non-commercial project a relatively simple process. Alternatively, you can insert a keyword into a search bar and Unsplash will show you the results within seconds. However, the images you can find on this platform are similar to those you can purchase on stock photography websites, although some of them have an artistic touch that is hard to find on the majority of stock photos.

Pros:

• Excellent source of high-resolution photos
• Quick and easy search

Cons:

• Unsplash is dedicated solely to photography
• Limited amount of available public domain images

6. From Old Books

In case you are searching for images from old books you should look no further. This is a private collection of 2,600 images that are hard to find anywhere else on the Internet. You can browse through woodcuts, old texts or old holiday images, which makes this platform an excellent choice for anyone interested in rare images that were featured in old books. All pictures you can find on the From Old Books website are free to use on non-commercial projects, but you must pay a small fee if you want to download a high-resolution image you can use on a commercial project.

• Images are organized into categories
• Access to rare images

Cons

• Some images are not free
• Rudimentary website design

7. Morguefile

Morguefile is a website that offers stock footage to its users, but some of the images can’t be downloaded for free. That’s why you must click on the Free Photos tab before you start searching for public domain images on this website. The website hosts nearly 400.000 photos, videos, and vector graphics, but you must make sure that a file you want to download is within the public domain before you download it. The only downside is that the images aren’t organized into categories which can make finding the images you’re searching for more difficult than it needs to be.

Pros:

• Creating an account on Morguefile is free
• All free photos can be used on commercial projects

Cons:

• Images can be organized better
• Fewer free images than on other public domain image websites

8. Public Domain Archive

As the website’s name indicates, this is an archive of public domain images you can download for free and use in commercial contexts. All photos are organized into categories like abstract, free stock photos, people or wood which makes the search simpler. However, these categories don’t contain more than a few hundred photos and some of them offer as few as five pictures you can download. All photos are in high resolution and ready for professional use. The download process can be completed effortlessly in just a few quick steps. New images are added on a weekly basis.

Pros:

• Professional quality of images
• All images are free

Cons:

• A limited selection of photos
• Doesn’t offer vector graphics

9. NYPL Digital Gallery

NYPL Digital Gallery is an excellent resource for anyone who is not interested in stock photography. The New Your Public Library has made hundreds of thousands of historical images available to the public and you can use it to browse through items, collections or divisions. Before you enter a keyword you should click on the search only public domain materials tick box to ensure that the search results are going to display only images that can be used without restrictions. Additionally, the NYPL Digital Gallery lets you browse through its collection of digital books while its collections of photographs include the work of some of the highly esteemed American photographers.

Pros

• Public domain images are available in different resolutions
• Offers valuable research materials

Cons

• Some images are subject to copyright
• Only aimed at scholars and researchers

10. Viintage

Viintage is a gold mine for graphic designers as it grants them access to hundreds of vintage posters, book covers, and images. However, the amount of public domain images this website offers is limited and if you want to download the images from the collections of works created by famous artists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries you must purchase the premium version of Viintage. The website lacks some basic search options as it only allows you to type in the search term into the search bar. The images are not organized into categories which further complicates the process of finding a public domain image you’re looking for.

Pros:

• Offers a collection of rare vintage public domain images
• A great resource for graphic designers

Cons:

• Most images on Viintage can’t be downloaded for free
• Search tools are far from perfect

You may also like: Best Image Hosting Sites >>

How to Cite Public Domain Images Properly?

If you’re planning on using a public domain image in a blog or on your website, you must cite the source from which you acquired a particular image. The image citations should include the following information:

• The title of the image
• Author’s name
• Information about the institution at which an image is kept
• The source from which you acquired an image

In case you don’t have access to all of these information or if the information is simply not available you should include all details about a public domain image you have the access to. Furthermore, there are several styles of image citations that depend on the source from which an image was acquired.

Conclusion

Spending large sums of money on images you can use in commercial or private projects is not always necessary. The public domain images are widely available and they can be used in a broad range of contexts. Which website that lets you download public domain images do you like to use the most? Leave a comment and share your opinions with us.

Dont worry when you forget the syntax of an HTML element, like and iframe, a link, a table, an image or anything else. Visit HTML CheatSheet and generate the code you need.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Finding an image you like on the Internet doesn’t take long, since almost every website you can stumble upon, contains at least one picture. This doesn’t mean that you can just download any photo and use it in your blog, online marketing campaign or for any other purpose. Moreover, stock image websites like Getty Images or iStock let you purchase the right to use a photo commercially. As a reaction to an expanding stock image industry, many photographers, museums and cultural institutions are choosing to forfeit their rights and to publish public domain images. So, in this article, we are going to take you through the ten best public domain image websites where you can download pictures for free.

What Are Public Domain Images?

By definition, public domain images are photos, vectors or clip art that are available to anyone because their copyright has either expired or they never had a copyright owner. Consequently, anyone can use these images for both commercial or private projects without having to purchase the rights to do so. An image can enter a public domain under the following circumstances:

• Scientists, educators or artists can use the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license to dedicate their images to the public domain
• A picture’s copyright is no longer in effect
• A photo was never the subject to copyright

It is of utmost importance to check if an image is within the public domain before you use it publicly in order to avoid potential legal complications.

How and Where to Find Public Domain Images?

A simple google search will reveal hundreds of websites that let you download public domain and royalty-free images. Which source you’re going to use depends on the type of image you’re looking for, since some websites are dedicated only to photography, while others feature impressive collections of public domain images of artworks. In addition, you’ll only want to download public domain images from the websites that offer information about the author because using a public domain image without crediting its author is strictly prohibited.

Best Websites for Downloading Public Domain Images

We’ve searched the Internet and we utilized our results to compile a collection of the most reliable websites that grant its users access to vast numbers of public domain images. Let’s take a look at some of the best websites that let you download public domain images.

1. Pexels

Graphic designers and all other creatives in constant need of a fresh supply of public domain images don’t need a special introduction to Pexels. The stock image platform is dedicated to photography and video, so you can’t use it to search for vectors or clip art. Even so, you can use Pexles to search for public domain images based on a particular keyword or browse through its collection of free images and discover photos spontaneously. Clicking on the Popular Searches tab will enable you to see the images from Light, Nature or Animals and it will shorten the amount of time you have to spend looking for a photo you want to download.

Pros:

• Neatly organized website
• Free and easy sign-up
• Offers a huge selection of free public domain images and videos according to the CC0 license
• Hand-picked High quality Images

Cons:

• Some categories should contain more images
• Optimizing the search terms can be difficult

2. Pixabay

Besides offering an impressive collection of royalty-free photos, Pixabay also lets you search for public domain vectors, illustrations, and videos. The website hosts more than a million high-resolution photos and videos you can download for free. To make things even better, becoming a member of the Pixabay’s community and creating an account on this platform won’t take more than a few minutes of your time. Pixabay also offers advanced search tools that enable you to combine searches, search for the author of an image or group search terms. In addition, you can also browse through the photographers that contribute their images to the platform on a regular basis.

Pros:

• Powerful search tools and various filters
• Huge collection of public domain images

Cons

• Customer support could be better

3. Wikimedia Commons

This is probably the largest website on the Internet where you can download public domain images. There are more than 49 million images, illustrations, vector graphics and videos available that can be downloaded for free. Some media files on Wikimedia Commons have certain restrictions, but these restrictions are mostly related to image citations, which means that you can use them only if you credit the author. Such a huge selection of media files can be overwhelming for the newcomers to the Wikimedia Commons platform, but once you grow accustomed to the website’s interface discovering images becomes a straightforward process.

Pros:

• All images are available in high resolution
• Nearly all images can be used without any restrictions

Cons:

• Getting used to the website’s interface takes time
• The number of search results can be overwhelming

4. Flickr Commons

For more than a decade Flickr has been a popular online destination for photographers in need of a platform that enables them to present their work. The Flickr Commons is a project that unites more than a hundred institutions in an effort to create a library of public domain images. The project makes available a stunning amount of historical photographs and it grants you access to highly esteemed collections of photographs. Flick Commons is perfectly suited for researchers and scholars in need of public domain photos, they can use in their essays or research papers.

Pros:

• Unlimited access to historical photos
• Extends the knowledge available to the general public

Cons:

• Doesn’t offer videos or illustrations
• Search results are poorly organized

5. Unsplash

With a library that contains over 800,000 photos, Unsplash is easily one of the largest websites that offer public domain images. All pictures on this platform are organized into different categories, which makes finding a photo you want to use in a commercial or non-commercial project a relatively simple process. Alternatively, you can insert a keyword into a search bar and Unsplash will show you the results within seconds. However, the images you can find on this platform are similar to those you can purchase on stock photography websites, although some of them have an artistic touch that is hard to find on the majority of stock photos.

Pros:

• Excellent source of high-resolution photos
• Quick and easy search

Cons:

• Unsplash is dedicated solely to photography
• Limited amount of available public domain images

6. From Old Books

In case you are searching for images from old books you should look no further. This is a private collection of 2,600 images that are hard to find anywhere else on the Internet. You can browse through woodcuts, old texts or old holiday images, which makes this platform an excellent choice for anyone interested in rare images that were featured in old books. All pictures you can find on the From Old Books website are free to use on non-commercial projects, but you must pay a small fee if you want to download a high-resolution image you can use on a commercial project.

• Images are organized into categories
• Access to rare images

Cons

• Some images are not free
• Rudimentary website design

7. Morguefile

Morguefile is a website that offers stock footage to its users, but some of the images can’t be downloaded for free. That’s why you must click on the Free Photos tab before you start searching for public domain images on this website. The website hosts nearly 400.000 photos, videos, and vector graphics, but you must make sure that a file you want to download is within the public domain before you download it. The only downside is that the images aren’t organized into categories which can make finding the images you’re searching for more difficult than it needs to be.

Pros:

• Creating an account on Morguefile is free
• All free photos can be used on commercial projects

Cons:

• Images can be organized better
• Fewer free images than on other public domain image websites

8. Public Domain Archive

As the website’s name indicates, this is an archive of public domain images you can download for free and use in commercial contexts. All photos are organized into categories like abstract, free stock photos, people or wood which makes the search simpler. However, these categories don’t contain more than a few hundred photos and some of them offer as few as five pictures you can download. All photos are in high resolution and ready for professional use. The download process can be completed effortlessly in just a few quick steps. New images are added on a weekly basis.

Pros:

• Professional quality of images
• All images are free

Cons:

• A limited selection of photos
• Doesn’t offer vector graphics

9. NYPL Digital Gallery

NYPL Digital Gallery is an excellent resource for anyone who is not interested in stock photography. The New Your Public Library has made hundreds of thousands of historical images available to the public and you can use it to browse through items, collections or divisions. Before you enter a keyword you should click on the search only public domain materials tick box to ensure that the search results are going to display only images that can be used without restrictions. Additionally, the NYPL Digital Gallery lets you browse through its collection of digital books while its collections of photographs include the work of some of the highly esteemed American photographers.

Pros

• Public domain images are available in different resolutions
• Offers valuable research materials

Cons

• Some images are subject to copyright
• Only aimed at scholars and researchers

10. Viintage

Viintage is a gold mine for graphic designers as it grants them access to hundreds of vintage posters, book covers, and images. However, the amount of public domain images this website offers is limited and if you want to download the images from the collections of works created by famous artists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries you must purchase the premium version of Viintage. The website lacks some basic search options as it only allows you to type in the search term into the search bar. The images are not organized into categories which further complicates the process of finding a public domain image you’re looking for.

Pros:

• Offers a collection of rare vintage public domain images
• A great resource for graphic designers

Cons:

• Most images on Viintage can’t be downloaded for free
• Search tools are far from perfect

You may also like: Best Image Hosting Sites >>

How to Cite Public Domain Images Properly?

If you’re planning on using a public domain image in a blog or on your website, you must cite the source from which you acquired a particular image. The image citations should include the following information:

• The title of the image
• Author’s name
• Information about the institution at which an image is kept
• The source from which you acquired an image

In case you don’t have access to all of these information or if the information is simply not available you should include all details about a public domain image you have the access to. Furthermore, there are several styles of image citations that depend on the source from which an image was acquired.

