VideoPad Video Editorfor Mac

VideoPad offers a free version of its software, which could save you needing to spend hundreds of dollars. They say there is no such thing as a free lunch but VideoPad puts that to the test. This is not just an elaborate set of filters, you can create some impressive results with its optimization tools. You can add text, audio, photos, and other digital images. It even has a 3D video editing tool and the ability to convert videos from 2D to 3D.

VideoPad free video editor may be all you need

VideoPad’s free video editor gives paid software a run for their money!

The simple of idea of editing a video can become not-so-simple when you see some of the prices for video editing software. VideoPad offers you many of the same video editing tools as some of the most expensive editing programs on the market and you do not have to pay a thing. You can optimize videos, reduce camera shakes, add photos and digital images, fine-tune color and effects, import and mix music tracks, record narration, and access its sound effects library.

When you are happy with your video, you can share your video with family and friends, upload it to YouTube, Vimeo or Flickr, export it in a choice of resolutions, burn a DVD, watch it on TV, save it to iPod, iPhone, PSP, or 3GP Phones. One of its biggest features is its 3D video editing capability, as well as 2D to 3D stereoscopic conversion. It also has a wide range of visual effects templates, text overlays on 360 videos, and plugin support.

Although VideoPad is a free video editing tool, it also has a paid version. It will remind you of this every time you start the program which can get a bit annoying but is standard across most programs with a premium version. Of course they want to upsell you this upgraded version but is it worth it? Yes and no. It offers you more features such as unlimited audio tracks and plugins, and the software will run without any restrictions. For those looking to make simple edits to their videos, it is not really necessary. Having said that, their premium version is still a highly competitive price, given the terrifying price range in the market.

The software is easy and intuitive to use. It opts for a calming color scheme of blues, grays and purples in the program. The layout and overall design of the program is nothing new, but as a result it feels familiar and unintimidating. The menu bar gives you quick access to ‘Home’, ‘Clips’, ‘Sequence’, ‘Audio’, ‘Export’, ‘Suite’, and ‘Custom’. When you’re in the home tab, a sub-menu appears with clearly labeled, essential tools including ‘Add Objects’, ‘Add Text’, ‘Add Title’, ‘Record’, ‘Video Effects’, ‘Audio Effects’, and ‘Text Effects’. Your audio track will appear as a track beneath your video track, at the bottom of the program. This allows you to easily sync the two. Above this is the main video editing area where you can edit and preview clips, create sequences, and more.

Videopad is quick to download and ran seamlessly (on my MacBook Pro using the Mojave OS), although I have heard of many people experiencing difficulties (and losing a lot of work) due to some unfixed bugs. VideoPad has said they are working on these, however.

Where can you run this program?

VideoPad Video Editor is available for download on Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Kindle. For Windows, you will need to be using XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 or 10. Mac requires OS X 10.5 and above. You can also download VideoPad onto your iPhone or iPad, if they are using iOS 6.0 or above. VideoPad also supports a wide range of video, image and audio files, which means it is compatible with almost all video recorders. In terms of output, you can burn to DVD, CD or BLU Ray, upload it to your mobile phone, iPad, PSP or share it on Youtube, Vimeo or Flickr.

Is there a better alternative?

VideoPad’s free video editor software is not without its drawbacks and there is video editing software which can offer you a greater variety of functions. It does not have motion tracking, multicam editing or slideshow creator, and limited templates or themes. If you are looking for features such as these then ‘CyberLink PowerDirector, Magix’, ‘Premiere Elements’, and ‘Adobe Premier Pro CC’ are great options. These are probably all “better” alternatives but you’ll need to pay for them.

If we compare like for like, then the competition is much more limited. Mac has its own ‘iMovie’ which works well but it does not have quite as much functionality as VideoPad. ‘OpenShot’ has to be its biggest rival. Again, VideoPad may win marginally on functionality but OpenShot has such a clean, modern and easy-to-use interface that it is tempting to forego the few extras VideoPad can offer. Overall it would be hard to say conclusively that there is a better alternative.

Our take

VideoPad is full of great features such as its 3D editing capability. It is highly intuitive and it is compatible with multiple operating systems, as well as video, audio, and image files. It is also easy to get the files off your device and share them on Youtube, Vimeo, and Flickr, burn them to disc or export to phones iPad, PSPs, and more. Biggest of all, it is free! There are a lot of reasons to choose this software for your video editing but it is dependent on the level of editing work you are looking to do. VideoPad is perfect for enthusiastic amateurs or intermediate level editors.

Should you download it?

Yes, provided you are not an expert video editor already. VideoPad Video Editor is a great bit of free software which will keep most users satisfied. It is ideal for beginner and intermediate level editors. Do not waste your money on premium video software, if you are not going to use the features which set them apart.