Best Open Source Video Editor

Best Open Source Video Editor

Here is a list of best free open video recording software for Windows. These software are similar to their non open source counterparts which can record videos using the webcam feed. But, unlike non open source software, these software let you download and manipulate their source codes without any restriction. Lightworks Quite possibly the oldest film editor tool on the market, Lightworks is an Emmy award-winning open source video editor. It supports resolutions of up to 4000, both SD and HD formats and is compatible with all major operating systems such as Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux. Verdict: VidCutter is the best open source video editor for standard operations, such as cropping or slicing. If you wish to make a quick and effortless edit, VidCutter does a great job of cutting videos. This cross-platform program is capable of importing and exporting the most widespread formats.
Free Video Editing Software
Best Open Source Video Editor 2019
Best Open Source Video Editor Windows10
Best Open Source Video Editor Mac
ShotCut is a free, cross-platform and open-source video editing application for Windows, Mac and Linux. 4K resolutions and broad format support highlights the impressive capability of the tool among its users. Stable release date of the Shotcut editor's latest version is December 23, 2018.
What are some free open-source photo editing software out there?
For pro-level editing, Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom are the best option.
Using these two image editing software, you can do all sorts of image editing from basic to advanced.
But the only downfall is you need to pay Adobe every month for using it that is difficult for many starters like me.
In the beginning, I didn't have much money to use Photoshop for doing all types of image retouching.
So, I looked for free photo editing software that let me perform basic to advanced retouching.
Fortunately, I found a lot of free options that let me do color correction, crop & resizing, change orientation, correct light, cutout objects, organize photos, and much more.
Even I can edit SVG files, perform non-destructive editing workflows using those free photo editing apps.
In this guide, I have included 7 best free photo editing software for the newbie like me.
You may ask- what I do as a newbie or hobbyist if I have the budget to use Photoshop and Lightroom?
Well, it doesn't make sense to pay Adobe per month for using it as a hobbyist or a newbie. You can change your plan like me after mastering on editing.
And these free photo editing software I have listed let you be a master on editing.
So, let's dive in.
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Contents
7 Best Open Source Photo Editing Software in 2020
Here is the complete list of free photo editing software.
GIMP
Darktable
Inkscape
Digikam
Raw Therapee
Paint.Net
Krita
01.GIMP – Best free open-source photo editing softwareGIMP is an acronym of the GNU Image Manipulation Program. It has packed with advanced image editing tools and has a Photoshop-like interface.
With GIMP, you can do every type of editing including color correction, retouching, fix distortion, and so on.
To remove background from photos, it has an advanced pen tool, Fuzzy Selection tool, and Free selection tool.
Plus, it has an advanced layer mask tool like Photoshop has. Using this tool, you can precisely erase the background from a complex photo.
For doing advanced retouching, it has come with the Clone Stamp tool, Blemish Remover tool, and Healing brush.
With these tools, you can make your portrait photo stunning.
Moreover, it has a lot of tools to correct perspective distortion, photo color correction, and much more.
Indeed, you can do everything using GIMP as the users of Photoshop do.
So, if you are a pro editor and don't have much money to use Photoshop, then GIMP is the best option to do advanced retouching.
Features
Advanced image editing tools
Include layer system
Upgraded masking tool
Advanced color management tool
Upgraded transform tools
Retouching tools
Support all types of file format
Pros
Customizable interface
Completely free to use
Best for professional photo editors
Cons
Steep learning curve
Doesn't offer non-destructive editing workflow
Don't let you organize photos
Solution of the cons
If you are a beginner, then you find GIMP a little bit complex. However, there are a lot of websites that offer tutorials to be master on using GIMP.
Check out this article that includes a list of websites that make tutorials on GIMP. Also, you can join on these GIMP forums including GIMP-Forum.Net, Gimpusers.com, GIMP Chat, Gimper.Net, and Reddit.
As GIMP doesn't let you organize photos, you can use Darktable instead of it.
02.Darktable- Best free Lightroom alternativeDarktable is a free photo editor app for mac.
For those who want to do basic editing, organize photos, correct photo color and so on, then Darktable is the best selection.