Conclusion

Spending large sums of money on images you can use in commercial or private projects is not always necessary. The public domain images are widely available and they can be used in a broad range of contexts. Which website that lets you download public domain images do you like to use the most? Leave a comment and share your opinions with us.

Dont worry when you forget the syntax of an HTML element, like and iframe, a link, a table, an image or anything else. Visit HTML CheatSheet and generate the code you need.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Finding an image you like on the Internet doesn’t take long, since almost every website you can stumble upon, contains at least one picture. This doesn’t mean that you can just download any photo and use it in your blog, online marketing campaign or for any other purpose. Moreover, stock image websites like Getty Images or iStock let you purchase the right to use a photo commercially. As a reaction to an expanding stock image industry, many photographers, museums and cultural institutions are choosing to forfeit their rights and to publish public domain images. So, in this article, we are going to take you through the ten best public domain image websites where you can download pictures for free.

What Are Public Domain Images?

By definition, public domain images are photos, vectors or clip art that are available to anyone because their copyright has either expired or they never had a copyright owner. Consequently, anyone can use these images for both commercial or private projects without having to purchase the rights to do so. An image can enter a public domain under the following circumstances:

• Scientists, educators or artists can use the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license to dedicate their images to the public domain
• A picture’s copyright is no longer in effect
• A photo was never the subject to copyright

It is of utmost importance to check if an image is within the public domain before you use it publicly in order to avoid potential legal complications.

How and Where to Find Public Domain Images?

A simple google search will reveal hundreds of websites that let you download public domain and royalty-free images. Which source you’re going to use depends on the type of image you’re looking for, since some websites are dedicated only to photography, while others feature impressive collections of public domain images of artworks. In addition, you’ll only want to download public domain images from the websites that offer information about the author because using a public domain image without crediting its author is strictly prohibited.

Best Websites for Downloading Public Domain Images

We’ve searched the Internet and we utilized our results to compile a collection of the most reliable websites that grant its users access to vast numbers of public domain images. Let’s take a look at some of the best websites that let you download public domain images.

1. Pexels

Graphic designers and all other creatives in constant need of a fresh supply of public domain images don’t need a special introduction to Pexels. The stock image platform is dedicated to photography and video, so you can’t use it to search for vectors or clip art. Even so, you can use Pexles to search for public domain images based on a particular keyword or browse through its collection of free images and discover photos spontaneously. Clicking on the Popular Searches tab will enable you to see the images from Light, Nature or Animals and it will shorten the amount of time you have to spend looking for a photo you want to download.

Pros:

• Neatly organized website
• Free and easy sign-up
• Offers a huge selection of free public domain images and videos according to the CC0 license
• Hand-picked High quality Images

Cons:

• Some categories should contain more images
• Optimizing the search terms can be difficult

2. Pixabay

Besides offering an impressive collection of royalty-free photos, Pixabay also lets you search for public domain vectors, illustrations, and videos. The website hosts more than a million high-resolution photos and videos you can download for free. To make things even better, becoming a member of the Pixabay’s community and creating an account on this platform won’t take more than a few minutes of your time. Pixabay also offers advanced search tools that enable you to combine searches, search for the author of an image or group search terms. In addition, you can also browse through the photographers that contribute their images to the platform on a regular basis.

Pros:

• Powerful search tools and various filters
• Huge collection of public domain images

Cons

• Customer support could be better

3. Wikimedia Commons

This is probably the largest website on the Internet where you can download public domain images. There are more than 49 million images, illustrations, vector graphics and videos available that can be downloaded for free. Some media files on Wikimedia Commons have certain restrictions, but these restrictions are mostly related to image citations, which means that you can use them only if you credit the author. Such a huge selection of media files can be overwhelming for the newcomers to the Wikimedia Commons platform, but once you grow accustomed to the website’s interface discovering images becomes a straightforward process.

Pros:

• All images are available in high resolution
• Nearly all images can be used without any restrictions

Cons:

• Getting used to the website’s interface takes time
• The number of search results can be overwhelming

4. Flickr Commons

For more than a decade Flickr has been a popular online destination for photographers in need of a platform that enables them to present their work. The Flickr Commons is a project that unites more than a hundred institutions in an effort to create a library of public domain images. The project makes available a stunning amount of historical photographs and it grants you access to highly esteemed collections of photographs. Flick Commons is perfectly suited for researchers and scholars in need of public domain photos, they can use in their essays or research papers.

Pros:

• Unlimited access to historical photos
• Extends the knowledge available to the general public

Cons:

• Doesn’t offer videos or illustrations
• Search results are poorly organized

5. Unsplash

With a library that contains over 800,000 photos, Unsplash is easily one of the largest websites that offer public domain images. All pictures on this platform are organized into different categories, which makes finding a photo you want to use in a commercial or non-commercial project a relatively simple process. Alternatively, you can insert a keyword into a search bar and Unsplash will show you the results within seconds. However, the images you can find on this platform are similar to those you can purchase on stock photography websites, although some of them have an artistic touch that is hard to find on the majority of stock photos.

Pros:

• Excellent source of high-resolution photos
• Quick and easy search

Cons:

• Unsplash is dedicated solely to photography
• Limited amount of available public domain images

6. From Old Books

In case you are searching for images from old books you should look no further. This is a private collection of 2,600 images that are hard to find anywhere else on the Internet. You can browse through woodcuts, old texts or old holiday images, which makes this platform an excellent choice for anyone interested in rare images that were featured in old books. All pictures you can find on the From Old Books website are free to use on non-commercial projects, but you must pay a small fee if you want to download a high-resolution image you can use on a commercial project.

• Images are organized into categories
• Access to rare images

Cons

• Some images are not free
• Rudimentary website design

7. Morguefile

Morguefile is a website that offers stock footage to its users, but some of the images can’t be downloaded for free. That’s why you must click on the Free Photos tab before you start searching for public domain images on this website. The website hosts nearly 400.000 photos, videos, and vector graphics, but you must make sure that a file you want to download is within the public domain before you download it. The only downside is that the images aren’t organized into categories which can make finding the images you’re searching for more difficult than it needs to be.

Pros:

• Creating an account on Morguefile is free
• All free photos can be used on commercial projects

Cons:

• Images can be organized better
• Fewer free images than on other public domain image websites

8. Public Domain Archive

As the website’s name indicates, this is an archive of public domain images you can download for free and use in commercial contexts. All photos are organized into categories like abstract, free stock photos, people or wood which makes the search simpler. However, these categories don’t contain more than a few hundred photos and some of them offer as few as five pictures you can download. All photos are in high resolution and ready for professional use. The download process can be completed effortlessly in just a few quick steps. New images are added on a weekly basis.

Pros:

• Professional quality of images
• All images are free

Cons:

• A limited selection of photos
• Doesn’t offer vector graphics

9. NYPL Digital Gallery

NYPL Digital Gallery is an excellent resource for anyone who is not interested in stock photography. The New Your Public Library has made hundreds of thousands of historical images available to the public and you can use it to browse through items, collections or divisions. Before you enter a keyword you should click on the search only public domain materials tick box to ensure that the search results are going to display only images that can be used without restrictions. Additionally, the NYPL Digital Gallery lets you browse through its collection of digital books while its collections of photographs include the work of some of the highly esteemed American photographers.

Pros

• Public domain images are available in different resolutions
• Offers valuable research materials

Cons

• Some images are subject to copyright
• Only aimed at scholars and researchers

10. Viintage

Viintage is a gold mine for graphic designers as it grants them access to hundreds of vintage posters, book covers, and images. However, the amount of public domain images this website offers is limited and if you want to download the images from the collections of works created by famous artists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries you must purchase the premium version of Viintage. The website lacks some basic search options as it only allows you to type in the search term into the search bar. The images are not organized into categories which further complicates the process of finding a public domain image you’re looking for.

Pros:

• Offers a collection of rare vintage public domain images
• A great resource for graphic designers

Cons:

• Most images on Viintage can’t be downloaded for free
• Search tools are far from perfect

You may also like: Best Image Hosting Sites >>

How to Cite Public Domain Images Properly?

If you’re planning on using a public domain image in a blog or on your website, you must cite the source from which you acquired a particular image. The image citations should include the following information:

• The title of the image
• Author’s name
• Information about the institution at which an image is kept
• The source from which you acquired an image

In case you don’t have access to all of these information or if the information is simply not available you should include all details about a public domain image you have the access to. Furthermore, there are several styles of image citations that depend on the source from which an image was acquired.

Conclusion

Spending large sums of money on images you can use in commercial or private projects is not always necessary. The public domain images are widely available and they can be used in a broad range of contexts. Which website that lets you download public domain images do you like to use the most? Leave a comment and share your opinions with us.

Dont worry when you forget the syntax of an HTML element, like and iframe, a link, a table, an image or anything else. Visit HTML CheatSheet and generate the code you need.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

From Zero to Hero: A Beginner’s Guide to Stop Motion Animation

Stop motion animation has been a huge trend. People use this technique to tell stories through their pictures. There are many videos editing software available in the market to create easy stop motion animations. It depends on the project you want to shoot and using what equipment.

You can create animation online or using an app. There is an extremely powerful desktop software to create simple stop motion movies-Wondershare Filmora Video Editor . You will also find many user-friendly applications available for both Android and iOS. One of the best apps out there is Stop Motion Pro, which lets you create movies on Stop Motion Studio in a better way.

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Part 1. What is Stop Motion Studio?

Stop Motion Studio is the world’s easiest app for stop motion moviemaking. It has an easy-to-use interface to create beautiful animated movies easily.

You can install Stop Motion Studio Pc or go for its iPhone, iPad, or Android version. However, you must make in-app purchases if you wish to export your projects in 4K resolution or import images from your device to create the animation. Let’s look at its features in detail-

Basic functions:

• Overlay mode that shows the differences between frames
• Position the objects accordingly
• Copy, paste, cut, and insert frames wherever required
• Interactive interface to easily access it.

Unique features

• Add titles, credits, and text cards or create your very own with the built-in editor
• Enhance your movie with different video filters
• Add different foregrounds, backgrounds, aspect ratios, and fade effects
• Add built-in music, sound effects, songs from your music library.

Camera control

• Full camera control to capture with an adjustable time interval feature
• Adjust white balance, focus, and exposure, ISO, and shutter speed manually.

An image editor:

• Add titles and other text on the animation
• Enhance images, sketch, and paint
• Use the eraser tool to wipe away unwanted objects
• Merge frames to simulate fast movement

Part 2. How to Use Stop Motion Studio?

With the help of Stop Motion Studio, you can make animation by combining multiple pictures. You need to download Stop Motion Studio Pro for your iOS or Android device to use the app. You can also download it for PC.

Step 1: Once you have downloaded the app, install it to work on your animation project right away. To create a new movie, click on the plus icon to create a new movie.

Step 2: Set the object you wish to capture in the frame. Let us consider one example where we will turn over an object. Click the camera icon to capture the shot. Move the thing a little and again tap on the shutter icon. Repeat the process until you have moved it all the way around. Once done, click on the play button. It will appear as if the object is in motion and moving on its own.

Tip: To ensure that your object is in the right place, you can use different controls like grid and onion skin. The grid will give you an idea of where you placed the subject in the frame. The onion skin puts the last frame you captured on top of your camera’s live view. In this way, you can see how far you moved your subject between frames.

Step 3: You can click as many pictures as you need to convey your story. After clicking all the pictures, you can edit them as per your requirements. To increase or decrease the speed at which your video plays, change the frame rate by choosing the number of pictures to be shown per second when you play the video. Play the video to see how your work turned out. If you like the end result, exit the editor.

Step 4: Now select the animation that you just saved. Click on the export icon which you will find at the top left of the screen—select animated GIF from the pulldown menu. Export the file to Google drive, mail yourself or upload it on your social media profile. AirDrop the file to other iPhone users if you are an iPhone user.

Step 5: You are done!! Yes, it was that simple and easy to create a great stop motion video yourself.

If you want to make a basic video and add audio, the Stop Motion Studio free version is ideal for you. But if you’re going to explore more app features, you need to buy Stop Motion Studio Pro Windows, a paid version of the app.

