How to Download HitFilm Free and Legally in 2024

HitFilm 2024

  • Rank
    (4.5/5)
  • Reviews: 516
  • Price: Free or from $7.99/month
  • Downloads: 43K
  • Version: 2024
  • Compatible: Mac/Win

Are you on the hunt for a powerful program for video editing and generating some cool effects? Below, you can find an in-depth description of HitFilm as well as legal ways of downloading the software for free. Besides, I’ve touched upon the risks awaiting users that opt for pirated software versions.

hitfilm interface

HitFilm Free Benefits

  • High-level tracking and screen simulation
  • Video editing essentials
  • Masking and layering
  • 3D models
  • Sci-Fi visual effects

FAQ

  • • May I use HitFilm free forever?

Yes, but there are certain limitations. In fact, this video editing software is available in 3 versions - HitFilm Free, HitFilm Creator (paid), and HitFilm Pro (paid). The free version has a limited set of features if you are interested in making basic corrections, it will surely satisfy your needs.

  • • What are the differences between these 3 versions?

When you get HitFilm Free, you can fulfill any task related to trimming and combining the footage, adding a soundtrack, creating transitions and titles, adding mask, transformations and special effects (you can also create your own), perform color correction on an unlimited number of tracks, etc.

HitFilm Creator ($7.99/mo) is a go-to variant for social media content creators. It comes with functionality typical of image and video editing software for Mac and Windows, allowing users to produce attention-grabbing content. By purchasing this software, you receive detailed tutorials, 186 visual effects, and a library of stock audio, SFX, and templates.

HitFilm Pro ($12.99/mo) is aimed at more experienced creators. It contains an extensive set of tools that you can usually find in top-notch video and image editing software, all in one plan. Besides, you will get manifold visual effects, 3D model rendering tools and 250 audio files, SFX, and templates. The highlight of this version is top-tier video creation plugins for camera tracking and 2D &3 D title creation.

  • • Where can I get HitFilm Express Free for my phone?

Unfortunately, this program only has a desktop version.

  • • Can the HitFilm free version work both on macOS and Windows?

Yes, it can. This program is available for both macOS and Windows users.

  • • Where can I find HitFilm lessons?

There are a lot of tutorials on YouTube. If you prefer to read about HitFilm, there are more than 70 lessons on the official website. Either way, you will be able to learn how to use the program quite quickly. Watch HitFilm tutorials to know how to edit videos using this program.

Pirated Version of HitFilm

If you are looking for HitFilm download links on torrent websites in order to save money on subscriptions, you should think about this decision once again. The thing is that all unauthorized users will have to deal with unpleasant or even dangerous consequences of downloading and installing illegal program versions. You can learn about possible problems below.

Fine and Violation of the Law

The possibility to get a paid instrument without spending a cent is extremely tempting for most people. However, such buckshee offers usually entail big risks. In the case of using the illegal HitFilm Free version, the first problem you are likely to encounter is a hefty fine.

You will have to pay a $1000+ fine, which is several times more than what is charged for an official program. In fact, legal software costs just $7.99 a month, so it seems ridiculous to use a free pirated tool.

Viruses and Personal Information Leak

If you are going to download HitFilm for free from a dubious resource, you may eventually get a really sneaky program on your computer. Such a file can do two bad things: first, it can break your system, which means you'll have to spend a lot of money to fix it. Second, it can steal important information from your computer without you knowing.

People are used to storing important data on their computers, like their money info, health papers, and other documents. If criminals get hold of this information, it could cause a lot of trouble down the road.

Lack of Updates

Being one of the best video editing software for Windows and Mac, HitFilm is improved on a regular basis with the help of updates. If you use a pirated version, you can say goodbye to such goodies. If you want to use the newest features and have a program that's free from bugs, it's important to update it regularly.

Another advantage of updateable software is the availability of security patches that reduce the possibility of cyberattacks. Without these patches, it's difficult to defend against online threats.

No Customer Support

Though you may not need to address customer support in the near future, it is great to know that this option is available to you. It may happen that the program fails to open or perform some tasks, and popular methods don’t yield any positive results. In such a case, a foolproof method to make the software work properly is to reach out to support agents.

However, owners of the HitFilm Express free version downloaded from a third-party platform may forget about this option. They will probably have to use another cracked edition but it is unlikely to be any better.

Bugs and Lags Are Here

Before illegally sharing a pirated version of HitFilm on the net, hackers often make changes to its source code. They rewrite certain lines of code and may disrupt the order in which the code is supposed to run. As a result, using HitFilm cracked version for photo editing can become extremely difficult, even if you have high-quality hardware.