Like Lightroom, it also offers non-destructive editing workflows. Besides, it has a lot of presets and filters to enhance photos with a few clicks.
The interface of Darktable is similar to Lightroom. At the same time, it has packed with a lot of editing tools like Lr has.
That's why Darktable is considered as the best free Lightroom alternative app.
On Darktable, you can organize photos using tag, location, name, rating, and stars.
It helps you to get the file immediately when you want to edit the photos.
Therefore, it has slider-based image editing tools like LR offers to make the retouching work fast and simple.
Something that I like about Darktable is its automatic repetitive tasks. It helps to make my editing workflows fast that save time.
Features
A lot of adjustment tools
Includes a lot of presets
Advanced color correction tools
Raw photo processor
Basic photo editing tools
Pros
Offer non-destructive editing
Easy to use
Perfect for organizing photos
Free to use
Cons
Not perfect for advanced retouching
Solution of the cons
Use GIMP open source photo editor that lets you perform advanced retouching workflows.
03.Inkscape- Best free vector design softwareInkscape is a free vector design creation software.
If you are an amateur vector artist and want to create logos, text effects, rendering, and much for free, then Inkscape is for you.
Even you can edit the SVG file precisely on Inkscape.
Indeed, it is solely designed for vector designers to create stunning designs.
The plus of Inkscape is it enables you to convert raster file to vector. Even it lets you open and edit PDF and AI files.

Also, you can convert bitmap files to vector using Inkscape. Therefore, you can create your social media content using this free photo editing software.
Though it is a robust vector graphic design software, the interface of Inkscape is intuitive.
There is no steep learning curve. That means you can easily be a master in using Inkscape.
Those who don't have enough money to use Adobe Illustrator can use Inkscape as an alternative.
The best part is it is free and lets you do almost everything as Adobe Illustrator does.
Features
Advanced objection creation tools including drawing tool, shape tool, and text tool
Include a lot of object manipulation tools
Upgraded Fill & Stroke
Rendering
Supports multiple file-formats including SVG, PDF, PNG, DXF, EPS, SK1
Pros
Easy to use
No learning curve
Adaptable layout and interface
Cons
Keyboard shortcuts do not perform well
Occur unexpected crush
Solution of the cons
The keyboard shortcuts of Inkscape don't perform well. So, it is better to use each of the tools manually or selecting from the toolbar.
Crush happened when you add a lot of paths to a project.
So, stop adding multiple paths to a single project. If possible, try to use Adobe Illustrator to avoid these problems.
04.Digikam- Free photo organizing softwareDigiKam is a free photo management software. It is solely created for organizing and managing software.
However, I have included this software both for editing and organizing photos.
Besides organizing photos, it also lets you edit photos as it has come with a lot of advanced image editing tools.
With DigiKam, you can process raw photos, correct photo color, adjust brightness & exposure, and much more.
Nonetheless, you can also apply batch photo processing using DigiKam.
Digikam has an advanced module named Light Table for sorting images smartly. Using this module, you can compare each of the photos you shoot.
Furthermore, you can organize photos using meta-tags, stars, ratings, and locations.
The exciting part of Digikam is you can also process raw photos and share them on different social channels.
To get the insight view of DigiKam, you can check out this article by Fix The Photo.
Features
Support multiple cameras
Smart photo organizing tools
Raw processor
Batch photo processing
A lot of image editing tools
Pros
Perfect for photo organization
Easy to navigate
Offer batch photo processing
Cons
Lack of advanced photo editing tools
Darktable photo organizing system performs better than DigiKam
Solution of the cons
Try to use GIMP instead of DigiKam for advanced image retouching. For organizing photos smartly, use Darktable.
05.Raw Therapee- Best free raw development appRaw Therapee is an open-source photo editor app for developing raw files.
With Raw Therapee, you can edit raw images in a non-destructive way.
Apart from that, you can edit, correct photo color, organize photos, and perform some retouching workflows.
Though the interface of Raw Therapee is the same as Lightroom, Raw Therapee goes deep in case of color correction.
There are a plethora of options to enhance and correct photo colors. Besides, it lets you process raw photos with depth. You can fix chromatic aberration, noise reduction of your raw files.
