Openshot video editor review and demo tutorials

Last Updated on March 27, 2021 by Rick Darlinton

Do you want to edit your YouTube videos but start with a free video editor? Maybe you already spent much time searching for the best free video editing software online but still do not find a proper one yet. If so, you come to the right place as in this post we are going to show you the Openshot video editor review.  Openshot video editor is one of the best free video editing options for many video creators. The Openshot free video editor is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux.  But what I am most impressed by the openshot video editor is that it is free to use without any watermark and most importantly the free version also supports 4K video resolution.



What I like

  • The Openshot free video editor is free to use without a watermark
  • Support 4K video editing
  • Export video to MP4, AVI,MPEG, WEBM, MKV, FLV
  • Offer plenty of creative and animated titles and subtitles, very stunning and amazing
  • The slice feature is very user-friendly to split and cut the videos in Openshot free video editor
  • The software is lightweight compared to other video editing software

What I dislike

  • The slow and fast motion feature is a little bit tricky to use
  • The effects are limited 

Basic video editing options

The Openshot video editor timeline is simple with some basic editing features.  You can tap on “+” icon above the timeline to add unlimited tracks.  After importing a video clip to the timeline, some video editing features just show on the left side. For example, you could apply “Alpha” filter,  crop the video,  enable video or audio,  increase or decrease the audio volume, just speak a few.  To cut a video in Openshot,  just move the cursor to the place where you want to cut the video and then right-click the mouse and select the “slice” option respectively.

openshot video editor timeline

The slow and fast motion video editing option is also available in Openshot video editing software. You can speed up or slow down the video up to 16 times with Openshot. To access it, just right-click the mouse and find the “Time” option.  Some other video editing options you can find from the right-click menu in Openshot timeline include fade in and out, rotation, screen layout, volume control,  separate audio, etc.

The titles and subtitles are cool

With Openshot video editor, you are able to add some unique and creative titles and subtitles. There are also some animated titles that could be applied to create stunning and wonderful videos.  These incredible titles can be accessed by selecting the “Title” option in the software. 

openshot video editor titles

You could just select your favorite title and begin to edit the titles like adding a file name, entering the titles and subtitles, adding the texts or changing the text font or color easily as you wish.  When everything is done, just tap on “Save” button.  To drag the titles to the video, please first find the title file name you just saved under the “Image” option in the project files and import the titles the timeline.

The transitions and effects are not bad

Although the transitions and effects are limited for the Openshot free video editing software, they are still quite impressive, especially from the perspective of an open-source free video editor. But for a beginner of the Openshot video editor, you may find it quite difficult to find the transitions and effects in the interface which is the same true for me when I used this software from the very beginning.  When this also happens to you, please right-click on the empty space above the timeline and check the “Transitions” and “effects” options respectively.



Support 4K video editing

4K video editing is one of the most valued benefits for Openshot free video editor. You won’t be able to edit a 4K video with many other free video editors in the market.  Besides, Openshot also provides you with many other video resolution options when exporting the video such as 2.5K QHD, HD 1080P, HDV 1440x1080i, mobile 360P, etc.

openshot 4k editing

Another highlight for Openshot is that there are many output video formats that are available such as MP4, AVI, MPEG, WEBM, MKV, FLV. This is really very impressive because actually you will find many other free video editing programs either only support MP4 or do not provide you lots of options for output video formats

There are also many other free video editing software for windows and mac.  But I believe Openshot could become one of the best free video editing programs. For example, it supports 4K video editing and comes with some impressive titles, transitions, effects and most importantly has an easy-to-use interface that’s quite suitable for beginners.  If you also love this free video editing software, please recommend it to your friends and family.