Part 3. 4 Stop Motion Studio Alternative Software

1. Life Lapse Stop Motion Maker

Price: Free, offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS, Android

User Ratings: 4.8 on App Store, 3.6 on Google Play

This app is undoubtedly a lifesaving stop motion apps ever created. Why do we say this? It offers unlimited tools to shoot on an unlimited number of projects. As well as use audio tracks and effects from the built-in library.

While shooting a video on the app, you can add and remove various objects from frames, adjust the focus, and apply many other effects. It has built-in editing tools to change frame rates, apply visual effects, or make soundtracks from royalty-free songs. Video creators can import photos from the mobile phone to add to the animation you create.

Life Lapse permits you to use other color correction tools to set saturation, brightness, contrast, or white balance values manually. You can import audio files to your projects or export videos without a watermark on this app. The pro version lets you record footage in 4K resolution. Isn’t that amazing?

2. Stop Motion Maker

Price: Free, offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS

User Ratings: 4.0

You can easily take a sequence of images and make your own stop-motion video on this app. Once you launch the app and tap on the Create button, the device’s camera will open. Press the camera button and make a new frame.

Tap on the Done button once you are done arranging the photos.

You have the option to preview the result once you are done. Then, you can quickly proceed to export the video. The app doesn’t allow you to record voiceovers or create soundtracks, and you must use another video editing app for iOS devices if you want to further edit a stop motion video.

Make sure you give Stop Motion Maker access to your phone’s camera and photo library for it to function correctly.

3. Pic-Pac Stop Motion & Time Lapse

Price: Free, offers in-app purchase

Compatibility: Android

User Ratings: 4.0

If you are still learning to create stop motion animations, you should consider installing PicPac Stop Motion & Time Lapse. One can take photos or import images from the gallery or Instagram on this app. On the free version, you can even reorder pictures. It also enables you to change the order of frames and perform simple edits like removing small objects.

Users can search online music or add local music and record their audio on Pic Pac. You can edit existing projects and share your animations with the YouTube community if you are a signed-in user. To keep track of your projects, add a logo at the end of the videos. The Timelapse-manual mode enables you to bring your stop motion ideas to life. The pro version lets you export videos in resolutions larger than 360p.

4. iMotion

Price: Free, but offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS

User Ratings: 4.4

This app lets iPhone, and iPad users create both time-lapse and stop motion videos. It has a quick and smooth interface to create good quality animations easily. You can also add an audio soundtrack to your movie with iPod import, microphone, and AudioPaste (In-App Full Version required).

On iMotion, the user can manually control focus, exposure, or white balance. It has unlimited movie length, and you can also preview your projects at different frame rates. There is an option to autosave and directly preview your creation. If you want to do reverse playback, you can do that too.

Export all the video projects iMotion in 4K, 1080p, or 720p resolutions. However, only newer versions of iPhones and iPads can support 4k resolution. The free version of iMotion offers only limited options; get the full version to use the advanced features.

Closing Word

Stop motion animation is a simple and exciting way to create movement on a screen. Taking hundreds of photos to create a stop motion animation is not a huge task anymore. Anyone can easily do it on their smartphone camera, or it’s even better if you use a DSLR.

Stop Motion Studio is rightly called a studio as it has all the tools needed to create a stop motion animation. It gives you complete control over all camera settings and editing features.

So, bring your photos to life today with stop motion studio free or stop motion pro.

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Part 1. What is Stop Motion Studio?

Stop Motion Studio is the world’s easiest app for stop motion moviemaking. It has an easy-to-use interface to create beautiful animated movies easily.

You can install Stop Motion Studio Pc or go for its iPhone, iPad, or Android version. However, you must make in-app purchases if you wish to export your projects in 4K resolution or import images from your device to create the animation. Let’s look at its features in detail-

Basic functions:

• Overlay mode that shows the differences between frames
• Position the objects accordingly
• Copy, paste, cut, and insert frames wherever required
• Interactive interface to easily access it.

Unique features

• Add titles, credits, and text cards or create your very own with the built-in editor
• Enhance your movie with different video filters
• Add different foregrounds, backgrounds, aspect ratios, and fade effects
• Add built-in music, sound effects, songs from your music library.

Camera control

• Full camera control to capture with an adjustable time interval feature
• Adjust white balance, focus, and exposure, ISO, and shutter speed manually.

An image editor:

• Add titles and other text on the animation
• Enhance images, sketch, and paint
• Use the eraser tool to wipe away unwanted objects
• Merge frames to simulate fast movement

Part 2. How to Use Stop Motion Studio?

With the help of Stop Motion Studio, you can make animation by combining multiple pictures. You need to download Stop Motion Studio Pro for your iOS or Android device to use the app. You can also download it for PC.

Step 1: Once you have downloaded the app, install it to work on your animation project right away. To create a new movie, click on the plus icon to create a new movie.

Step 2: Set the object you wish to capture in the frame. Let us consider one example where we will turn over an object. Click the camera icon to capture the shot. Move the thing a little and again tap on the shutter icon. Repeat the process until you have moved it all the way around. Once done, click on the play button. It will appear as if the object is in motion and moving on its own.

Tip: To ensure that your object is in the right place, you can use different controls like grid and onion skin. The grid will give you an idea of where you placed the subject in the frame. The onion skin puts the last frame you captured on top of your camera’s live view. In this way, you can see how far you moved your subject between frames.

Step 3: You can click as many pictures as you need to convey your story. After clicking all the pictures, you can edit them as per your requirements. To increase or decrease the speed at which your video plays, change the frame rate by choosing the number of pictures to be shown per second when you play the video. Play the video to see how your work turned out. If you like the end result, exit the editor.

Step 4: Now select the animation that you just saved. Click on the export icon which you will find at the top left of the screen—select animated GIF from the pulldown menu. Export the file to Google drive, mail yourself or upload it on your social media profile. AirDrop the file to other iPhone users if you are an iPhone user.

Step 5: You are done!! Yes, it was that simple and easy to create a great stop motion video yourself.

If you want to make a basic video and add audio, the Stop Motion Studio free version is ideal for you. But if you’re going to explore more app features, you need to buy Stop Motion Studio Pro Windows, a paid version of the app.

Part 3. 4 Stop Motion Studio Alternative Software

1. Life Lapse Stop Motion Maker

Price: Free, offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS, Android

User Ratings: 4.8 on App Store, 3.6 on Google Play

This app is undoubtedly a lifesaving stop motion apps ever created. Why do we say this? It offers unlimited tools to shoot on an unlimited number of projects. As well as use audio tracks and effects from the built-in library.

While shooting a video on the app, you can add and remove various objects from frames, adjust the focus, and apply many other effects. It has built-in editing tools to change frame rates, apply visual effects, or make soundtracks from royalty-free songs. Video creators can import photos from the mobile phone to add to the animation you create.

Life Lapse permits you to use other color correction tools to set saturation, brightness, contrast, or white balance values manually. You can import audio files to your projects or export videos without a watermark on this app. The pro version lets you record footage in 4K resolution. Isn’t that amazing?

2. Stop Motion Maker

Price: Free, offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS

User Ratings: 4.0

You can easily take a sequence of images and make your own stop-motion video on this app. Once you launch the app and tap on the Create button, the device’s camera will open. Press the camera button and make a new frame.

Tap on the Done button once you are done arranging the photos.

You have the option to preview the result once you are done. Then, you can quickly proceed to export the video. The app doesn’t allow you to record voiceovers or create soundtracks, and you must use another video editing app for iOS devices if you want to further edit a stop motion video.

Make sure you give Stop Motion Maker access to your phone’s camera and photo library for it to function correctly.

3. Pic-Pac Stop Motion & Time Lapse

Price: Free, offers in-app purchase

Compatibility: Android

User Ratings: 4.0

If you are still learning to create stop motion animations, you should consider installing PicPac Stop Motion & Time Lapse. One can take photos or import images from the gallery or Instagram on this app. On the free version, you can even reorder pictures. It also enables you to change the order of frames and perform simple edits like removing small objects.

Users can search online music or add local music and record their audio on Pic Pac. You can edit existing projects and share your animations with the YouTube community if you are a signed-in user. To keep track of your projects, add a logo at the end of the videos. The Timelapse-manual mode enables you to bring your stop motion ideas to life. The pro version lets you export videos in resolutions larger than 360p.

4. iMotion

Price: Free, but offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS

User Ratings: 4.4

This app lets iPhone, and iPad users create both time-lapse and stop motion videos. It has a quick and smooth interface to create good quality animations easily. You can also add an audio soundtrack to your movie with iPod import, microphone, and AudioPaste (In-App Full Version required).

On iMotion, the user can manually control focus, exposure, or white balance. It has unlimited movie length, and you can also preview your projects at different frame rates. There is an option to autosave and directly preview your creation. If you want to do reverse playback, you can do that too.

Export all the video projects iMotion in 4K, 1080p, or 720p resolutions. However, only newer versions of iPhones and iPads can support 4k resolution. The free version of iMotion offers only limited options; get the full version to use the advanced features.

Closing Word

Stop motion animation is a simple and exciting way to create movement on a screen. Taking hundreds of photos to create a stop motion animation is not a huge task anymore. Anyone can easily do it on their smartphone camera, or it’s even better if you use a DSLR.

Stop Motion Studio is rightly called a studio as it has all the tools needed to create a stop motion animation. It gives you complete control over all camera settings and editing features.

So, bring your photos to life today with stop motion studio free or stop motion pro.

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Part 1. What is Stop Motion Studio?

Stop Motion Studio is the world’s easiest app for stop motion moviemaking. It has an easy-to-use interface to create beautiful animated movies easily.

You can install Stop Motion Studio Pc or go for its iPhone, iPad, or Android version. However, you must make in-app purchases if you wish to export your projects in 4K resolution or import images from your device to create the animation. Let’s look at its features in detail-

Basic functions:

• Overlay mode that shows the differences between frames
• Position the objects accordingly
• Copy, paste, cut, and insert frames wherever required
• Interactive interface to easily access it.

Unique features

• Add titles, credits, and text cards or create your very own with the built-in editor
• Enhance your movie with different video filters
• Add different foregrounds, backgrounds, aspect ratios, and fade effects
• Add built-in music, sound effects, songs from your music library.

Camera control

• Full camera control to capture with an adjustable time interval feature
• Adjust white balance, focus, and exposure, ISO, and shutter speed manually.

An image editor:

• Add titles and other text on the animation
• Enhance images, sketch, and paint
• Use the eraser tool to wipe away unwanted objects
• Merge frames to simulate fast movement

Part 2. How to Use Stop Motion Studio?

With the help of Stop Motion Studio, you can make animation by combining multiple pictures. You need to download Stop Motion Studio Pro for your iOS or Android device to use the app. You can also download it for PC.

Step 1: Once you have downloaded the app, install it to work on your animation project right away. To create a new movie, click on the plus icon to create a new movie.

Step 2: Set the object you wish to capture in the frame. Let us consider one example where we will turn over an object. Click the camera icon to capture the shot. Move the thing a little and again tap on the shutter icon. Repeat the process until you have moved it all the way around. Once done, click on the play button. It will appear as if the object is in motion and moving on its own.

Tip: To ensure that your object is in the right place, you can use different controls like grid and onion skin. The grid will give you an idea of where you placed the subject in the frame. The onion skin puts the last frame you captured on top of your camera’s live view. In this way, you can see how far you moved your subject between frames.

Step 3: You can click as many pictures as you need to convey your story. After clicking all the pictures, you can edit them as per your requirements. To increase or decrease the speed at which your video plays, change the frame rate by choosing the number of pictures to be shown per second when you play the video. Play the video to see how your work turned out. If you like the end result, exit the editor.

Step 4: Now select the animation that you just saved. Click on the export icon which you will find at the top left of the screen—select animated GIF from the pulldown menu. Export the file to Google drive, mail yourself or upload it on your social media profile. AirDrop the file to other iPhone users if you are an iPhone user.

Step 5: You are done!! Yes, it was that simple and easy to create a great stop motion video yourself.