However, if we judge Raw Therapee by the intuitiveness of the interface, then Lightroom is superior to it.
Even so, the photo organizing system of Raw Therapee is not as intuitive as LR.
Aside from these, if you find software for developing raw files, then Raw Therapee is the best selection.
To get an in-depth look at Raw Therapee features, check out this article of Expert Photography.
Features
Advanced color correction tools
Raw image processor
Photo organization option
Basic editing tools
Adjustment tools
Pros
Completely free
Enables to convert files in various formats
Perfect for raw development
Cons
Unintuitive interface
Little bit complex
The performance rate is low comparing to Lightroom
Solution of the cons
Most of the beginner find the interface of Raw Therapee complex. As a solution, you can use Darktable that is another free alternative to Lightroom.
06.Paint.Net- Awesome tool for painting & editingPaint.Net is another full-featured free photo editing software for Windows.
Intuitive interface, layer system, effects, plugins, and a plethora of editing tools are available on Paint.Net.
Helpful community, tutorials, and plugins make photo editing easy and enjoyable on Paint.Net.
With Paint.Net, you can do basic editing with precision.
Though it doesn't let you do creative editing or advanced retouching, you can give a clean look to your photo free from any visible imperfections.
For making adjustments, it has come with Hue, Saturation, and Curves tools.
Moreover, it includes a lot of art effects to create stunning painting photos including oil, ink, and pencil.
The drawback of this tool is it has come with limited brush workflows.
At the same time, the text tool doesn't perform well when you apply any effects.
Disregarding these drawbacks, it is a great tool for beginners.
Features
A lot of effects included to remove red-eye, blemishes, and fix distortions
Powerful editing tools
Intuitive & customizable interface
Plethora of History panels
Pros
Easy to use
Completely free
Third-party plugins make editing workflow smooth
Growing online helpful community
Tutorials available
Cons
Lack of advanced retouching tools
Doesn't come with Dodge & Burn tool
Unupgraded brush tool
Solution of the cons
Gimp is a better solution to do all types of retouching workflows. Or, you can choose Photoshop to enjoy advanced retouching.
07. Krita- Best free digital painting softwareKrita is a free painting photo editing software. The interface of Krita is intuitive and has everything at your fingertips.
With Krita, you can create stunning drawing & painting arts. Even a child can use it to draw paintings.
This digital painting tool has come with a lot of brushes for drawing arts. The best part is you can customize each of the brush tools.
For a newbie, you don't need to make changes into any brushes as it has come with everything you need.
The pencil tool of Krita is by far so advanced than its other counterparts. The softness of this tool is great and its stroke is straight.
To sum up, it is a great digital painting tool for the newbie.
Even those who don't have any painting experience before can create digital drawings using this free photo editor.
Features
Plethora of brush tools
Selection tools
Transform tools
Layer system
HDR support
Drawing assistance
Color palette
Advanced pencil tools
Pros
Completely free to use
No experience needed to use it
User-friendly interface
Support plugins
Compatible on Linux, Windows, and macOS
Cons
Crush happened frequently
Lack of keyboard shortcuts
Solution of the cons
The problem of Krita is there occur crushes often. As a result, you can lose your work.
To get rid of this problem, it is better to save the working file often.
I also noticed that Krita has a lack of keyboard shortcuts and layers. For solving this problem, you can switch your plan Krita to Photoshop.
ConclusionTo enhance photo quality, we must take help from photo editing software, either beginner or professionals.
And the list of open-source photo editing software I have included above help you enhance photos without spending a single buck.
But the question is- which is the best free photo editing software on this list?
Well, it depends on what you are going to do and what you are capable of doing.
To me, Gimp is the best free open-source photo editor on this list. It lets you do almost everything as Photoshop and Lightroom do.
For professionals who don't have enough money to use Photoshop, they can take advantage of this free photo editor.
On the other hand, if you are looking for a free Lightroom alternative, then Darktable is one that you expect.
For your convenience, I have listed those free photo editing software here again.
