8 Best Windows Movie Maker Alternatives in 2024

8 Best Windows Movie Maker Alternatives in 2024

Users are increasingly looking for Windows Movie Maker alternatives as this software no longer comes with OS Windows. These programs below serve as a replacement for the program created by Microsoft. They offer even more filters, effects and overlays.

Top 9 Windows Movie Maker Alternatives

Each of these programs is suitable for basic and professional video editing tasks. Among these options, you will find software with unique effects, the best free video cropping software, as well as the advanced tools for 360-degree video editing.

Top 3 Windows Movie Maker Alternatives:

Windows Movie Maker is a basic video editor that comes with all the necessary tools. With the help of one of the free video editors for YouTube, you can crop clips or split them into several parts, apply amazing effects or Instagram-like filters. It’s also possible to adjust brightness using special sliders.

Also Reviewed:

1. Adobe Premiere Elements

Adobe Premiere Elements offers a wide array of features that will be useful for novices and professionals alike. It features frames, text editing and retouching tools, effects and transitions. Once you have edited a clip, you can synchronize it with mobile devices or publish it on social networks.

Pros+
  • A wide choice of effects
  • Handy text tools
  • Useful stabilization options
  • 4K quality
  • Advanced audio editing tools
Cons-
  • No tools for editing 360-degree VR or 3D videos

Main Adobe Premiere Elements Features:

  • A face recognition option
  • Useful tagging tools
  • Handy trim options
  • Noise and camera shake reduction
  • Auto color adjustment and fixing lighting issues

With the help of this Windows Movie Maker alternative, you can add sound to your videos, crop them or split into several parts. Unlike the video editor from Microsoft, Premiere Elements is equipped with a tool that helps get rid of black bars and watch a video in a full-screen mode. Another option different from Movie Maker is the watermark tool.

With the help of this video editing software for Windows, you can quickly solve both basic and pro-level tasks, for instance, reduce noise when working with videos taken at night, automatically edit tags and fully transform the sky. Moreover, you can create full-format videos using clips taken with your smartphone’s camera.

adobe premiere elements windows movie maker alternative

2. MiniTool MovieMaker

MiniTool Movie Maker is perfect if you want to create and edit videos for free. You can change video speed, add transitions, credits and subtitles, change the overall atmosphere of your video by applying professional filters and 3D LUTs.

Pros+
  • 4K support
  • Professional timeline
  • Unique templates
  • Transition effects
  • Speed adjustment
Cons-
  • A limited number of tools

Main MiniTool MovieMaker Features:

  • Split, trim and merge options
  • Supports adding animated text and subtitles
  • Helpful templates
  • Handy slideshow tools
  • Background noise reduction
  • Drag-and-drop functionality

Being one of the most useful Adobe Premiere alternatives, this easy-to-use video editor comes with a set of basic tools that allow trimming and splitting clips, as well as adding audio and text. You can use pro-level features, such as 4K and the timeline video editing tools.

When it comes to effects and filters, MiniTool Movie Maker easily beats Windows Movie Maker. Besides, you can save time by using special templates to quickly create invitations, wedding videos or slideshows. To make your work look more interesting, try using animation effects.

minitool movie maker windows movie maker alternative

3. Microsoft Photos

Microsoft Photos is an updated version of Windows Movie Maker that has been created for the most recent versions of Windows. By using this program, you can quickly create a video, select its theme and add music tracks. To make your project unique, try applying 3D effects and adding hand-drawn pictures.

Pros+
  • Handy video editing effects
  • Easy-to-create video slideshows
  • Automatic clip creation
  • 3 video sizes
  • Various filters and text styles
Cons-
  • Basic editing tools
  • The intensity of a selected theme is impossible to adjust

Main Microsoft Photos Features:

  • Trim tool
  • Allows adding headlines, background music and various effects
  • Tools for creating slideshows with motion effects
  • Advanced text styles
  • More than 40 3D video effects
  • Motion tracking features

This Windows Movie Maker alternative automatically creates a clip using the pre-selected photos and videos. Otherwise, you can add them manually to the timeline. The updated version of this slideshow maker has some features available in Windows Movie Maker, for instance, you can add multimedia files to the timeline, apply special effects and transitions, adjust sound and add 3D-animations.

You can capture videos in a portrait mode, use a standard 16:9 format or take them in a 4:3 format. To save time, try using different filters, text styles and sound effects. Just like Adobe Premiere Elements, the program has the automatic content-aware fill tool for text editing.

microsoft photos windows movie maker alternative

4. VideoPad Video Editor

VideoPad is a free video editor with an easy-to-navigate interface and advanced functionality. It supports all popular file formats, including HEVC files, and allows editing 360-degree videos.

Pros+
  • Easy to master
  • 360-degree video editing
  • Supports 3D video editing
  • Allows adding animated credits
  • Pro-level text effects
Cons-
  • Doesn’t support multicam editing
  • No motion tracking tools

Main VideoPad Video Editor Features:

  • More than 50 visual effects
  • Chroma key features
  • Useful templates
  • A library of sound effects
  • Works with plug-ins

The key selling point of this alternative to Windows Movie Maker is its 360-degree editing tool. You can apply special effects, add text and switch between standard and 360-degree preview modes.