If you want to make a basic video and add audio, the Stop Motion Studio free version is ideal for you. But if you’re going to explore more app features, you need to buy Stop Motion Studio Pro Windows, a paid version of the app.

Part 3. 4 Stop Motion Studio Alternative Software

1. Life Lapse Stop Motion Maker

Price: Free, offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS, Android

User Ratings: 4.8 on App Store, 3.6 on Google Play

This app is undoubtedly a lifesaving stop motion apps ever created. Why do we say this? It offers unlimited tools to shoot on an unlimited number of projects. As well as use audio tracks and effects from the built-in library.

While shooting a video on the app, you can add and remove various objects from frames, adjust the focus, and apply many other effects. It has built-in editing tools to change frame rates, apply visual effects, or make soundtracks from royalty-free songs. Video creators can import photos from the mobile phone to add to the animation you create.

Life Lapse permits you to use other color correction tools to set saturation, brightness, contrast, or white balance values manually. You can import audio files to your projects or export videos without a watermark on this app. The pro version lets you record footage in 4K resolution. Isn’t that amazing?

2. Stop Motion Maker

Price: Free, offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS

User Ratings: 4.0

You can easily take a sequence of images and make your own stop-motion video on this app. Once you launch the app and tap on the Create button, the device’s camera will open. Press the camera button and make a new frame.

Tap on the Done button once you are done arranging the photos.

You have the option to preview the result once you are done. Then, you can quickly proceed to export the video. The app doesn’t allow you to record voiceovers or create soundtracks, and you must use another video editing app for iOS devices if you want to further edit a stop motion video.

Make sure you give Stop Motion Maker access to your phone’s camera and photo library for it to function correctly.

3. Pic-Pac Stop Motion & Time Lapse

Price: Free, offers in-app purchase

Compatibility: Android

User Ratings: 4.0

If you are still learning to create stop motion animations, you should consider installing PicPac Stop Motion & Time Lapse. One can take photos or import images from the gallery or Instagram on this app. On the free version, you can even reorder pictures. It also enables you to change the order of frames and perform simple edits like removing small objects.

Users can search online music or add local music and record their audio on Pic Pac. You can edit existing projects and share your animations with the YouTube community if you are a signed-in user. To keep track of your projects, add a logo at the end of the videos. The Timelapse-manual mode enables you to bring your stop motion ideas to life. The pro version lets you export videos in resolutions larger than 360p.

4. iMotion

Price: Free, but offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS

User Ratings: 4.4

This app lets iPhone, and iPad users create both time-lapse and stop motion videos. It has a quick and smooth interface to create good quality animations easily. You can also add an audio soundtrack to your movie with iPod import, microphone, and AudioPaste (In-App Full Version required).

On iMotion, the user can manually control focus, exposure, or white balance. It has unlimited movie length, and you can also preview your projects at different frame rates. There is an option to autosave and directly preview your creation. If you want to do reverse playback, you can do that too.

Export all the video projects iMotion in 4K, 1080p, or 720p resolutions. However, only newer versions of iPhones and iPads can support 4k resolution. The free version of iMotion offers only limited options; get the full version to use the advanced features.

Closing Word

Stop motion animation is a simple and exciting way to create movement on a screen. Taking hundreds of photos to create a stop motion animation is not a huge task anymore. Anyone can easily do it on their smartphone camera, or it’s even better if you use a DSLR.

Stop Motion Studio is rightly called a studio as it has all the tools needed to create a stop motion animation. It gives you complete control over all camera settings and editing features.

So, bring your photos to life today with stop motion studio free or stop motion pro.

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Part 1. What is Stop Motion Studio?

Stop Motion Studio is the world’s easiest app for stop motion moviemaking. It has an easy-to-use interface to create beautiful animated movies easily.

You can install Stop Motion Studio Pc or go for its iPhone, iPad, or Android version. However, you must make in-app purchases if you wish to export your projects in 4K resolution or import images from your device to create the animation. Let’s look at its features in detail-

Basic functions:

• Overlay mode that shows the differences between frames
• Position the objects accordingly
• Copy, paste, cut, and insert frames wherever required
• Interactive interface to easily access it.

Unique features

• Add titles, credits, and text cards or create your very own with the built-in editor
• Enhance your movie with different video filters
• Add different foregrounds, backgrounds, aspect ratios, and fade effects
• Add built-in music, sound effects, songs from your music library.

Camera control

• Full camera control to capture with an adjustable time interval feature
• Adjust white balance, focus, and exposure, ISO, and shutter speed manually.

An image editor:

• Add titles and other text on the animation
• Enhance images, sketch, and paint
• Use the eraser tool to wipe away unwanted objects
• Merge frames to simulate fast movement

Part 2. How to Use Stop Motion Studio?

With the help of Stop Motion Studio, you can make animation by combining multiple pictures. You need to download Stop Motion Studio Pro for your iOS or Android device to use the app. You can also download it for PC.

Step 1: Once you have downloaded the app, install it to work on your animation project right away. To create a new movie, click on the plus icon to create a new movie.

Step 2: Set the object you wish to capture in the frame. Let us consider one example where we will turn over an object. Click the camera icon to capture the shot. Move the thing a little and again tap on the shutter icon. Repeat the process until you have moved it all the way around. Once done, click on the play button. It will appear as if the object is in motion and moving on its own.

Tip: To ensure that your object is in the right place, you can use different controls like grid and onion skin. The grid will give you an idea of where you placed the subject in the frame. The onion skin puts the last frame you captured on top of your camera’s live view. In this way, you can see how far you moved your subject between frames.

Step 3: You can click as many pictures as you need to convey your story. After clicking all the pictures, you can edit them as per your requirements. To increase or decrease the speed at which your video plays, change the frame rate by choosing the number of pictures to be shown per second when you play the video. Play the video to see how your work turned out. If you like the end result, exit the editor.

Step 4: Now select the animation that you just saved. Click on the export icon which you will find at the top left of the screen—select animated GIF from the pulldown menu. Export the file to Google drive, mail yourself or upload it on your social media profile. AirDrop the file to other iPhone users if you are an iPhone user.

Step 5: You are done!! Yes, it was that simple and easy to create a great stop motion video yourself.

If you want to make a basic video and add audio, the Stop Motion Studio free version is ideal for you. But if you’re going to explore more app features, you need to buy Stop Motion Studio Pro Windows, a paid version of the app.

Part 3. 4 Stop Motion Studio Alternative Software

1. Life Lapse Stop Motion Maker

Price: Free, offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS, Android

User Ratings: 4.8 on App Store, 3.6 on Google Play

This app is undoubtedly a lifesaving stop motion apps ever created. Why do we say this? It offers unlimited tools to shoot on an unlimited number of projects. As well as use audio tracks and effects from the built-in library.

While shooting a video on the app, you can add and remove various objects from frames, adjust the focus, and apply many other effects. It has built-in editing tools to change frame rates, apply visual effects, or make soundtracks from royalty-free songs. Video creators can import photos from the mobile phone to add to the animation you create.

Life Lapse permits you to use other color correction tools to set saturation, brightness, contrast, or white balance values manually. You can import audio files to your projects or export videos without a watermark on this app. The pro version lets you record footage in 4K resolution. Isn’t that amazing?

2. Stop Motion Maker

Price: Free, offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS

User Ratings: 4.0

You can easily take a sequence of images and make your own stop-motion video on this app. Once you launch the app and tap on the Create button, the device’s camera will open. Press the camera button and make a new frame.

Tap on the Done button once you are done arranging the photos.

You have the option to preview the result once you are done. Then, you can quickly proceed to export the video. The app doesn’t allow you to record voiceovers or create soundtracks, and you must use another video editing app for iOS devices if you want to further edit a stop motion video.

Make sure you give Stop Motion Maker access to your phone’s camera and photo library for it to function correctly.

3. Pic-Pac Stop Motion & Time Lapse

Price: Free, offers in-app purchase

Compatibility: Android

User Ratings: 4.0

If you are still learning to create stop motion animations, you should consider installing PicPac Stop Motion & Time Lapse. One can take photos or import images from the gallery or Instagram on this app. On the free version, you can even reorder pictures. It also enables you to change the order of frames and perform simple edits like removing small objects.

Users can search online music or add local music and record their audio on Pic Pac. You can edit existing projects and share your animations with the YouTube community if you are a signed-in user. To keep track of your projects, add a logo at the end of the videos. The Timelapse-manual mode enables you to bring your stop motion ideas to life. The pro version lets you export videos in resolutions larger than 360p.

4. iMotion

Price: Free, but offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS

User Ratings: 4.4

This app lets iPhone, and iPad users create both time-lapse and stop motion videos. It has a quick and smooth interface to create good quality animations easily. You can also add an audio soundtrack to your movie with iPod import, microphone, and AudioPaste (In-App Full Version required).

On iMotion, the user can manually control focus, exposure, or white balance. It has unlimited movie length, and you can also preview your projects at different frame rates. There is an option to autosave and directly preview your creation. If you want to do reverse playback, you can do that too.

Export all the video projects iMotion in 4K, 1080p, or 720p resolutions. However, only newer versions of iPhones and iPads can support 4k resolution. The free version of iMotion offers only limited options; get the full version to use the advanced features.

Closing Word

Stop motion animation is a simple and exciting way to create movement on a screen. Taking hundreds of photos to create a stop motion animation is not a huge task anymore. Anyone can easily do it on their smartphone camera, or it’s even better if you use a DSLR.

Stop Motion Studio is rightly called a studio as it has all the tools needed to create a stop motion animation. It gives you complete control over all camera settings and editing features.

So, bring your photos to life today with stop motion studio free or stop motion pro.

The Ultimate Video Effects Handbook: Tips and Tricks

Cool Video Editor: How to Add Cool Effects to Video

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

How to make a cool video? Besides creativities, you may also need a video editing software which allows you to add some cool video effects. Actually it’s much simpler than you might expect if you use cool video editor like Wondershare Filmora , which enables you to easily trim videos, add voice narration or a music sound track from your personal collection and add cool effects and give your plain old home videos the extra touch that makes them more special. In this article, we will introduce some cool video effects that you can use in Filmora as well as the step-by-step guide about how to add cool effects to videos for making a cool edit.

Part 1: Introducing 5 cool effects that you may be interested in

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1. Mask: Filmora allows you add various image masks and shape mask to the image and video in the timeline, which will create a special effect. You can always add Mask effect to media when creating PIP videos.

2. Green Screen Effect: Green screen or chroma keying feature is used to key out colors from a subject of a photo or video and composite two images or videos together based on color chroma range.

3. Transition Effect: Transition video effect is used to be more visual and obvious when playing back one scene to another. Namely, it is what the scene showing between two clips. Filmora provides more than 200 transition effects, including the basic fade, bar, ripple & dissolve, 3D and slideshow transitions, you can also find the transition effects for special events such as birthday and wedding.

4. Overlays: A video overlay refers to an image or an animated video that appears over the background video. Filmora provides more than 110 overlays including frame overlay, bokeh blurs overlay, lens flares, old film, damaged film, TV static, and view finder overlays.

5. Filters: Filmora has a great collection of video filter effects and there are about 150 filters in it, including camera shake, distortion, Lomography, background blur, faux film and Instagram-like filters.

Besides these common cool video effects, Filmora Effects Store offers more possibilities. There are packs, sets and bundles covering gaming, media, beauty and fashion, action cam, education, lifestyle, VFX and special event. Check the blockbuster video effects video below to check how it works.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Part 2: How to Add Cool Effects to Videos in Filmora [Tutorial]

With Filmora, you can also add some cool effects conveniently to improve your video with ease. After several clicks, your video will turn out to be a stunning masterpiece which is really fantastic to share with your family and friends on YouTube or Facebook. Now follow this step-by-step guide on how to edit videos with this cool software.

1 Import your videos

Install and launch Wondershare Filmora. Click New Project and then click the “Import” button to load your media files through its navigation import panel or directly drag and drop your files to the media library.

2 Add cool effects to your video

Now it’s time to add cool effects to your video. Just drop the video and audio files from the media library to the corresponding timelines. Then click the “Effect” button in the toolbar to switch to the “Effect” tab. Here you will see filters and overlays effects for you to choose.

