5 Best Free GoPro Editing Software: No Watermarks, Easy to Use
Reading Time: 7 minutes Are you looking for the best free GoPro editing software? Awesome! In this post, I’ll share the best options for free GoPro editing software.
The best free editing software for GoPro includes Lightworks, DaVinci Resolve, Blender, iMovie, and the legacy Quik desktop. These will all edit and render your GoPro footage without watermarks.
Two additional options include Filmora and VideoProc, but these free versions will watermark your video.
Free GoPro Editing Software: 7 Options
Before we get started, I want to qualify the programs on this list.
The first five options are free to download and won’t add their watermark to your video. The final two are also decent options but the free version will watermark your rendered footage.
To be listed, they must offer a “free forever” version. Some of these programs are available for free with a premium upgrade. But there is no trial software included in the list.
How are these programs determined to be the “best”? They are deemed the best by the number of reviews and their features. While I’ve used many different video editing programs, I haven’t used all of them – but after writing this post, I plan to review a number of them.
Okay, let’s begin!
Here’s the short list of the software options. Below this list, you’ll find more in-depth information on each option.
- Lightworks (Free and Paid) This is a new one to me. They offer a free and premium subscription option.
- DaVinci Resolve 18: (Free and Paid) This is an impressive looking program. I’ve downloaded the free version and can’t wait to try it.
- iMovie for Mac (Free) Popular and free but you’ll have to own (buy) a Mac to use it.
- Blender (Free) This open source software comes highly praised. Should be worth a look.
- Quik by GoPro (Free) Quik desktop is now considered legacy software. This editing software replaced the failed GoPro Studio.
- Filmora Wondershare (Free and Paid) Trial version (unpaid) has the same functionality as the premium – except that output videos have a watermark.
- VideoProc Vlogger (Free and Paid) This is great editing software. The free version is powerful but will watermark your footage.
Additional GoPro Editing Software
Here are a couple of programs that are pretty outdated. And while their sites are old (and I’ll never use them) they are free video editing programs.
So here are two that I don’t recommend:
- VirtualDub.org: This site was last updated in 2013 and the software is not made for Windows 10. In spite of this, it continually comes up as a viable choice. I included this so you can take a look if you’re interested.
- Wax (DebugMode): This can operate as a standalone program or a plugin with Sony Vegas, Pure Motion and Adobe Premiere. The site looks like it was cutting-edge in 1995. I’m not sure that I trust this program.
5 Best Free GoPro Editing Software Options
First up: Lightworks
1. Lightworks
This non-linear editing software by EditShare looks promising. It handles resolution up to 4K and advanced multi-cam editing.
Lightworks has edited many Hollywood films, including The Wolf of Wall Street, LA Confidential, Pulp Fiction, Hugo, and The King’s Speech.
The free version gives you the same editing power as the Pro version. But you can only output to a maximum of 720P (YouTube) with the free option. And there are no watermarks on the free version.
Next up: DaVinci Resolve
2. DaVinci Resolve 18
I’m surprised that this is free. The number of features belongs on a program costing $100’s and yet, you can download it simply by creating a free account.
I haven’t used it yet, but I’m excited to give it a try. Combine multi-cam editing, color and lens distortion correction, and new media management functions and you have a great piece of software.
It is non-linear video editing with “the world’s most advanced color corrector” (BlackMagicDesign.com)
DaVinci Resolve comes well-reviewed by both No Film School and RedShark.
“The free DaVinci Resolve is a full professional editing and color grading system that is suitable for independent users working on SD, HD, and Ultra HD projects.” – Blackmagic Design, developers of DaVinci Resolve
Next up: iMovie for Mac
3. iMovie for Mac
If you’re on a Mac, you already have access to this program. And it’s free.
Their description (below) doesn’t sound very compelling. It could be describing just about any video editing software.
“It’s never been easier to make it in the movies. Just choose the clips you want to use. Insert titles, add effects, and create a full soundtrack with powerful tools that are as simple as drag and drop. iMovie even supports 4K video for stunning cinema-quality films. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a wrap.” – Apple.com
What does set iMovie apart, is their synced mobile app. iMovie for Mac works seamlessly with iMovie for iOS.
This means you can start a project on your iPhone, make some adjustments on your iPad and then finish on your Mac. iMovie Theater will keep all your finished videos synced across all your devices.
Next up: Blender
4. Blender
This is some super powerful software. It does 3D modeling, photo-realistic rendering, animation, sculpting, simulations, game creation, and – oh yeah – video editing.
I’m excited about this one. Blender comes with 32 slots for video, audio, images, masks, and effects. It has camera and object tracking and the ability to mask areas.
