Few video editors mix functionality and ease-of-use like Movavi Video Editor, available for Windows and Mac. It offers basic video editing, from video trimming to format conversion, but also includes professional features, such as auto color adjustment, chroma-key effects, video capturing, and 3D editing tools.

Whether you’re a beginner starting out or a professional on the go, Movavi Video Editor has the features you’ll need to get the job done, making it one of the best video editors available. It’s available to try with a 7-day free trial period.

Key features:

• Professional-level video editor with basic and advanced features, perfect for beginners and professionals
• Supports video editing up to 4K
• Offers third-party video capturing and DVD burning

While some video editors are looking for advanced features and special effects, many casual editors require only the most essential tools. That’s where the freely available Avidemux comes into play. This open-source video editor focuses on core features, such as video cropping and conversion, in an easy-to-use interface.

The biggest upside to Avidemux is also its biggest problem, with a limited feature set that other video editors easily eclipse.

Key features:

• Free and open-source video editor with cross-platform support across Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X
• Basic video editing with a simple-to-use interface

Freely available and included with every purchased Mac, Apple’s own iMovie is the default video editing tool for many. It supports 4K video editing, seamless project editing across devices, built-in iCloud project sharing, and more.

iMovie is perfect for beginners looking for a Movie Maker replacement on Mac who want to learn how to cut or splice a recorded video, or experiment with adding some basic effects (such as 3D text and color filters). Advanced users will struggle with the limited feature set, however, as well as the lack of editing tracks on offer.

Key features:

• Beginner-friendly video editing tool for Mac users
• Supports up to 4K video editing
• Offers cross-platform video editing across Apple devices

While video editors like Avidemux and iMovie are geared towards beginners, Adobe^® Premiere^® Pro is the total opposite. This is the go-to video editing tool for many Hollywood producers, with an interface aimed at utilizing every bit of space with numerous tools, settings, and features for the most efficient workflow.

Like Adobe^® Photoshop^®, Premiere^® Pro is a complex tool with a high barrier to entry. If you’re willing to spend many, many hours learning the ropes, Premiere^® Pro will help you create professional-grade videos up to 8K to wow your audience, but at $20.99/month, there are cheaper (and easier) editors out there to work with.

Key features:

• High-quality, powerful video editing tool for Mac and Windows
• Supports video editing up to 8K
• Includes almost all major video editing and processing features

Lightworks is a professional video editing tool that focuses on features and functionality rather than the beginner-friendly market that tools like Windows Movie Maker are best known for. Used to help edit well-known movies like Pulp Fiction, Lightworks is the complete package for working professionals.

While Lightworks is geared towards experienced editors, it also offers basic video editing, such as trimming, cutting, and 4K video conversion (depending on the version), with a simpler interface than competitors like Adobe Premiere Pro. If you’re making the leap from iMovie, however, you may still struggle with Lightworks’ learning curve.

Key features:

• Award-winning editor with a mix of basic and advanced features
• Supports up to 4K video editing
• Cross-platform with support for fast GPU video rendering

A good and free Movie Maker alternative for Mac and Macbook users is OpenShot. This open-source tool offers many of the features that you’ll expect for basic video projects, with an easy-to-use, customizable interface that allows you to combine text, video clips, and photos together into simple and appealing videos.

It also supports some advanced features, such as color filters, transition effects, 3D animations, and chroma key compositing, as well as tools for exporting to DVD or online video sites. Don’t expect to use OpenShot for anything more advanced, however, as OpenShot is really aimed at the beginner market.

Key features:

• Simple video editing tool with cross-platform support
• Includes some special effects and filters

DaVinci Resolve is an award-winning video editing tool with a feature set to match. It supports 8K video editing, a wide bank of special effects, built-in audio processing, and more. Thanks to HDR support in the DaVinci Resolve’s paid full version, you can tweak your videos to look their best, along with additional color, contrast, and stabilization tools.

Most of DaVinci Resolve’s features are available totally for free, too, with the paid-for option unlocking some additional effects, filters, and audio plugins. While it offers an impressive number of features, DaVinci Resolve isn’t the easiest editor out there, and you may find that Movavi Video Editor is the better (and quicker) option.

Key features:

• Support for up to 8K video editing
• Impressive number of effects and features
• Built-in collaborative features for team working

Windows Movie Maker is a basic video editor, so if you’re looking for a like-for-like replacement on Mac, VideoPad is a possible option. It’s basic, with only two export formats supported (AVI and WMV), but it does offer support for 4K videos, as well as tools for exporting to DVD and YouTube.

VideoPad isn’t made for professionals, but that’s the point – it’s a Windows Movie Maker clone offering similar features, such as the ability to cut and trim video clips, add external audio tracks, and more. Some of these features are only available in the paid version, however, with a high cost (and fewer features) compared to others.

Key features:

• Windows Movie Maker clone for Mac users
• Offers basic tools for video editing

The classic media player for Mac users, QuickTime Player is well known for media playback, but it has one or two editing tools under its sleeve that you might not be aware of. While QuickTime Player was available on Windows, this is no longer supported by Apple, leaving only the Mac player in regular development.

It isn’t a Windows Movie Maker replacement per se, but if you’re looking to quickly export a video to a new format or resolution, QuickTime Player can complete it in seconds. You can also trim, split, or combine videos in QuickTime Player directly, but if you’re looking for a fully-fledged editor, this really isn’t the tool for you.

Key features:

• Built-in Mac video player with basic editing tools
• Free-to-use and installed on all Macs by default

As basic Windows Movie Maker clones go, Shotcut is a strong alternative to the original. It supports almost all known video and audio formats, offers numerous audio mixing tools and filters, supports basic and advanced video effects (including transitions, chroma key compositing, video stabilization, and more), and supports direct input from external hardware sources such as cameras and capture cards.

You can export up to 4K videos in Shotcut, too, and it’s totally free for Mac users to try, with cross-platform support for Microsoft Windows and Linux users. The interface is a little advanced to learn and navigate, but it isn’t in the same league of difficulty as DaVinci Resolve and other professional tools.

Key features:

• Free, open-source video editing tool with basic and advanced video and audio editing
• Supports third-party video and audio capture with external hardware