To add transitions between two clips, or add an overlay or filter video effect to video, just go to the corresponding tab and drag and drop the target video effects to videos.

You can also right click your favorite effect and select apply. You will see the “Effect” Timeline appear below the video track. If you want to increase the effect duration, just mouse over the edge of the effect in timeline, and when the “double arrow” cursor appears, drag it to any length you want.

Detailed information about how to add a split-screen effect video, check our guide about how to make a split screen video here .

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

For steps of compositing a green screen video, check this video tutorial below:

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Besides that, you can add more cool effects provided by Video Editor. Just highlight the target media file, then go to Effects Tab. Yu can select and apply more cool effects like Tilt-Shift, Mosaic, and Face Off under Utitliy filters. These effects will help you turn your video clip into a work of art.

3 Export your videos

You can preview and watch your video by clicking the “Play” button before you export it. Go back and make some necessary adjustments. Then you can save and export the video to your computer in the “Format” tab. If you want to play video on mobile devices, go to the “Devices” tab and choose a device from the list. Of course, you can also directly burn it to DVD or post on YouTube or Vimeo.

Filmora features more than 300 video effects, elements and motion effects and 100+ text and title styles to choose. Besides adding cool video effects to video clips, you can also reverse, speed up or slow down the video to make a cool effect. You can also choose music sound from the built in music library and do some audio editing with the Audio Mixer or Audio Equalizer tool.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

As one of the best and easiest video editing software which comes with cool effects, Filmora can empower your imagination. Download this cool video editor with various effects and try it yourself!

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

How to make a cool video? Besides creativities, you may also need a video editing software which allows you to add some cool video effects. Actually it’s much simpler than you might expect if you use cool video editor like Wondershare Filmora , which enables you to easily trim videos, add voice narration or a music sound track from your personal collection and add cool effects and give your plain old home videos the extra touch that makes them more special. In this article, we will introduce some cool video effects that you can use in Filmora as well as the step-by-step guide about how to add cool effects to videos for making a cool edit.

Part 1: Introducing 5 cool effects that you may be interested in

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1. Mask: Filmora allows you add various image masks and shape mask to the image and video in the timeline, which will create a special effect. You can always add Mask effect to media when creating PIP videos.

2. Green Screen Effect: Green screen or chroma keying feature is used to key out colors from a subject of a photo or video and composite two images or videos together based on color chroma range.

3. Transition Effect: Transition video effect is used to be more visual and obvious when playing back one scene to another. Namely, it is what the scene showing between two clips. Filmora provides more than 200 transition effects, including the basic fade, bar, ripple & dissolve, 3D and slideshow transitions, you can also find the transition effects for special events such as birthday and wedding.

4. Overlays: A video overlay refers to an image or an animated video that appears over the background video. Filmora provides more than 110 overlays including frame overlay, bokeh blurs overlay, lens flares, old film, damaged film, TV static, and view finder overlays.

5. Filters: Filmora has a great collection of video filter effects and there are about 150 filters in it, including camera shake, distortion, Lomography, background blur, faux film and Instagram-like filters.

Besides these common cool video effects, Filmora Effects Store offers more possibilities. There are packs, sets and bundles covering gaming, media, beauty and fashion, action cam, education, lifestyle, VFX and special event. Check the blockbuster video effects video below to check how it works.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Part 2: How to Add Cool Effects to Videos in Filmora [Tutorial]

With Filmora, you can also add some cool effects conveniently to improve your video with ease. After several clicks, your video will turn out to be a stunning masterpiece which is really fantastic to share with your family and friends on YouTube or Facebook. Now follow this step-by-step guide on how to edit videos with this cool software.

1 Import your videos

Install and launch Wondershare Filmora. Click New Project and then click the “Import” button to load your media files through its navigation import panel or directly drag and drop your files to the media library.

2 Add cool effects to your video

Now it’s time to add cool effects to your video. Just drop the video and audio files from the media library to the corresponding timelines. Then click the “Effect” button in the toolbar to switch to the “Effect” tab. Here you will see filters and overlays effects for you to choose.

To add transitions between two clips, or add an overlay or filter video effect to video, just go to the corresponding tab and drag and drop the target video effects to videos.

You can also right click your favorite effect and select apply. You will see the “Effect” Timeline appear below the video track. If you want to increase the effect duration, just mouse over the edge of the effect in timeline, and when the “double arrow” cursor appears, drag it to any length you want.

Detailed information about how to add a split-screen effect video, check our guide about how to make a split screen video here .

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

For steps of compositing a green screen video, check this video tutorial below:

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Besides that, you can add more cool effects provided by Video Editor. Just highlight the target media file, then go to Effects Tab. Yu can select and apply more cool effects like Tilt-Shift, Mosaic, and Face Off under Utitliy filters. These effects will help you turn your video clip into a work of art.

3 Export your videos

You can preview and watch your video by clicking the “Play” button before you export it. Go back and make some necessary adjustments. Then you can save and export the video to your computer in the “Format” tab. If you want to play video on mobile devices, go to the “Devices” tab and choose a device from the list. Of course, you can also directly burn it to DVD or post on YouTube or Vimeo.

Filmora features more than 300 video effects, elements and motion effects and 100+ text and title styles to choose. Besides adding cool video effects to video clips, you can also reverse, speed up or slow down the video to make a cool effect. You can also choose music sound from the built in music library and do some audio editing with the Audio Mixer or Audio Equalizer tool.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

As one of the best and easiest video editing software which comes with cool effects, Filmora can empower your imagination. Download this cool video editor with various effects and try it yourself!

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

How to make a cool video? Besides creativities, you may also need a video editing software which allows you to add some cool video effects. Actually it’s much simpler than you might expect if you use cool video editor like Wondershare Filmora , which enables you to easily trim videos, add voice narration or a music sound track from your personal collection and add cool effects and give your plain old home videos the extra touch that makes them more special. In this article, we will introduce some cool video effects that you can use in Filmora as well as the step-by-step guide about how to add cool effects to videos for making a cool edit.

Part 1: Introducing 5 cool effects that you may be interested in

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1. Mask: Filmora allows you add various image masks and shape mask to the image and video in the timeline, which will create a special effect. You can always add Mask effect to media when creating PIP videos.

2. Green Screen Effect: Green screen or chroma keying feature is used to key out colors from a subject of a photo or video and composite two images or videos together based on color chroma range.

3. Transition Effect: Transition video effect is used to be more visual and obvious when playing back one scene to another. Namely, it is what the scene showing between two clips. Filmora provides more than 200 transition effects, including the basic fade, bar, ripple & dissolve, 3D and slideshow transitions, you can also find the transition effects for special events such as birthday and wedding.

4. Overlays: A video overlay refers to an image or an animated video that appears over the background video. Filmora provides more than 110 overlays including frame overlay, bokeh blurs overlay, lens flares, old film, damaged film, TV static, and view finder overlays.

5. Filters: Filmora has a great collection of video filter effects and there are about 150 filters in it, including camera shake, distortion, Lomography, background blur, faux film and Instagram-like filters.

Besides these common cool video effects, Filmora Effects Store offers more possibilities. There are packs, sets and bundles covering gaming, media, beauty and fashion, action cam, education, lifestyle, VFX and special event. Check the blockbuster video effects video below to check how it works.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Part 2: How to Add Cool Effects to Videos in Filmora [Tutorial]

With Filmora, you can also add some cool effects conveniently to improve your video with ease. After several clicks, your video will turn out to be a stunning masterpiece which is really fantastic to share with your family and friends on YouTube or Facebook. Now follow this step-by-step guide on how to edit videos with this cool software.

1 Import your videos

Install and launch Wondershare Filmora. Click New Project and then click the “Import” button to load your media files through its navigation import panel or directly drag and drop your files to the media library.

2 Add cool effects to your video

Now it’s time to add cool effects to your video. Just drop the video and audio files from the media library to the corresponding timelines. Then click the “Effect” button in the toolbar to switch to the “Effect” tab. Here you will see filters and overlays effects for you to choose.

To add transitions between two clips, or add an overlay or filter video effect to video, just go to the corresponding tab and drag and drop the target video effects to videos.

You can also right click your favorite effect and select apply. You will see the “Effect” Timeline appear below the video track. If you want to increase the effect duration, just mouse over the edge of the effect in timeline, and when the “double arrow” cursor appears, drag it to any length you want.

Detailed information about how to add a split-screen effect video, check our guide about how to make a split screen video here .

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

For steps of compositing a green screen video, check this video tutorial below:

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Besides that, you can add more cool effects provided by Video Editor. Just highlight the target media file, then go to Effects Tab. Yu can select and apply more cool effects like Tilt-Shift, Mosaic, and Face Off under Utitliy filters. These effects will help you turn your video clip into a work of art.

3 Export your videos

You can preview and watch your video by clicking the “Play” button before you export it. Go back and make some necessary adjustments. Then you can save and export the video to your computer in the “Format” tab. If you want to play video on mobile devices, go to the “Devices” tab and choose a device from the list. Of course, you can also directly burn it to DVD or post on YouTube or Vimeo.

Filmora features more than 300 video effects, elements and motion effects and 100+ text and title styles to choose. Besides adding cool video effects to video clips, you can also reverse, speed up or slow down the video to make a cool effect. You can also choose music sound from the built in music library and do some audio editing with the Audio Mixer or Audio Equalizer tool.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

As one of the best and easiest video editing software which comes with cool effects, Filmora can empower your imagination. Download this cool video editor with various effects and try it yourself!

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

How to make a cool video? Besides creativities, you may also need a video editing software which allows you to add some cool video effects. Actually it’s much simpler than you might expect if you use cool video editor like Wondershare Filmora , which enables you to easily trim videos, add voice narration or a music sound track from your personal collection and add cool effects and give your plain old home videos the extra touch that makes them more special. In this article, we will introduce some cool video effects that you can use in Filmora as well as the step-by-step guide about how to add cool effects to videos for making a cool edit.

Part 1: Introducing 5 cool effects that you may be interested in

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1. Mask: Filmora allows you add various image masks and shape mask to the image and video in the timeline, which will create a special effect. You can always add Mask effect to media when creating PIP videos.

2. Green Screen Effect: Green screen or chroma keying feature is used to key out colors from a subject of a photo or video and composite two images or videos together based on color chroma range.

3. Transition Effect: Transition video effect is used to be more visual and obvious when playing back one scene to another. Namely, it is what the scene showing between two clips. Filmora provides more than 200 transition effects, including the basic fade, bar, ripple & dissolve, 3D and slideshow transitions, you can also find the transition effects for special events such as birthday and wedding.

4. Overlays: A video overlay refers to an image or an animated video that appears over the background video. Filmora provides more than 110 overlays including frame overlay, bokeh blurs overlay, lens flares, old film, damaged film, TV static, and view finder overlays.

5. Filters: Filmora has a great collection of video filter effects and there are about 150 filters in it, including camera shake, distortion, Lomography, background blur, faux film and Instagram-like filters.

Besides these common cool video effects, Filmora Effects Store offers more possibilities. There are packs, sets and bundles covering gaming, media, beauty and fashion, action cam, education, lifestyle, VFX and special event. Check the blockbuster video effects video below to check how it works.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Part 2: How to Add Cool Effects to Videos in Filmora [Tutorial]

With Filmora, you can also add some cool effects conveniently to improve your video with ease. After several clicks, your video will turn out to be a stunning masterpiece which is really fantastic to share with your family and friends on YouTube or Facebook. Now follow this step-by-step guide on how to edit videos with this cool software.

1 Import your videos

Install and launch Wondershare Filmora. Click New Project and then click the “Import” button to load your media files through its navigation import panel or directly drag and drop your files to the media library.

2 Add cool effects to your video

Now it’s time to add cool effects to your video. Just drop the video and audio files from the media library to the corresponding timelines. Then click the “Effect” button in the toolbar to switch to the “Effect” tab. Here you will see filters and overlays effects for you to choose.

To add transitions between two clips, or add an overlay or filter video effect to video, just go to the corresponding tab and drag and drop the target video effects to videos.