This should be expensive – but it’s free. And don’t worry about it changing. They publish this commitment on their homepage:
Blender is Free and Open Source Software. Free to use for any purpose, forever. – Blender.org
First up: Quik Desktop
5. Quik for Desktop (by GoPro)
This is the software that you’ll probably start with. And if you’ve never used video editing software before, this will probably be okay.
This is created to be – you guessed it – quick. And it directly connects to Facebook and YouTube for fast sharing.
In addition to video editing, you can use Quik for Desktop to update the firmware your camera. Supported models include: all current GoPro models, including the newest Hero11 Black. Use Gauges in Quik to show your GPS path, speed, and elevation gain with overlaid gauges and graphs.
There is a level of automation that some users don’t like. When you plug your camera in, it auto-uploads the footage to a preset folder.
As long as you don’t mind automation – and have tons of space on your hard drive – you should be good to go.
2 Free Options: With Watermark on Video
Next up: Filmora
6. Filmora 12 by Wondershare
This looks like decent software. It has screen recording, video stabilization, split screen, green screen, tilt shift, crop, color correction, and speed adjustment.
Some of its transitions are a little too “home-movie-ish” for me, but it might work for certain projects.
The catch with Filmora is that their free version comes with a watermark across all your videos.
If you like the software but not the watermark, you can buy an annual subscription for a small fee. Their premium version has a cross-platform plan allowing editing on Window PC, Mac, and Android and iOS devices.
Next up: VideoProc Vlogger
7. VideoProc Vlogger
This premium software also makes a free version. But the free trial has a 5-minute cap for any video output. And it watermarks the video.
VideoProc has more than 20 speed presets. They can be applied to match the beat. It also includes automatic keyframes, easy speed changes, motion effects and presets, and pan and zoom features.
Windows Movie Maker
What about Windows Movie Maker? This isn’t being supported in Windows 10. This means that it’s just a matter of time before it disappears.
Windows Movie Maker: Has begun it’s slow death. This is a solid free option – but because it is no longer supported in Windows 10, you can do better. If you’re going to learn a new piece of software, choose one that will be around for a while. –GoPro Editing Software: 13 Best Options for Windows and Mac
Not quite what you were looking for? Check out our full list: GoPro Editing Software (includes 13 best options for Windows and Mac).
More reading: What are GoPro LRV and THM Files?
Your Turn
Did I miss one? Please share your favorite free GoPro editing software in the comments.
Hi guys. Thanks for this post. I have used several video editing programs for many years now (as a consumer) and do have a favourite program (paid) however, I am looking forward to reading this post in full when I have a little free time. Just wanted to add one more to your list though. Have you heard of Hitfilm? An interesting editing and compositing program which I have downloaded but not used yet. They too do a free version which looks to be pretty substantial although I don’t recall what restrictions there are as opposed to the paid version. Maybe worth a look for you. Again, thanks.
Thanks Phil – I’ll definitely take a look!
Hello Bryan, in the original post you mentioned that you have not tried each of the 7 software packages. Have you now tried each and has your mind changed on any?
Thanks
Bryan Smith
Gopro Studio does not worth it!! It is updated so frequently that every release has many bugs and when you want to use NEVER WORKS! Search the web “gopro studio crashes”.
I will give a hit to Davinci.
Hello,
I would suggest to use PhotoViewerPro, Its user friendly and very effective.
Best part is, it has many features but it is not confusing like others. You will really enjoy the features and edited picture quality .
Regards,
Steven Black
I use mostly imovie with 2 different camera’s, including a gopro. I’m now looking for the possibility to incorporate the “stats” (speedometer) in the projects. Until now this only works in “quik”. Can anyone help me to put it in imovie too?
Steven
I take GoPro videos while mountain biking. When I down load them to my pc with Quik, they look fine. When I upload them to fb or YouTube, they are not very clear. Is that a limitation of fb and YouTube or do II need better software? Or both? Thanks in advance for any advise.
For beginners to edit GoPro video footages, I would recommend VideoProc. This free GoPro video editing software can not only edit, cut, crop, effect, adjust video, etc, but also convert my GoPro video to any desired format with optimized quality, while delivering a superfast speed since it can perfect utilize my computer GPU hardware to accelerate the process
I will echo the issues of two other comments, Quik crashes and does not open reliably and I have also had the trouble with the videos being of lesser quality and blurry once ran through the software. I downloaded the paid version of Movavi 14 a year ago but that does not have the ability to rotate the video more than 45 degrees and now struggles to playback hero 7 footage while editing to the point that it is useless. I can not update my GPU (Intel 7) on my Lenovo . . . bottom line I’m in the market for new software. Are there any updates since trying the free trial versions out?