To improve your video, add animated headings, image overlays and background videos. Besides special text effects, there are 3D effects, drawing and animation tools. Before applying an effect, you can preview it to adjust fonts and color tones.

videopad video editor windows movie maker alternative

5. Make Web Video

Make Web Video is a top-notch program for editing and making videos. It is very user-friendly, so the getting-used-to process won’t take much time. Using the provided functionality, you can create unique whiteboard animation videos for business purposes in a quick way. In case you aren’t satisfied with the capabilities of the service, you can get your money back according to the developer’s pricing policy.

Pros+
  • Clear UI
  • Lots of professional templates
  • Work without downloading
  • Multiple export sizes
  • 100% money-back guarantee and free revisions
Cons-
  • Free video is low resolution

Main Make Web Video Features:

  • Video hosted on the cloud
  • Free preview
  • Regular template uploads
  • Unlimited monthly subscription
  • Users can customize all parameters

Nowadays, creating a highlight reel or business-related videos isn’t a complicated process, as you can use templates available in Make Web Video and customize them the way you want.

All finished videos are hosted on the platform and you can easily share them with the needed audience by simply providing people with a link. This is a really convenient option as viewers can watch your content without cramming space on their devices. Besides, there is a built-in video player for instant playback.

make web video windows movie maker alternative interface

6. Animotica

If you want to find a video enhancing tool similar to Windows Movie Maker that has an intuitive interface and is suitable even for beginners, take a closer look at Animotica. This Windows software is widely used by those who need to quickly create high-quality content for YouTube and social media.

Pros+
  • Can be used without any previous experience
  • An extensive choice of basic movie editing tools
  • Excellent effects
  • A library of sound effects
Cons-
  • Watermarked videos
  • Some features are paid

Main Animotica Features:

  • Allows joining video segments
  • Trim, split and cut tools
  • Transitions and titles
  • Allows overlaying videos
  • GIF files and stickers
  • Text animation tools

Using Animotica, you can quickly trim your clips, merge different segments, add overlays, and apply a variety of effects to give your videos a professional feel. By adding transitions, you can make the viewing experience of your followers more enjoyable. This service allows you to add effects and transitions to multiple clips at once.

You can make your videos more engaging and informative by adding voiceovers and audio tracks. When working on your project, you can either select a track or effect from the in-built library or upload your own file. After making the main edits, you can add images, text, and stickers to your clips.

animotica windows movie maker alternatives interface

7. HitFilm Express

HitFilm Express is a perfect free video editing tool novices, gamers and YouTube bloggers. This program features 2D and 3D compositing options, an unlimited number of tracks and transitions, as well as over 400 effects and presets.

Pros+
  • Selection of 2D and 3D compositing tools
  • A wide range of online tutorials
  • Top-notch animation features
  • Extendable functionality with plug-ins
  • Color level adjustment
Cons-
  • Requires high system specifications
  • Difficult to master

Main HitFilm Express Features:

  • Pro-level cutting tools
  • Chroma Key feature
  • Audio and video filters
  • Compositing options
  • Layers and masking tools
  • Supports 3D videos

This Windows Movie Maker alternative features basic tools for cropping frames and converting videos into different formats, as well as more advanced options, such as 2D and 3D compositing tools. There is also an in-built option for uploading videos on YouTube.

A user can add and edit background sounds or watermarks. Artists and illustrators will appreciate a slow-motion feature, caption transitions, camera moving effects. Being one of the best free video editing software, it supports many export formats optimized for different purposes, for example, publishing videos on social networks.

hitfilm express windows movie maker alternative

8. OpenShot

OpenShot is an open-source software product that runs under Linux, Windows and Mac. Thanks to its simple interface, it’s perfectly suitable even for beginners.

Pros+
  • Cross-platform software
  • Timely updates
  • Customizable UI
  • 4K support
  • Allows adding multimedia content to the timeline
Cons-
  • Slows down when you apply effects
  • Some tools have bugs

Main OpenShot Features:

  • Trim & Slice
  • Animation tools
  • An unlimited number of tracks
  • Background removal
  • Color inversion
  • Allows visualizing audio files as waveforms

This open-source video editor supports different audio, image and video formats and delivers 4K quality. It provides access to an impressive number of transitions and more than 10 effects. With it, you can edit a clip before adding it to the timeline or split it during a preview.

If you are looking for programs like Movie Maker, take a look at OpenShot as it allows adding titles, changing fonts and their colors. You can also add animated titles and use in-built templates. OpenShot offers customizable shortcuts to solve video editing tasks in no time.

openshot windows movie maker alternative

9. Kdenlive

Kdenlive is an open-source video editor that makes it easy to add several audio and video files to the timeline. It supports most file formats so there is no need to convert them.

Pros+
  • Various plug-in effects
  • Great for adding titles
  • Supports many video formats
  • Batch processing
  • Helpful shortcuts
Cons-
  • Unimpressive speed when you apply effects
  • A Windows version has bugs

Main Kdenlive Features:

  • Allows adding several video and audio tracks
  • Perfect for multi-camera editing
  • Animated keyframe options
  • The top-notch audio mixer
  • Screen and audio capturing features
  • Creates backups automatically

This Windows Live Movie Maker alternative has all the necessary tools that allow cropping, rotating, splitting and merging your clips. It supports multi-track video editing so you can add an unlimited number of video and audio tracks to the timeline.

When you use a 3-point editing system, you need to set the In and Out points and select the area between them. This software can also be used for adding 2D subtitles. You can select their positioning, letters pacing, etc. Besides, it’s possible to change the design of the text, select the outline color and gradients.

kdenlive windows movie maker alternative
SAVE UP TO 60% OFF SAVE UP TO 60% OFF