The 7 Best iMovie Alternatives For Windows

Apple’s iMovie needs no introduction. It is one such video editing software that Apple owners flaunt, and Android/ Windows owners crib about.

To sum up iMovie in a few words, it is a video editing software that lets you create stunning clips on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac devices.

You can choose your video clips, add titles, background audio, and integrate effects to give a professional feel to your video clips.

It even supports 4K editing and your projects get automatically synced on iCloud. This allows you to switch between your Apple devices without the need to re-import your project files.

If there’s no fuss with iMovie, why are we looking for an iMovie alternative for Windows?

Well, that’s due to its compatibility-related restrictions. iMovie has rigid platform restrictions due to its strict adherence to monolithic Kernel, which is satisfied by Mac or iOS Operating Systems.

If you start working on your content on an Apple device, and later on want to sign-in to your personal Windows workspace, to continue with your editing tasks, then you might not be able to go ahead with it.

So, if you don’t want any platform restrictions and want to work across devices, you should look out for other iMovie alternatives.

In this post, we would talk about iMovie, its close competitors, and other iMovie equivalents for Windows.

Can You Get an iMovie on a Windows Computer?

iMovie is the proprietary of Apple. It only works on iOS and macOS.

Here are the compatibility and system requirements for iMovie.

iMovie is only available in Apple app stores and can’t be downloaded or used on the Windows platform.

So to edit your travel videos and clips and turn them into a travelogue on a Windows computer, you have to look out for other iMovie equivalents for Windows.

Is iMovie Free?

Yes, iMovie is free on iOS and macOS users. You can download it from their respective app stores and use it for free.

Just make sure that your Apple device is compatible with its system requirements and has ample system space and iCloud storage. If you sync your project on iCloud, then you can seamlessly work on your video editing projects across all your Apple devices.

If you are a professional or an advanced video editor working on macOS, then you should opt for Final Cut Pro.

It provides you a greater degree of freedom and even more advanced tools than iMovie to edit and transform minute details of your videos.

However, if you have a Windows machine none of the advantages of iMovie makes any difference.

So, in the following sections, we would look into the 7 best iMovie alternatives for Windows.

Let’s get started.

Best iMovie Alternatives for Windows

1. Movavi Video Suite

Movavi Video Suite 2021 is a great alternative to iMovie. You can use Movavi video editor not only to edit audio and video content but also to capture and record screens, convert media, and create slideshows.

It also lets you export your edited content and burn it into DVD, Blu-Ray, or CDs. Depending on your subscription, you can even edit images with Movavi.

Highlighted Features

• Cool Effects and Transitions – When you are looking for different stickers, transitions, and titles, getting ample options won’t be a problem for you. Movavi Video Suite 2021 has a lot of different handcrafted designs and video effects that you can add to your video content.
  
• Convert Media Files – With movavi video editor, you can convert among over 180 different formats. You can also compress media or change the quality of the media file to be converted and add subtitles to it. It also allows bulk conversion and you can edit them without being restricted to a handful of supported file formats. Very useful for professional video editors.
  
• Screen Recorder -With movavi screen recorder you can record your screen activities in high quality. This feature is especially handy while recording video calls or while making tutorials or demo presentations. During post-processing, you can add voice-overs to your screen recording and mouse cursor effects to highlight important points.
  
• Slideshow Maker – Using Movavi’s slideshow maker, you can convert your old media files into slideshows. After converting your media files from the original format, you can get snippets or footages, and superimpose audio clips. Then you stitch all the slides together using different transition effects. I must say, that’s a pretty decent way of preserving old memories.

Pricing

To get started, you can download Movavi and check it out on a trial basis for 7 days. During this period, all of Movavi Video Suite features would be available to you, but the edited video output would have a trial watermark added.

Also, the outputs of the audio edits during the trial version would have half of the original audio. Screen capture time is also limited to 5 minutes during trial usage.

For a single Windows machine, an annual subscription to Video Suite would cost you $79.95.

While a perpetual or lifetime license can be availed for $99.95. The lifetime purchase also comes with a Picverse Photo Editor, which lets you edit, retouch and restore images.