You can also right click your favorite effect and select apply. You will see the “Effect” Timeline appear below the video track. If you want to increase the effect duration, just mouse over the edge of the effect in timeline, and when the “double arrow” cursor appears, drag it to any length you want.

Detailed information about how to add a split-screen effect video, check our guide about how to make a split screen video here .

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

For steps of compositing a green screen video, check this video tutorial below:

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Besides that, you can add more cool effects provided by Video Editor. Just highlight the target media file, then go to Effects Tab. Yu can select and apply more cool effects like Tilt-Shift, Mosaic, and Face Off under Utitliy filters. These effects will help you turn your video clip into a work of art.

3 Export your videos

You can preview and watch your video by clicking the “Play” button before you export it. Go back and make some necessary adjustments. Then you can save and export the video to your computer in the “Format” tab. If you want to play video on mobile devices, go to the “Devices” tab and choose a device from the list. Of course, you can also directly burn it to DVD or post on YouTube or Vimeo.

Filmora features more than 300 video effects, elements and motion effects and 100+ text and title styles to choose. Besides adding cool video effects to video clips, you can also reverse, speed up or slow down the video to make a cool effect. You can also choose music sound from the built in music library and do some audio editing with the Audio Mixer or Audio Equalizer tool.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

As one of the best and easiest video editing software which comes with cool effects, Filmora can empower your imagination. Download this cool video editor with various effects and try it yourself!

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

The Most Efficient Video Editing Tools for Your Computer

If you are new to video editing and you simply want to do basic editing to your video, you need a light video editor. There is no need for a heavyweight video editor that is generally used by professionals. Besides, an industry-grade video editor demands high-end computer as they put pressure on your system resources for video processing and rendering.

Therefore, if you do not have a high-end computer for video editing, a lightweight video editor is perfect for you. There are so many lightweight video editing software applications available to choose from for video editing. We have picked the best light video editing software for smooth and satisfying video editing work.

Part 1. The Features for Light Video Editor

Here are the main features of a good lightweight video editor that you should be aware of.

Small File Size – A light video editor comes in a small size file, and you will understand the file size when you download it on your computer. Ideally, a light video editor should not be above a couple of hundred MBs in size.

Wide OS Compatibility – A good light video editor should not only be compatible with the latest version of computer operating system but also with older versions. This is because older operating systems fail to run a heavyweight video editor smoothly.

Low System Requirements – Every video editor lists out their system requirements starting from processor version to RAM capacity and free disk space. A light video editor should have low system requirements such as 4GB RAM, 5GB free disk space, Intel i3 or likewise.

Low CPU Usage – How much CPU resource a video editor uses determines whether the video editor is truly lightweight. You can monitor how much CPU resource an application is using from Task Manager. For a light video editor, it should never be more than 33% of the total CPU usage at any given time.

Faster Processing – A lightweight video editor is generally faster in processing and rendering videos. They use different techniques such as compression, background processing and proxy workflow to boost processing speed without affecting system performance.

Part 2. Best Light Video Editors

Here is the list of the best light video editing software with complete review so that you can pick the best one for your video editing purposes.

1. Filmora

Best for: beginners as well as advanced users.

System compatibility: Windows and Mac.

Reason to choose:

• Drag and drop media files from your hard drive.
• Robust timeline to arrange photos, videos, and audio files.
• Wide categories of transitions, effects and graphical elements.
• Take screenshot from videos and instant preview of the changes.
• Export in different file formats with adjusted video parameters.

Reason to avoid:

• Video processing slightly on the slower side.

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Wondershare Filmora is the best lightweight video editor that is tailor-made for both beginners as well as professionals. It is a premium video editor, and you should opt for it if you regularly edit videos. In fact, it is widely used by YouTubers and social media video creators. The software lets you record your screen and webcam video along with system and external mic sound. You can edit various video parameters such as aspect ratio, resolution, frame rate and likewise.

Coming to its editing features, you get a perfect blend of basic and advanced editing tools. You can trim, crop, split, join video clips as well as make videos from photos. You can import various media files of different formats including audio files. There are loads of transitions, effects, elements, texts, and stock media files. You can opt for greenscreen effect, apply stickers, correct colors, and much more.

2. Studio

Best for: Slightly advanced Windows users for advanced video editing.

System compatibility: Windows 11 and 10 (64 bit)

Reason to choose:

• Perfect blend of standard and advanced video editing tools.
• Advanced video masking and color grading options.
• Tons of effects, filters, transitions, and overlays.
• Edit multi-cam video and 360-degree video.
• Advanced audio editing options.

Reason to avoid:

• Some advanced features are not full-fledged.

Studio is a premium but light video editor that has some advanced video editing options. You will get all the basic video editing tools as well. You can publish cinema-grade videos with Studio. You can zoom video clips and edit frames accurately so that the video has no glitches and inconsistency in editing. The software allows you to edit multi-cam videos and make split-screen videos.

You can also record your screen and webcam with Studio. Apart from video editing, you can edit your audio files. There are options for color grading, blend modes and video making. Among the advanced features, you get motion and smart object tracking along with keyframing and editing 360-degree videos. The software comes with hardware acceleration to boost its performance.

3. OpenShot

Best for: those looking for a free light video editor.

System compatibility: Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Reason to choose:

• Drag and drop media files of different formats.
• Wide range of video filters and transition effects.
• 3D objects and animations with Blender plugin.
• Dedicated audio editor and video templates.

Reason to avoid:

• Not so suitable for 4K resolution videos.

OpenShot is an open-source and cross-platform video editor that is compatible across all computer operating systems. It is completely free to use, and it has a good mixture of all basic and some advanced video editing options. You can import photos, video clips, and audio files as per your requirements as it supports a wide range of media file formats.

The user interface is simple, and hence, beginners will find it easy to use. The software has one of the lowest CPU resource usages among the lightweight video editors. You can trim, crop, resize, split and do all such video editing. You can adjust the speed of videos as well as correct video parameters. The software allows you to attach custom watermarks and overlays, and there is the option for time-mapping.

4. ShotCut

Best for: open-source video editor with standard and advanced features.

System compatibility: Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Reason to choose:

• Import and export different file formats in high-resolution.
• Chroma key, video stabilization, filters and transitions.
• Video masking, composting and color correction.
• Complete audio editor with filters and mixing.
• Wide range of video editing options and tools.

Reason to avoid:

• User interface takes time to understand all features.
• Limited transitions and no stock media files.

Shotcut is an open-source and cross-platform video editor. It has support for all the different media file formats, and it supports 4K resolution. You can use the software to capture webcam and screen video as well as audio narration. You can also import different file formats for photos. There are various audio features available starting from audio filters to audio mixing.

Shotcut comes with a large set of transitions, effects, and filters. It supports video stabilization and deinterlacing as well as blending modes. You can edit video speed, reserve video clips, correct colors, and imperfections easily. There is a multi-track timeline available for easy video making and editing.

5. Adobe Premiere Pro

Best for: premium video editor for advanced Windows users.

System compatibility: Windows 10 and 11.

Reason to choose:

• Wide range of video effects, transitions, and templates.
• Edit 3D, VR, and multicam and 360-dgree videos as well as audio.
• Suitable for collaborative video editing and robust timeline.
• Support for various video and audio formats.

Reason to avoid:

• Reports of lagging in low-end computers.
• Steep learning curve to understand the user interface.

Adobe Premiere Pro is undoubtedly the best lightweight video editor Windows 10 for advanced video editors. Even though it is relatively less lightweight, you can do basic video editing on computers which do not have high-end hardware. Apart from basic editing, you can create industry-grade videos with the editing options available on the software.

You may need some training and lessons could be high useful for smooth editing. The software supports teamwork and collaborative video editing. You can edit VR and 3D videos as well as audio. The user interface is complicated, but it is highly customizable and flexible. The timeline is quite advanced and it is a complete video editor with full-fledged features.

6. VideoPad Video Editor

Best for: those who are looking for a video as well as audio editor.

System compatibility: Windows and Mac.

Reason to choose:

• Perfect combination of standard video and audio editing options.
• Video templates for intro, outro, and themed videos.
• Lossless exporting of videos in different formats.
• Video stabilization, color correction, and plugin support.
• Supports 4K video and share directly on YouTube.

Reason to avoid:

• Limited range of transitions and effects.
• Limited options for 3D video editing.

VideoPad Video Editor from NCH Software comes with a simple user interface, and hence, it is suitable for beginners. There is a wide category of transitions and effects available. It is the perfect combination video and audio editor. The software can process the videos faster, and it supports so many different types of media file formats.

Even though it is a rather simple video editor, it is quite powerful where you can edit 3D and e60-degree videos. Besides, there are options for 3D texts and tiles, chroma key, custom logos, and animations. Moreover, you can choose from different templates for intro and outro part of your videos. The audio editor is quite useful for mixing tracks, adding effects, and record own narration.

7. VSDC Free Video Editor

Best for: those who have very low end and outdated PCs.

System compatibility: Windows XP or above.

Reason to choose:

• Zoom and edit option, 360-degree video editing.
• Large set of video effects, transitions and filters.
• Chroma key option and PiP and split screen effect.
• Color correction and very low system requirements.
• Supports importing and exporting different file formats.

Reason to avoid:

• Advanced features are locked for premium users.

VSDC is a free suite where you get video editor and audio editor for free. Coming specifically to VSDC Free Video Editor, all the features are available for free without any watermark. However, there is a Pro version available with more advance video editing features. The software supports a wide range of media file formats.

You can zoom and edit accurately. You can even edit 360-degree videos without any issue. There are options for color correction, greenscreen effects and visualizations. You can choose from a large set of video effects and filters. The best part is that VSDC Free Video Editor is suitable for very low-end systems.

8. Avidemux

Best for: those looking for a free video editor for basic editing.

System compatibility: Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Reason to choose:

• Standard video options available.
• Advanced video filters and effects.
• Custom scripting and advanced interlacing.
• Super intuitive user interface.
• Supports multiple file formats.

Reason to avoid:

• Not suitable for high-resolution videos.

Avidemux from Sourceforge is a light video editing software free. The software is suitable for basic editing only. It is extremely lightweight, and it supports a limited resolution of videos. You can cut crop, trim videos, add filters to them, and perform encoding tasks. The software supports various import and export file formats.

Avidemux also has basic audio editing options, and you can publish compressed videos in rather small file sizes. There is also option for custom scripting, and you can automate common tasks easily. It belongs to the open-source video editor category, and hence, it is completely free to use for all purposes.

Part 3. FAQs about Light Video Editor

1. What is Light Video Editor?

Light Video Editor is a user-friendly video editing software that allows users to edit and create videos quickly and easily. The software includes features such as trimming, merging, cropping, adding music, and more.

2. what is the best lightweight video editor for windows?

Wondershare Filmora is the best lightweight video editor for Windows as well as Mac users. Even though the software is world-class as a video editing software, it does not demand high CPU usage and does not high system requirements.

3. What is the best free light video editor?

Shotcut is the best free light video editor, and it is available for all computer operating systems. If you have a very low-end computer, VSDC Free Video Editor is the best free light video editor for you.

4. Can I use a light video editor for professional projects?

While a light video editor may not have all the features of a professional video editor, it can still be used for professional projects such as short promotional videos, social media content, or simple marketing videos. It can be a great option for those who need to quickly edit and produce videos without spending a lot of time learning a complex software.

5. What are the benefits of using a light video editor?

One of the main benefits of using a light video editor is its simplicity and ease of use. It can be a great option for beginners or those who need to quickly edit and produce videos without spending a lot of time learning a complex software. It is also usually more affordable than a full-featured video editor and can still produce high-quality videos for personal or professional use.

Reason to avoid:

• Video processing slightly on the slower side.

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Wondershare Filmora is the best lightweight video editor that is tailor-made for both beginners as well as professionals. It is a premium video editor, and you should opt for it if you regularly edit videos. In fact, it is widely used by YouTubers and social media video creators. The software lets you record your screen and webcam video along with system and external mic sound. You can edit various video parameters such as aspect ratio, resolution, frame rate and likewise.