Gimp- Best free Photoshop alternative
Darktable- Best free Lightroom alternative
Inkscape- Best free vector design app
Digicam- Best for photo organization
Raw Therapee- Best raw development app
Paint.Net- Perfect for painting and basic editing
Krita- Best free digital painting software
Have you tried out any of the software on this list? Which software are you going to try out?
Have I missed any software that should include?
Let me know by leaving a comment below.
Free Video Editing SoftwareGeneral FAQWhat is the best free photo editing software?Which free photo editing software is best for beginners?Darktable, Krita, DigiKam, Inkscape, and Raw Therapee are the best free photo editing software for beginners.
Is there any free photo editing software?Is there an open source version of Photoshop?Yes, Gimp is the open source version of Photoshop.
Is there an open source version of Lightroom?Darktable is the open source version of Lightroom.
Sohel RanaSohel Rana is the founder, content crafter, and SEO's at Pic Editor Review. He has grown his passion over years about writing on software, how-to guide, and product description.
There're always a crowd of customers who get used to using free open source tools rather than the closed sources in the very beginning. Therefore, to help those who are seeking for one or two decent open source screen recording software, we've gathered, tested, gone through the reviews and users' feedbacks, and finally narrowed them down to this best 5 open source screen recorder list, covering all the mainstream computer systems of Windows, macOS as well as Linux. Since some tools are cross-platform available, to help you choose an ideal one quickly, we will deliver their compatible systems, the latest release dates and easy-level alongside for your reference.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Open source vs. closed source software, what's the difference and who is better?
Open source software (OSS) vs. closed source software (CSS), the most conspicuous difference is that OSS is totally free in usage and its code is shared in public so that any person can copy and modify it, while the CSS locks its code source and usually sell the service to customers for usage.
Who is superior to the other one? It's hard to reach a decision as it depends on the actual need. If you are a general public who are just eager for a tool for the sake of the capability, open source software is worth a shot as long as you can bear the relatively less friendly interface and maybe more complicated settings.
Is it safe to run open source screen recorder on computer?
Many people believe that closed source software, due to its closing principle, is more secure than open source one. Is it true? Not really. On the contrast, the OSS to some degree is more reliable than CSS because the source code is under public's inspection for numerous times. So if you're an ordinary customer, you can just leave the security problem alone. (>>Is screen recorder safe to use?)
Is there any easy-to-use free and open source screen recorder?
In the following open source screen recorder article, you can figure out who is easier-to-handle. But a word of caution, few open source screen recorder keeps a well balance between functionality and simplicity. Therefore, if you are a beginner and have more requirements on software features, you are suggested to pick a closed source tool like RecMaster.
RecMaster gives a one-click screencast solution for capturing everything happening on the computer. No matter you are a PC gamer, a vlogger, a teacher, a student, or an usual user, you can leverage this app to save whatever on-screen content (besides those encrypted).
Now it's time to check our cherry-picked open source screen recorders for computer:
Open Source Tool #1. OBS StudioOS: Windows 8, 8.1 and 10, macOS 10.13 +, and Linux
Last update date: April 5th, 2020 for Windows version and April 17th, 2020 for Mac version
Complexity: ★★★★☆
OBS, full name Open Broadcaster Software and also called OBS Studio for newer versions, is a household name for experienced streamers and gamers. As an open source software suite for both broadcasting and screen recording, it perfectly supports live streaming on YouTube/Twitch/Mixer etc. platforms and capturing whatever content on the computer screen with no limit on duration and scenes.
Looking into the screen recording capability of this completely free screen recorder for Windows 10, macOS 10.15 etc, video & audio capturing and mixing, various capture sources and scenes (for switching with transition), and an array of configuration settings are all kept in stock to meet any possible needs. You can dig around here for many useful yet hidden-deeply features like multi-view/studio mode, multi-track screen capture, resolution scaling, (FLV/MOV/MKV/TS) video to MP4 remuxing, hardware encoder and so on.
OBS Studio is really powerful. The only downside of it is the beginner-unfriendly learning curve. Also, the infamous black screen error may get newbie in trouble when there's any proper setting or system update.
