Don’t let creating a video scare you! Video is great way to gain followers and customers. Read on to see my list of the best free online video maker tools.
Everyone is adding video to their marketing arsenal and for good reason—video converts! It’s a great way to educate and express concepts in an easy and quick way!
So you really need to start utilizing video in today’s competitive marketplace.
But producing consistent videos can be daunting. Video production is time consuming, costs money, and requires skills (or more time to learn those skills. What about editing? Are there free video editing tools?
Often companies outsource their video production to someone like myself. As a video producer, I can help you learn how or do it for you. But if you haven’t even got the budget for that, I want to share with you some of the best free online video maker tools I found!
Instead of taking valuable time to learn some complicated editing software, there are now several free, online video editor sites that make this super easy for you. In fact, they also come with graphics, music, and stock footage making it a one-stop shop for a finished video. If you aren’t looking for a super-customized video, this is a great solution. And all of these video editing tools have templates to help you get started so you aren’t creating a video from scratch with no idea of where to begin.
One important point to know about the free plans—they all come with their logo “watermark” on your final video. It’s also worth pointing out that you can’t actually see the watermark until the video is processed. But to give you an idea of what each looks like, I’ve shared screenshots below of the watermarks on the final videos I created through each online video editing tool.
I’ve personally tested all these. Check out my list of the top free online video maker tools.
Lumen5
- Free plan includes 5 videos per month and has a maximum 720p resolution (mostly fine for social media). It also includes a Lumen5 credit page at the very end of the video but no distracting watermarks throughout.
- Paid plans start at $19/month (billed annually at $228)
Lumen5 is simple to figure out and use. The free plan is great for the casual online video maker who just wants to add some videos to their blog or social media. I love how there’s no watermark, just a credit page with the Lumen5 logo at the very end. When looking for a free online video editor, you also want to see that there are footage options. Lumen5 comes with some basic free stock footage images and videos you can use. I found this interface one of the easiest and simplest to use.
Wave Video
- Free Plan: Includes free stock images and video and videos only up to 15 seconds long. There’s a smallish watermark shown during the entire video in the upper left corner.
- Creator Plan: $15/month (billed annually at $174). Includes videos up to 5 minutes long and ability to download.
Wave video hosts the videos for you on its platform so you can share directly from there to your social media or embed on your website if you do not want to download and then upload to YouTube or Facebook. This free online video maker has a free stock library of images and videos and professional-looking templates to build off of.
I really like the simplicity and quick-to-learn interface. My biggest issue is the free plan only allows videos up to 15 seconds long. So this is great for really short videos. You also can’t download your video, you have to link to their landing page.
Otherwise, you need to upgrade.
Animoto
- Free plan has large Animoto watermark
- Starter Plan: $33/month (billed annually at $396), no watermark and ability to add your own logo.
Animoto feels super simple to me and I like that! I signed up, chose a template and got to creating a simple video. In free online video maker programs like these, I personally think less is more. Too many choices and options slow you down. I like Animoto’s simple templates and graphics that you can customize.
You just upload your own photos or video or you can chose from their stock images. You can drag slides around and duplicate if you need more. Just overwrite the text and add your own. They already have a suggest song or again, you can choose another.
The main issue is that their watermark is quite large in the lower right corner throughout the entire video. If you have text, it’s best to put it toward the top. And like all these, you don’t actually see the watermark until the video is done…which is why I’m sharing these images with you so you know ahead of time. The only way to remove it is to upgrade, which is a bit expensive if you are only doing a few videos.
Biteable
- Free plan comes with watermark and no downloads
- Starter plan is $15/month (billed annually at $180 ) and has no watermark, downloads, and access to premium content. It only allows 1 video per month.
Biteable has a few different plan offerings. The free one is limited, but workable. Like the other free online video editors, the free plan adds a “Biteable” watermark throughout your entire video. This one is a Biteable banner on both the upper left and lower right corners. So I find that a bit much unfortunately.
There are neat templates to pick from including some fun animated ones. There is also a limited supply of stock footage. If you upgrade to the starter plan, you get access to premium footage and no watermark. Also it’s worth noting that only paid plans allow you to download your video. The free plan only allows you to embed it or share it directly from the Biteable page.
InVideo
- Free plan comes with a watermark and 60 exports each month.
- Starter Plan is $10/month (billed at $120 annually) and removes the watermark and includes premium photos and videos and 60 exports each month.
InVideo is a little more complicated of a layout and set up. It took me a little more time to figure out and create a simple video as compared to Lumen 5 and Animoto.
You can change the animation settings for the images and video as well as the text. When using the free plan there are limited images to use, but you can also upload your own images and video.
When sticking with the free plan, you get an upper left watermark on your entire final video as well as an Invideo logo in the lower right. That’s two watermarks basically, which other free online video editor sites don’t do.
Animaker
- Free Plan: Includes unlimited downloads with watermark
- Starter Plan: $19/month (billed annually at $228)
Animaker comes with lots of templates and leans more toward animated videos. It’s kind of fun because you can use an avatar that looks similar to yourself.
But for quick videos, it took a little while to understand their tools and options. I do think it’s cool if you need a basic tutorial video with simple concepts, then you can use their templates. The watermark is not subtle and stays in the lower right corner the entire time, plus they also tack on an end frame with their logo. As all the others, to get rid of that, you need to upgrade to a paid plan. The “Starter Plan” is $19/month billed annually.
Some other online video editing options
Promo
Promo is free to create drafts, but you have to pay to download any videos. The starter plan is $39/month ($468 billed annually). This allows no watermark, unlimited downloads and use of 2 premium clips per year. They also have templates and seem to offer a lot of professional options…at a price.
Magisto by Vimeo
Magisto by Vimeo looks great, and it has a free trial, but no free plans. Their most affordable plan is called “premium” and is $5 per month when you pay annually ($60/year). But this basic plan does not give you access to the stock footage library, you must upload your own. Of course you can always go over to Pixabay or Pexels and download free stock footage, but that’s another step. This basic plan also does not allow much customization or for you to add your own logo. The next plan up called “professional” does include all that and is $10 per month when paid annually at $120 per year.
Moovly
Movely has a free plan but you can only share with Youtube or Vimeo, you can’t download. The starter plan is $49/month with no watermark and the ability to download.