Coming to its editing features, you get a perfect blend of basic and advanced editing tools. You can trim, crop, split, join video clips as well as make videos from photos. You can import various media files of different formats including audio files. There are loads of transitions, effects, elements, texts, and stock media files. You can opt for greenscreen effect, apply stickers, correct colors, and much more.

2. Studio

Best for: Slightly advanced Windows users for advanced video editing.

System compatibility: Windows 11 and 10 (64 bit)

Reason to choose:

• Perfect blend of standard and advanced video editing tools.
• Advanced video masking and color grading options.
• Tons of effects, filters, transitions, and overlays.
• Edit multi-cam video and 360-degree video.
• Advanced audio editing options.

Reason to avoid:

• Some advanced features are not full-fledged.

Studio is a premium but light video editor that has some advanced video editing options. You will get all the basic video editing tools as well. You can publish cinema-grade videos with Studio. You can zoom video clips and edit frames accurately so that the video has no glitches and inconsistency in editing. The software allows you to edit multi-cam videos and make split-screen videos.

You can also record your screen and webcam with Studio. Apart from video editing, you can edit your audio files. There are options for color grading, blend modes and video making. Among the advanced features, you get motion and smart object tracking along with keyframing and editing 360-degree videos. The software comes with hardware acceleration to boost its performance.

3. OpenShot

Best for: those looking for a free light video editor.

System compatibility: Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Reason to choose:

• Drag and drop media files of different formats.
• Wide range of video filters and transition effects.
• 3D objects and animations with Blender plugin.
• Dedicated audio editor and video templates.

Reason to avoid:

• Not so suitable for 4K resolution videos.

OpenShot is an open-source and cross-platform video editor that is compatible across all computer operating systems. It is completely free to use, and it has a good mixture of all basic and some advanced video editing options. You can import photos, video clips, and audio files as per your requirements as it supports a wide range of media file formats.

The user interface is simple, and hence, beginners will find it easy to use. The software has one of the lowest CPU resource usages among the lightweight video editors. You can trim, crop, resize, split and do all such video editing. You can adjust the speed of videos as well as correct video parameters. The software allows you to attach custom watermarks and overlays, and there is the option for time-mapping.

4. ShotCut

Best for: open-source video editor with standard and advanced features.

System compatibility: Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Reason to choose:

• Import and export different file formats in high-resolution.
• Chroma key, video stabilization, filters and transitions.
• Video masking, composting and color correction.
• Complete audio editor with filters and mixing.
• Wide range of video editing options and tools.

Reason to avoid:

• User interface takes time to understand all features.
• Limited transitions and no stock media files.

Shotcut is an open-source and cross-platform video editor. It has support for all the different media file formats, and it supports 4K resolution. You can use the software to capture webcam and screen video as well as audio narration. You can also import different file formats for photos. There are various audio features available starting from audio filters to audio mixing.

Shotcut comes with a large set of transitions, effects, and filters. It supports video stabilization and deinterlacing as well as blending modes. You can edit video speed, reserve video clips, correct colors, and imperfections easily. There is a multi-track timeline available for easy video making and editing.

5. Adobe Premiere Pro

Best for: premium video editor for advanced Windows users.

System compatibility: Windows 10 and 11.

Reason to choose:

• Wide range of video effects, transitions, and templates.
• Edit 3D, VR, and multicam and 360-dgree videos as well as audio.
• Suitable for collaborative video editing and robust timeline.
• Support for various video and audio formats.

Reason to avoid:

• Reports of lagging in low-end computers.
• Steep learning curve to understand the user interface.

Adobe Premiere Pro is undoubtedly the best lightweight video editor Windows 10 for advanced video editors. Even though it is relatively less lightweight, you can do basic video editing on computers which do not have high-end hardware. Apart from basic editing, you can create industry-grade videos with the editing options available on the software.

You may need some training and lessons could be high useful for smooth editing. The software supports teamwork and collaborative video editing. You can edit VR and 3D videos as well as audio. The user interface is complicated, but it is highly customizable and flexible. The timeline is quite advanced and it is a complete video editor with full-fledged features.

6. VideoPad Video Editor

Best for: those who are looking for a video as well as audio editor.

System compatibility: Windows and Mac.

Reason to choose:

• Perfect combination of standard video and audio editing options.
• Video templates for intro, outro, and themed videos.
• Lossless exporting of videos in different formats.
• Video stabilization, color correction, and plugin support.
• Supports 4K video and share directly on YouTube.

Reason to avoid:

• Limited range of transitions and effects.
• Limited options for 3D video editing.

VideoPad Video Editor from NCH Software comes with a simple user interface, and hence, it is suitable for beginners. There is a wide category of transitions and effects available. It is the perfect combination video and audio editor. The software can process the videos faster, and it supports so many different types of media file formats.

Even though it is a rather simple video editor, it is quite powerful where you can edit 3D and e60-degree videos. Besides, there are options for 3D texts and tiles, chroma key, custom logos, and animations. Moreover, you can choose from different templates for intro and outro part of your videos. The audio editor is quite useful for mixing tracks, adding effects, and record own narration.

7. VSDC Free Video Editor

Best for: those who have very low end and outdated PCs.

System compatibility: Windows XP or above.

Reason to choose:

• Zoom and edit option, 360-degree video editing.
• Large set of video effects, transitions and filters.
• Chroma key option and PiP and split screen effect.
• Color correction and very low system requirements.
• Supports importing and exporting different file formats.

Reason to avoid:

• Advanced features are locked for premium users.

VSDC is a free suite where you get video editor and audio editor for free. Coming specifically to VSDC Free Video Editor, all the features are available for free without any watermark. However, there is a Pro version available with more advance video editing features. The software supports a wide range of media file formats.

You can zoom and edit accurately. You can even edit 360-degree videos without any issue. There are options for color correction, greenscreen effects and visualizations. You can choose from a large set of video effects and filters. The best part is that VSDC Free Video Editor is suitable for very low-end systems.

8. Avidemux

Best for: those looking for a free video editor for basic editing.

System compatibility: Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Reason to choose:

• Standard video options available.
• Advanced video filters and effects.
• Custom scripting and advanced interlacing.
• Super intuitive user interface.
• Supports multiple file formats.

Reason to avoid:

• Not suitable for high-resolution videos.

Avidemux from Sourceforge is a light video editing software free. The software is suitable for basic editing only. It is extremely lightweight, and it supports a limited resolution of videos. You can cut crop, trim videos, add filters to them, and perform encoding tasks. The software supports various import and export file formats.

Avidemux also has basic audio editing options, and you can publish compressed videos in rather small file sizes. There is also option for custom scripting, and you can automate common tasks easily. It belongs to the open-source video editor category, and hence, it is completely free to use for all purposes.

Part 3. FAQs about Light Video Editor

1. What is Light Video Editor?

Light Video Editor is a user-friendly video editing software that allows users to edit and create videos quickly and easily. The software includes features such as trimming, merging, cropping, adding music, and more.

2. what is the best lightweight video editor for windows?

Wondershare Filmora is the best lightweight video editor for Windows as well as Mac users. Even though the software is world-class as a video editing software, it does not demand high CPU usage and does not high system requirements.

3. What is the best free light video editor?

Shotcut is the best free light video editor, and it is available for all computer operating systems. If you have a very low-end computer, VSDC Free Video Editor is the best free light video editor for you.

4. Can I use a light video editor for professional projects?

While a light video editor may not have all the features of a professional video editor, it can still be used for professional projects such as short promotional videos, social media content, or simple marketing videos. It can be a great option for those who need to quickly edit and produce videos without spending a lot of time learning a complex software.

5. What are the benefits of using a light video editor?

One of the main benefits of using a light video editor is its simplicity and ease of use. It can be a great option for beginners or those who need to quickly edit and produce videos without spending a lot of time learning a complex software. It is also usually more affordable than a full-featured video editor and can still produce high-quality videos for personal or professional use.

Reason to avoid:

• Video processing slightly on the slower side.

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Wondershare Filmora is the best lightweight video editor that is tailor-made for both beginners as well as professionals. It is a premium video editor, and you should opt for it if you regularly edit videos. In fact, it is widely used by YouTubers and social media video creators. The software lets you record your screen and webcam video along with system and external mic sound. You can edit various video parameters such as aspect ratio, resolution, frame rate and likewise.

Coming to its editing features, you get a perfect blend of basic and advanced editing tools. You can trim, crop, split, join video clips as well as make videos from photos. You can import various media files of different formats including audio files. There are loads of transitions, effects, elements, texts, and stock media files. You can opt for greenscreen effect, apply stickers, correct colors, and much more.

2. Studio

Best for: Slightly advanced Windows users for advanced video editing.

System compatibility: Windows 11 and 10 (64 bit)

Reason to choose:

• Perfect blend of standard and advanced video editing tools.
• Advanced video masking and color grading options.
• Tons of effects, filters, transitions, and overlays.
• Edit multi-cam video and 360-degree video.
• Advanced audio editing options.

Reason to avoid:

• Some advanced features are not full-fledged.

Studio is a premium but light video editor that has some advanced video editing options. You will get all the basic video editing tools as well. You can publish cinema-grade videos with Studio. You can zoom video clips and edit frames accurately so that the video has no glitches and inconsistency in editing. The software allows you to edit multi-cam videos and make split-screen videos.

You can also record your screen and webcam with Studio. Apart from video editing, you can edit your audio files. There are options for color grading, blend modes and video making. Among the advanced features, you get motion and smart object tracking along with keyframing and editing 360-degree videos. The software comes with hardware acceleration to boost its performance.

3. OpenShot

Best for: those looking for a free light video editor.

System compatibility: Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Reason to choose:

• Drag and drop media files of different formats.
• Wide range of video filters and transition effects.
• 3D objects and animations with Blender plugin.
• Dedicated audio editor and video templates.

Reason to avoid:

• Not so suitable for 4K resolution videos.

OpenShot is an open-source and cross-platform video editor that is compatible across all computer operating systems. It is completely free to use, and it has a good mixture of all basic and some advanced video editing options. You can import photos, video clips, and audio files as per your requirements as it supports a wide range of media file formats.

The user interface is simple, and hence, beginners will find it easy to use. The software has one of the lowest CPU resource usages among the lightweight video editors. You can trim, crop, resize, split and do all such video editing. You can adjust the speed of videos as well as correct video parameters. The software allows you to attach custom watermarks and overlays, and there is the option for time-mapping.

4. ShotCut

Best for: open-source video editor with standard and advanced features.

System compatibility: Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Reason to choose:

• Import and export different file formats in high-resolution.
• Chroma key, video stabilization, filters and transitions.
• Video masking, composting and color correction.
• Complete audio editor with filters and mixing.
• Wide range of video editing options and tools.

Reason to avoid:

• User interface takes time to understand all features.
• Limited transitions and no stock media files.

Shotcut is an open-source and cross-platform video editor. It has support for all the different media file formats, and it supports 4K resolution. You can use the software to capture webcam and screen video as well as audio narration. You can also import different file formats for photos. There are various audio features available starting from audio filters to audio mixing.

Shotcut comes with a large set of transitions, effects, and filters. It supports video stabilization and deinterlacing as well as blending modes. You can edit video speed, reserve video clips, correct colors, and imperfections easily. There is a multi-track timeline available for easy video making and editing.

5. Adobe Premiere Pro

Best for: premium video editor for advanced Windows users.

System compatibility: Windows 10 and 11.

Reason to choose:

• Wide range of video effects, transitions, and templates.
• Edit 3D, VR, and multicam and 360-dgree videos as well as audio.
• Suitable for collaborative video editing and robust timeline.
• Support for various video and audio formats.

Reason to avoid:

• Reports of lagging in low-end computers.
• Steep learning curve to understand the user interface.

Adobe Premiere Pro is undoubtedly the best lightweight video editor Windows 10 for advanced video editors. Even though it is relatively less lightweight, you can do basic video editing on computers which do not have high-end hardware. Apart from basic editing, you can create industry-grade videos with the editing options available on the software.

You may need some training and lessons could be high useful for smooth editing. The software supports teamwork and collaborative video editing. You can edit VR and 3D videos as well as audio. The user interface is complicated, but it is highly customizable and flexible. The timeline is quite advanced and it is a complete video editor with full-fledged features.

