Shotcut Review

We’ll look at the free, open-source, and multiplatform video editor Shotcut in this 2022 software review. It is multiplatform, which means it runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux, and it receives regular updates from an active developer community. Shotcut video editor has features that rival some of the most expensive video editing software on the market, making it an appealing option for those who don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on software or don’t want to be beholden to large corporations. This freeware editor has enough features to satisfy intermediate and advanced users while remaining beginner-friendly, making it a good option for someone looking to get into video editing.

You can also check out Movavi Video Editor!

Shotcut is a powerful tool, but if you find it inadequate for the task at hand, this feature-rich and user-friendly alternative may be useful. Download a version of Movavi Video Editor for your operating system using the buttons below.

Shotcut Video Editor Review: quick summary

This Shotcut review will examine in detail the attributes and capabilities of this well-liked program. The current version was entirely rewritten after its initial release in 2004. The goal was to develop a cross-platform video editor from the start. This gives users the ability to switch operating systems without experiencing any compatibility problems. For example, a user could start a project on a Mac and finish it on a Windows computer. Also, it’s one of the best free iMovie for Windows alternatives.

Shotcut contains a number of capabilities that are often seen in more advanced, premium video editors. For instance, the effects menu has an option for full-color grading.

For those using older or less powerful computers, the installation is a decent choice because it is only 237MB on a Mac.

Shotcut video editor features overview

Shotcut video editing software is outstanding for being entirely free. It contains a lot of features you might only find in more advanced, professional video editors. The effects menu has a ton of tools for generating creative videos, such as blurring, masks, color grading, and other effects.

The drag-and-drop functionality makes it simple to add source clips to the timeline, and the layout makes sense. The timeline also supports many layers, which is a useful feature for complex changes. You can also turn horizontal source clips into square or vertical videos by establishing a custom video size; this is advantageous when sharing content on social media or making videos for mobile devices.

Considering that this is completely free software, these are the features for which the team of developers deserves a standing ovation:

• Independent codec, which supports more than a hundred audio and video formats without the need for system internal codecs. 
• Allows working with multiple formats, resolutions, and frame rates of audio and video in the same timeline.
• Supports connection to SDI and HDMI to watch the preview and check the video compatibility with those devices.
• Built-in screen and webcam recorder, and also allow capturing from SDI, HDMI, Jack & Pulse audio, IP stream, and others.
• It has integrated tools for audio editing and mixing.
• It has a large gallery of video effects called “filters”.
• It offers varied options of transitions for video and audio, and they are customizable in terms of duration and intensity.
• It has a separate panel for the use of keyframes, which allows practical and fast customization of the duration of effects and transitions, as well as the animation of objects and texts without affecting the timeline.
• Facilitates the color correction and grading in a 3-way color wheel panel, to modify shadows, mids, and highlights separately. 

Also, you can always check the “history” panel to undo one or several of the changes you’ve made or to recall what you did before to do it again. This provides a fully safe work environment to experiment with and learn.

Shotcut Interface

The UI of Shotcut is much more basic than any of the commercial video editors I’ve tested, as you might anticipate from an open-source multimedia program—at least at first. However, after you open a video file and select the timeline button, it begins to resemble a standard video editing program, with the timeline running along the bottom and the source clips organized in a panel at the upper left. The panels are undockable, similar to Vegas Movie Studio, providing good interface customization—especially on multi-monitor systems.

Basic Joining and Trimming

When you add a new clip onto a track, you may snap it to the left or leave blank space to taste—a decent balance of freedom and direction—and the timeline entry for a clip displays its audio waveform. If you’d like, you can fully disable snapping.

Transitions cannot be added as easily as they can in other editors, which allows you to drag pre-made transitions from a source panel. Instead, a transition emerges when you drag nearby clips in the timeline to overlay. You get a cross-fade by default, but there are also 24 built-in basic wipe-style transitions and the option to download custom wipes. It’s a little annoying that you can only drag clips from the source panel and not between tracks.

Shotcut Effects

Although applying effects is less straightforward than in most consumer video editors, it’s not too bad once you figure it out. You must first open the Filters panel, select an adjustment, filter, or effect by pressing the + symbol, and then click OK.
Even though I carefully watched the tutorial video, at first I was unable to make my test footage’s chroma-keying effect appear, even though this has never happened with any other software I’ve tried. Even though the Simple Chroma Key tool left part of the green from the green screen in the final product, the feature eventually started functioning. With the use of the Hue, Chroma, and Intensity delta sliders in the Advance Chroma Key tool, I was able to remove the green.

Shotcut review of Titles and Text

Although useful, text options are much inferior to those offered by paid software like PowerDirector, VideoStudio, and Pinnacle Studio. Titles are treated as filters in Shotcut, as opposed to receiving a button over the timeline or in a side panel, as they do in most other programs. You can also select to display the filing date, name, and frame number as a text overlay on top of the footage instead of time codes.

Although it’s not WYSIWYG, you can also just insert any text in the lower third or corners: The filter panel allows you to enter text and edit it using sliders and a color picker. Similarly to PowerDirector, you cannot animate titles.

Is Shotcut good for beginners?

Shotcut is probably not for you if you’ve never produced a video and want a straightforward editor for a quick assignment. A simpler, more straightforward editor that provides a quicker route to a final video and has a lower learning curve would be ideal for you. Shotcut is a great choice, though, if you’re interested in learning how to edit videos and intend to produce a lot of them. There is a learning curve at first, but once you master the fundamentals, you’ll be prepared to play with the more sophisticated elements to produce your own videos.

Shotcut Review | Conclusion

Shotcut has all the essential features of a competent video program, but with a little ugly interface. It will take some getting used to the open-source conventions and interface for individuals who are used to working in a Mac or Windows environment. It also lacks more glitzy consumer capabilities seen in programs like VR, Multicam editing, and motion tracking that are available in other software like VideoPad, HitFilm Express, and DaVinci Resolve. For most amateur memory producers, though, that probably isn’t a significant concern.

If you would like to learn about Shotcut alternatives check our article: best video editing software.