Free Alternatives

The selection of free video editors for YouTube and other platforms is staggering. So, finding a good and free HitFilm alternative is not a problem. I have chosen some of the most efficient and simple-to-use editors. You can download and try them out for free.

Besides, you can take advantage of special video editing services online. You can send them any kind of videos you have, like videos of your family vacations, exciting clips from your action camera, adorable moments of your children learning to walk, or even videos from work training.

1. Lightworks

lightworks hitfilm free alternative logo
Pros
  • Available for all operating systems
  • Supports 3D video
  • Exports videos in HD, Full HD, 2K, and 4K
  • Modest system requirements
Cons
  • Doesn’t work without registration
  • Some important features are missing

Lightworks is an excellent and effective editor, which, surprisingly, requires not much storage space on your hard drive. To use the program to its fullest, you need 3GB of RAM, so it is needless to invest in a powerful computer to run this program.

Lightworks allows you to do live-view multi-camera editing. It also supports stereo feature, group montage and special effects.

Lightworks allows you to create several workspaces within one project. The Edit tab contains windows for audio and video editing and also has the preview option. You can move the clips onto empty tracks or timeline; you can also delete separate frames.

2. DaVinci Resolve

davinci resolve hitfilm free alternative logo
Pros
  • Records audio
  • Supports multiple takes
  • Edits audio
  • 3D sound effects
Cons
  • The screen looks cluttered
  • Complicated shortcuts

I have mixed feelings after using DaVinci free. On one hand, the set of tools and UI make it really stand out among other HitFilm free alternatives. It seems to be a really efficient and professional editor. On the other hand, DaVinci Resolve requires a rather powerful video card, because all the changes are applied in realtime.

Besides the basic video editing tools, DaVinci Resolve offers professional color correction, cropping, sound mixing, work with text, and OpenFX plug-in support to add transition effects. DaVinci supports most of the popular video file formats, however, ProRes is the preferred one, so, it is advisable to convert a file before starting to edit it.

Color correction is the most advanced feature of this program. If you are not looking for Hollywood level picture, then, perhaps, you’ll give up trying to understand the settings (my case). However, as far as the tutorials show, DaVinci can work wonders with color.

3. Blender

blender hitfilm free alternative logo
Pros
  • Ultra-realistic rendering
  • Animation effects
  • Wide range of features
  • Open-source code
Cons
  • UI may confuse beginners
  • Not enough documentation in the base package

Blender is a software package that is used to create 3D computer graphics. It can do 3D modeling and visualization. It will be helpful to create animation and special effects and is often used to make animations and short cartoons.

Blender can also be used for video post-processing and creating different special effects in films, combining 3D models and video footage, character animation in video games, etc.

By the way, the program has a sculptor so you can “feel” what creating a sculpture is like. There are plenty of tools available in Blender. When saving the project, all the textures and resources can be saved into a single file, which means you will never lose them, as it may happen with other 3D editors.

4. VSDC

vsdc hitfilm free alternative logo
Pros
  • Built-in effects and transitions
  • A lot of audio filters
  • Excellent UI
  • 4K video support
Cons
  • Windows-compatibility only
  • Doesn’t play video in the main window

VSDC is a great program with a lot of features and an intuitive UI. If you are a beginner videographer o filmmaker, VSDC will help you learn fast and also give you access to an amazing library of audio and video effects. It supports various video types and formats.

You can perform non-linear video editing in VSDC, which is not common for a HitFilm free version.

VSDC also provides fast video and audio converting and it has a built-in DVD burning tool. This software was mainly designed for education but both businesses and individual users can benefit from it. With its help, you can create a variety of videos to upload to different video-sharing platforms and extend your brand’s popularity.

5. Kdenlive

kdenlive hitfilm free alternative logo
Pros
  • High compatibility with different media formats
  • Unlimited files in the timeline
  • Plenty of add-ons
  • Creative video effects
Cons
  • Too difficult for beginners
  • Updates are slow
  • Doesn’t have powerful effects

Kdenlive allows you to work with several video and audio tracks simultaneously, with еthe possibility to move, block, and turn them on and off. You can import practically any known video and audio file format without having to convert them in advance.

There is a large built-in library of effects and transitions both for video and audio. Most of them are adjustable with a curve tool to help you change their speed.

Kdenlive also has a built-in title editor, called Titler. It can create 2D titles. It supports such features as font selection, changing of spacing between letters and lines, selection of color, shadows and outlines, rotation, scaling, and more.

Download HitFilm Free

hitfilm versions

If you only want basic tools and effects, you can use HitFilm Free version (no additional fees & free lifetime use). In case you need more features for creating social media content, choose the Creator plan ($7.99/mo), and if you are an advanced video creator, pay attention to the Pro plan ($12.99/mo).

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