6. VideoPad Video Editor

Best for: those who are looking for a video as well as audio editor.

System compatibility: Windows and Mac.

Reason to choose:

• Perfect combination of standard video and audio editing options.
• Video templates for intro, outro, and themed videos.
• Lossless exporting of videos in different formats.
• Video stabilization, color correction, and plugin support.
• Supports 4K video and share directly on YouTube.

Reason to avoid:

• Limited range of transitions and effects.
• Limited options for 3D video editing.

VideoPad Video Editor from NCH Software comes with a simple user interface, and hence, it is suitable for beginners. There is a wide category of transitions and effects available. It is the perfect combination video and audio editor. The software can process the videos faster, and it supports so many different types of media file formats.

Even though it is a rather simple video editor, it is quite powerful where you can edit 3D and e60-degree videos. Besides, there are options for 3D texts and tiles, chroma key, custom logos, and animations. Moreover, you can choose from different templates for intro and outro part of your videos. The audio editor is quite useful for mixing tracks, adding effects, and record own narration.

7. VSDC Free Video Editor

Best for: those who have very low end and outdated PCs.

System compatibility: Windows XP or above.

Reason to choose:

• Zoom and edit option, 360-degree video editing.
• Large set of video effects, transitions and filters.
• Chroma key option and PiP and split screen effect.
• Color correction and very low system requirements.
• Supports importing and exporting different file formats.

Reason to avoid:

• Advanced features are locked for premium users.

VSDC is a free suite where you get video editor and audio editor for free. Coming specifically to VSDC Free Video Editor, all the features are available for free without any watermark. However, there is a Pro version available with more advance video editing features. The software supports a wide range of media file formats.

You can zoom and edit accurately. You can even edit 360-degree videos without any issue. There are options for color correction, greenscreen effects and visualizations. You can choose from a large set of video effects and filters. The best part is that VSDC Free Video Editor is suitable for very low-end systems.

8. Avidemux

Best for: those looking for a free video editor for basic editing.

System compatibility: Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Reason to choose:

• Standard video options available.
• Advanced video filters and effects.
• Custom scripting and advanced interlacing.
• Super intuitive user interface.
• Supports multiple file formats.

Reason to avoid:

• Not suitable for high-resolution videos.

Avidemux from Sourceforge is a light video editing software free. The software is suitable for basic editing only. It is extremely lightweight, and it supports a limited resolution of videos. You can cut crop, trim videos, add filters to them, and perform encoding tasks. The software supports various import and export file formats.

Avidemux also has basic audio editing options, and you can publish compressed videos in rather small file sizes. There is also option for custom scripting, and you can automate common tasks easily. It belongs to the open-source video editor category, and hence, it is completely free to use for all purposes.

Part 3. FAQs about Light Video Editor

1. What is Light Video Editor?

Light Video Editor is a user-friendly video editing software that allows users to edit and create videos quickly and easily. The software includes features such as trimming, merging, cropping, adding music, and more.

2. what is the best lightweight video editor for windows?

Wondershare Filmora is the best lightweight video editor for Windows as well as Mac users. Even though the software is world-class as a video editing software, it does not demand high CPU usage and does not high system requirements.

3. What is the best free light video editor?

Shotcut is the best free light video editor, and it is available for all computer operating systems. If you have a very low-end computer, VSDC Free Video Editor is the best free light video editor for you.

4. Can I use a light video editor for professional projects?

While a light video editor may not have all the features of a professional video editor, it can still be used for professional projects such as short promotional videos, social media content, or simple marketing videos. It can be a great option for those who need to quickly edit and produce videos without spending a lot of time learning a complex software.

5. What are the benefits of using a light video editor?

One of the main benefits of using a light video editor is its simplicity and ease of use. It can be a great option for beginners or those who need to quickly edit and produce videos without spending a lot of time learning a complex software. It is also usually more affordable than a full-featured video editor and can still produce high-quality videos for personal or professional use.

Reason to avoid:

• Video processing slightly on the slower side.

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Wondershare Filmora is the best lightweight video editor that is tailor-made for both beginners as well as professionals. It is a premium video editor, and you should opt for it if you regularly edit videos. In fact, it is widely used by YouTubers and social media video creators. The software lets you record your screen and webcam video along with system and external mic sound. You can edit various video parameters such as aspect ratio, resolution, frame rate and likewise.

Coming to its editing features, you get a perfect blend of basic and advanced editing tools. You can trim, crop, split, join video clips as well as make videos from photos. You can import various media files of different formats including audio files. There are loads of transitions, effects, elements, texts, and stock media files. You can opt for greenscreen effect, apply stickers, correct colors, and much more.

2. Studio

Best for: Slightly advanced Windows users for advanced video editing.

System compatibility: Windows 11 and 10 (64 bit)

Reason to choose:

• Perfect blend of standard and advanced video editing tools.
• Advanced video masking and color grading options.
• Tons of effects, filters, transitions, and overlays.
• Edit multi-cam video and 360-degree video.
• Advanced audio editing options.

Reason to avoid:

• Some advanced features are not full-fledged.

Studio is a premium but light video editor that has some advanced video editing options. You will get all the basic video editing tools as well. You can publish cinema-grade videos with Studio. You can zoom video clips and edit frames accurately so that the video has no glitches and inconsistency in editing. The software allows you to edit multi-cam videos and make split-screen videos.

You can also record your screen and webcam with Studio. Apart from video editing, you can edit your audio files. There are options for color grading, blend modes and video making. Among the advanced features, you get motion and smart object tracking along with keyframing and editing 360-degree videos. The software comes with hardware acceleration to boost its performance.

3. OpenShot

Best for: those looking for a free light video editor.

System compatibility: Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Reason to choose:

• Drag and drop media files of different formats.
• Wide range of video filters and transition effects.
• 3D objects and animations with Blender plugin.
• Dedicated audio editor and video templates.

Reason to avoid:

• Not so suitable for 4K resolution videos.

OpenShot is an open-source and cross-platform video editor that is compatible across all computer operating systems. It is completely free to use, and it has a good mixture of all basic and some advanced video editing options. You can import photos, video clips, and audio files as per your requirements as it supports a wide range of media file formats.

The user interface is simple, and hence, beginners will find it easy to use. The software has one of the lowest CPU resource usages among the lightweight video editors. You can trim, crop, resize, split and do all such video editing. You can adjust the speed of videos as well as correct video parameters. The software allows you to attach custom watermarks and overlays, and there is the option for time-mapping.

4. ShotCut

Best for: open-source video editor with standard and advanced features.

System compatibility: Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Reason to choose:

• Import and export different file formats in high-resolution.
• Chroma key, video stabilization, filters and transitions.
• Video masking, composting and color correction.
• Complete audio editor with filters and mixing.
• Wide range of video editing options and tools.

Reason to avoid:

• User interface takes time to understand all features.
• Limited transitions and no stock media files.

Shotcut is an open-source and cross-platform video editor. It has support for all the different media file formats, and it supports 4K resolution. You can use the software to capture webcam and screen video as well as audio narration. You can also import different file formats for photos. There are various audio features available starting from audio filters to audio mixing.

Shotcut comes with a large set of transitions, effects, and filters. It supports video stabilization and deinterlacing as well as blending modes. You can edit video speed, reserve video clips, correct colors, and imperfections easily. There is a multi-track timeline available for easy video making and editing.

5. Adobe Premiere Pro

Best for: premium video editor for advanced Windows users.

System compatibility: Windows 10 and 11.

Reason to choose:

• Wide range of video effects, transitions, and templates.
• Edit 3D, VR, and multicam and 360-dgree videos as well as audio.
• Suitable for collaborative video editing and robust timeline.
• Support for various video and audio formats.

Reason to avoid:

• Reports of lagging in low-end computers.
• Steep learning curve to understand the user interface.

Adobe Premiere Pro is undoubtedly the best lightweight video editor Windows 10 for advanced video editors. Even though it is relatively less lightweight, you can do basic video editing on computers which do not have high-end hardware. Apart from basic editing, you can create industry-grade videos with the editing options available on the software.

You may need some training and lessons could be high useful for smooth editing. The software supports teamwork and collaborative video editing. You can edit VR and 3D videos as well as audio. The user interface is complicated, but it is highly customizable and flexible. The timeline is quite advanced and it is a complete video editor with full-fledged features.

6. VideoPad Video Editor

Best for: those who are looking for a video as well as audio editor.

System compatibility: Windows and Mac.

Reason to choose:

• Perfect combination of standard video and audio editing options.
• Video templates for intro, outro, and themed videos.
• Lossless exporting of videos in different formats.
• Video stabilization, color correction, and plugin support.
• Supports 4K video and share directly on YouTube.

Reason to avoid:

• Limited range of transitions and effects.
• Limited options for 3D video editing.

VideoPad Video Editor from NCH Software comes with a simple user interface, and hence, it is suitable for beginners. There is a wide category of transitions and effects available. It is the perfect combination video and audio editor. The software can process the videos faster, and it supports so many different types of media file formats.

Even though it is a rather simple video editor, it is quite powerful where you can edit 3D and e60-degree videos. Besides, there are options for 3D texts and tiles, chroma key, custom logos, and animations. Moreover, you can choose from different templates for intro and outro part of your videos. The audio editor is quite useful for mixing tracks, adding effects, and record own narration.

7. VSDC Free Video Editor

Best for: those who have very low end and outdated PCs.

System compatibility: Windows XP or above.

Reason to choose:

• Zoom and edit option, 360-degree video editing.
• Large set of video effects, transitions and filters.
• Chroma key option and PiP and split screen effect.
• Color correction and very low system requirements.
• Supports importing and exporting different file formats.

Reason to avoid:

• Advanced features are locked for premium users.

VSDC is a free suite where you get video editor and audio editor for free. Coming specifically to VSDC Free Video Editor, all the features are available for free without any watermark. However, there is a Pro version available with more advance video editing features. The software supports a wide range of media file formats.

You can zoom and edit accurately. You can even edit 360-degree videos without any issue. There are options for color correction, greenscreen effects and visualizations. You can choose from a large set of video effects and filters. The best part is that VSDC Free Video Editor is suitable for very low-end systems.

8. Avidemux

Best for: those looking for a free video editor for basic editing.

System compatibility: Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Reason to choose:

• Standard video options available.
• Advanced video filters and effects.
• Custom scripting and advanced interlacing.
• Super intuitive user interface.
• Supports multiple file formats.

Reason to avoid:

• Not suitable for high-resolution videos.

Avidemux from Sourceforge is a light video editing software free. The software is suitable for basic editing only. It is extremely lightweight, and it supports a limited resolution of videos. You can cut crop, trim videos, add filters to them, and perform encoding tasks. The software supports various import and export file formats.

Avidemux also has basic audio editing options, and you can publish compressed videos in rather small file sizes. There is also option for custom scripting, and you can automate common tasks easily. It belongs to the open-source video editor category, and hence, it is completely free to use for all purposes.

Part 3. FAQs about Light Video Editor

1. What is Light Video Editor?

Light Video Editor is a user-friendly video editing software that allows users to edit and create videos quickly and easily. The software includes features such as trimming, merging, cropping, adding music, and more.

2. what is the best lightweight video editor for windows?

Wondershare Filmora is the best lightweight video editor for Windows as well as Mac users. Even though the software is world-class as a video editing software, it does not demand high CPU usage and does not high system requirements.

3. What is the best free light video editor?

Shotcut is the best free light video editor, and it is available for all computer operating systems. If you have a very low-end computer, VSDC Free Video Editor is the best free light video editor for you.

4. Can I use a light video editor for professional projects?

While a light video editor may not have all the features of a professional video editor, it can still be used for professional projects such as short promotional videos, social media content, or simple marketing videos. It can be a great option for those who need to quickly edit and produce videos without spending a lot of time learning a complex software.

5. What are the benefits of using a light video editor?

One of the main benefits of using a light video editor is its simplicity and ease of use. It can be a great option for beginners or those who need to quickly edit and produce videos without spending a lot of time learning a complex software. It is also usually more affordable than a full-featured video editor and can still produce high-quality videos for personal or professional use.

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