Open Source Tool #2. CamStudioOS: Officially available on Windows XP, Vista and 7
Last release date: October 19th 2013
Complexity: ★★☆☆☆
CamStudio, as a dedicated open source screen recorder for Windows, empowers you to take any screen activity with audio and export the video as a standard AVI, MP4 or SWF file. If you're going to grab various screen behaviors, CamStudio gives you freedom to set full screen, window or fixed region as target area. If you dislike the internal sound or your voice or need to mark up some crucial contents, use the Annotation tool to add captions or other effects. If you plan to create picture-in-picture video tutorial or similar with your webcam overlay attached, turn on the webcam with CamStudio. If you are not satisfied with the capture quality or file size (too big I mean), free download the CamStudio Lossless Codec to improve this situation. SWF producer is an unique feature of CamStudio to help transform AVI to flash format free. (>>How to Capture Flash Video)
Open Source Tool #3. ShareXOS: Windows 7, 8.1 and 10
Last update date: 2020-03-01
Complexity: ★★★☆☆
ShareX is notable and versatile open source screen capture software that supports both screenshots and screencasts making. Due to its written language and framework, ShareX is only available for Windows system and will not go for Mac and Linux at all.
ShareX offers a dozen of capture options on its main UI while only two for screen recording, and they are 'Screen Recording' and 'Screen Recording (GIF)'. It may seem a little bit simple, but ShareX can help you take video capture on any common activities and streams on the desktop without restriction.
You may not know that what ShareX stands out from others and gets its own name is the vast number of sharing and storing options for uploading captured files to online sites (40+) or to local destination (80+). Also, it's powered with many toolbars like image editor, URL shortener, directory indexer, and DNS changer. One more word, if you come across a '(403) Forbidden' download error on Github, please go to Microsoft Store to complete the download and install.
You may be interested in: Free GIF Recorders to Record GIF on Windows, Mac, and Chrome
Open Source Tool #4. Ultravnc screen recorderOS: Windows 8 or later for 2015 version, and win2000 and later for older version
Last update date: New version in 2015, and older version on 12 October 2010
Complexity: ★☆☆☆☆
This open source screen recorder is owned by RenderSoft Software, whose initial purpose is to conduct a faster screen capture than general software while maintaining a low CPU usage. Yes, the software boosted the speed with the help of a mirror driver in older version, and the 2015 version is optimized and only has a single .exe file.
Similar to the design of CamStudio, Ultravnc/UVNC/Ultra Screen Recorder (three names are actually the same thing) has a concise UI and allows people to do full screen recording, fixed region recording and selected area recording (with audio) in clicks. Video and audio options are given to set compressor, quality, frame rate (up to 200fps) and similar.
In short, Ultra is a super simple freebie to meet all basic desktop recording needs. However, no advanced functions at all, say showing/highlighting mouse cursor, turning on webcam and editing. And the recorded file format is fixed in AVI.
Open Source Tool #5. Virtualdub.orgOS: Windows platforms (98/ME/NT4/2000/XP/Vista/7), and may also available on Linux and Mac OS X using Wine
Last update date: Dec 29, 2013
Complexity: ★★★★★
Best Open Source Video Editor 2019Virtualdub is another open-source video capture and processing utility for Windows. Aimed to help the developer Avery Lee do easy screen capture and encoding work on PC, the software has finally grown into a common application and was released to the public.
It supports DirectShow, Video for Windows video recording and DV capture. It enables you to customize the video frame size and data format at will, and also is preloaded with noise reduction/field swapping alike real-time capture helper. Plus the basic video filters (e.g. cut, trim, crop, add segments, resize, blur, sharpen, and adjust video parameters) and the support for third-party video processing plug-in, Virtualdub is de facto a good desktop screen recorder and linear video processor, for pro-level users.
Best Open Source Video Editor Windows10However, as a part-time product from its author, Virtualdub doesn't have a newbie-friendly interface and workflow on both screen capture and editing. Also, since it only outputs AVI video capture, the file is usually over-sized and you need do further compression or transcoding for sharing or storing.
Best Open Source Video Editor MacClosing RemarksNow that you've finished the reading, how do you think about them and have you discovered the ideal open source screen recorder you'd like to try? If we have missed some quality OSS you've already known, please feel free to let us know via the support email.