The Best Online Video Editors for 2024

Canva is well-suited to people who need to create videos for promotional use and social media posting. Though it's mostly about template-driven graphics creation, Canva also has some video editing capabilities. A video project type helps get you started. You get basic abilities to crop, trim, split, speed up, and resize clips, but no multitrack timeline editing—just storyboard thumbnails. As you might expect, the software has good support for social media aspect ratios, especially for vertical mobile formats. Free users get 5GB of online storage and more than a quarter million templates, while Pro subscribers get 1TB of storage, more than 610,000 templates, and social media post scheduling. Canva for Teams adds workflow, branding, and reporting options.

FlexClip is for small businesses that want to create marketing videos for social media. You start either from a template or from scratch, and you can upload multiple clips at once or drag them from File Explorer to the source panel in the upper left. The interface lets you use timeline or storyboard modes and vertical or horizontal aspect ratios. As with most video editors, you can drag clips from the source panel onto the timeline (or storyboard) and stretch the timeline to fit the program window. You get all the trimming, transition, text, and overlay options you could want, along with a decent selection of background audio sorted by mood. We're not impressed with the AI text-to-full-video generation, but the image, text-to-speech, and script AI generators are better.

FlexClip comes in three levels: Free, Plus, and Business. The Free account limits you to 720p resolution, a maximum of 12 projects, and a video length of 10 minutes, and all your videos have a FlexClip watermark. The Plus level ($9.99 per month with an annual commitment, $19.99 without) removes the watermark and gets you up to 1,080p, unlimited projects, and unlimited video length. The Business plan ($19.99 per month billed annually, $29.99 monthly) also doesn't go above 1,080p, but it does get you 100GB cloud storage and 1TB video hosting. The plans also vary in the amount of stock footage (one for Free, five for Plus, and unlimited for Business) and AI prompts (from 5 times per month for free to 6,000 for Business) you're allowed. Though the company is based in China, its privacy page states that it complies with GDPR.

Kapwing is surprisingly slick and powerful. Along with Veed, it's among the best options for those who want full-power video editing without the hassle of downloading and installing a local application. It lets you combine video clips, trim, split, and add transitions, overlay text and images, generate subtitles, and upload music. You can drag clips around and up and down in the timeline. Kapwing lets you crop and move the image, even using keyframes for things like pan and zoom.

You get access to stock video, photos, and background music, but there's no fancy stuff like chroma keying, motion tracking, or video effects. Free users' output shows a watermark and is limited to 7 minutes and 720p resolution. A $6-per-month Basic subscription removes the watermark on videos under 30 seconds, and the $16-per-month (with a one-year commitment) Pro account lets you make high-res projects up to 2 hours long and gives you branding tools, too.

Microsoft Clipchamp is now the default video maker that comes with Windows, and it's available free via the web on any platform. It's best for those who need to create template-based social videos, though it also has fairly powerful timeline editing. You can start with a template or from scratch, either uploading clips or connecting your OneDrive account. The app lets you record your screen with or without your webcam image and can perform speech-to-text translation.

Stock video and photos are available for b-roll, and there's a good selection of title styles, background music, and sound effects. Many options, however, are paywalled for subscribers. Free users get unlimited watermark-free (unless they use premium content) exports up to 1080p, while Essentials subscribers ($11.99 per month) get premium filters and effects, a brand kit for managing logos and colors, and content backup.

As its name suggests, Promo.com targets marketers and small businesses. You first enter your business name and sector, then pick a template from thumbnails to start, with more than 5,000 options. You can search or browse template categories, and you get a choice of landscape, square, or vertical aspect ratios. It's a very simple interface, with just three buttons along the left for Editor, Media, and Music.

Promo.com features a single-track timeline and just one choice of transition—fade. You get around 50 good-looking fonts, and you can apply a basic color filter but no special effects. The service lets you schedule social posts or download your creations. There's no free account level. A Basic account costs $29 per month (with a one-year commitment) and includes 2GB of storage. At the high end is the $199-per-month plan that includes "unlimited everything." All accounts have a 5-minute maximum video length, a choice of 1,500 fully licensed music tracks, and editorial stock content (meaning celebrities and newsworthy footage).

The online Streamlabs Video Editor (formerly called Oslo) is a good choice for those who want a free service, as the free account level is quite generous compared with others. It provides multitrack timeline editing with the standard join, trim, and split tools. You get a few filters à la Instagram and a good set of transitions and text fonts, but no shape or sticker overlays. A nice touch is its comment feature, which can help teams work together on a video project. You can record your screen with or without included the webcam view. You can crop, zoom, change speed, and apply a few animations and basic image corrections.

Free users can export 1,080p videos up to 30 minutes long without watermarks. You also get 15GB of online storage, a maximum file upload size of 5GB, and collaboration features. The paid plan is $10 per month, which increases storage to 250GB, upload size to 20GB, and maximum export length to one hour.

Veed is an impressive multitrack timeline video editor that features a clear and simple design. It's best for those who want a full replacement to installed video editing software. You start with sizes suited for all output types, social and otherwise. Use either one of the predesigned templates or go ahead on your own. Then you can upload or record your media or use some of Veed's stock video, music, or sound effect content. The site provides speech-to-text for automatic subtitles, or you can upload a subtitle file.

Veed distinguishes itself by having effect filters, something you won't find in many online video editors. You get a choice of stickers or shape overlays, but the app is somewhat short on transition styles, with just 10. That's all in addition to the standard joining, trimming, and splitting of clips. Free users get watermarked 720p output up to 10 minutes long but with no limit on the number of projects. The $18-per-month Basic plan removes the watermark and increases the quality to 1080p and the length to 25 minutes. The $30 Pro account adds unlimited use of stock media, branding tools, and subtitle translation.