If you are want to use the Movavi Video Suite for business purposes, you can get a lifetime license for $199.95 for a single Windows PC.

Download Link – You can check out more details about Movavi and can download it here.

2. VideoPad Video Editor

If I had to go for a video editor that does a handful of editing tasks, but near perfect, then VideoPad Video Editor would be my choice.

Highlighted Features

• One Of the Fastest Video Processors – VideoPad boasts of being one of the fastest video editors in the market. It has a simple user interface and doesn’t require a lot of time to get used to.
• Digital Audio Tools – The audio editing tools of VideoPad are quite good. You can edit and superimpose your video’s audio with custom audio clips.
• 3D and 360 Video Editing Capability – You can use VideoPad to edit 3D and 360 videos. That means you can directly import your 360 video recording from GoPro and edit it without the need for other slicing software. This feature can prove to be immensely helpful while creating content for CR headsets and 360 videos for YouTube.
• In-built Disc Burning Capability – VideoPad comes with an inherent capability of burning your final edited clips into CD, DVD, or Blu-ray.

Pricing

If you are using VideoPad for non-commercial purposes, you can download and use it for free. For commercial usage, you can get it for a one-time payment of $69.95.

Download Link – Need more details before downloading VideoPad? Click here for more details.

3. Adobe Premiere Pro

If you are looking for serious video editing and want all advanced editing features at your disposal, Adobe Premiere Pro is the tool for you.

Its features aren’t merely restricted to adding captions and making transition videos. It is what professional filmmakers and content creators use.

With Premiere Pro, you can use green-screen effects, add after-effects and make edits on a frame-by-frame basis. With Adobe Premiere Pro you get a degree of freedom that lets you create effects of your own.

If you are seriously looking for an iMovie alternative for Windows 10, Premier Pro is definitely worth a try.

Highlighted Features

• Intelligent Reframing – Adobe Premiere Pro automatically identifies the pivotal point in your video clip where the action is prominent and allows you to reframe your video clips into different aspect ratios. This feature can save you a lot of time especially when you are working on high-motion video capture.

• Seamless integration – Premiere Pro works seamlessly with other editing tools. Be it Adobe Photoshop, After Effects, or other third-party extensions, your edits can be imported and re-exported into Premiere Pro with ease.

• Auto-detect edit points – Using scene detection, you can automatically detect edit points in your video clip. Now, you need not manually go through your video footages to find the cut points.

• Professional audio/ video mixing – While using Adobe Premiere Pro you can access high-quality royalty-free stock audio, video, and other graphic templates while you are still working on your workflow. You can search audio based on genre, duration, tempo or vocals, and add it to your video.

Pricing 

Adobe provides a 30 day trial for Premiere Pro. After that, you can either go for a monthly subscription of $31.49, or an annual subscription (paid monthly) for $20.99.

If you are a professional video editor and want to use Adobe Premiere Pro for the long haul, you can go for a prepaid annual plan of $239.88.

Download link – If you are still not convinced, you can check out Adobe Premiere Pro for yourself, here.

4. Pinnacle Studio

If you want advanced editing but don’t want to get tied down by monthly or annual subscription charges, then Pinnacle Studio is the right option for you.

It is truly a great iMovie alternative for Windows. It lets you stabilize your video clips, can balance color, and allows motion tracking. It comes with a bunch of editing tools.

With the latest edition of Pinnacle studio, you also do 360-degree video editing for your Fisheye video clips.

Highlighted Features

• Video Masking – Video masking allows you to blur out sensitive information and focus on important characters on the screen. Along with blurring, video masking can be used to clone objects without compromising with frame degradation. You can also combine different elements from different videos and stabilize your final output.

• Motion-tracking – Pinnacle Studio’s motion tracking automatically recognizes the pivotal element in motion and helps you track it on a frame-by-frame basis. You can even pan and zoom and induce background blur to emphasize certain elements.

• Screen recording and multi-camera editing – This feature can come in handy when you are recording reaction videos or recording online tutorials. Pinnacle Studio lets you record your screen actions, system audio, and webcam content. During post-processing, you can edit and customize your audio, screen recording, and webcam content according to your requirement. 

Pricing 

You can get Pinnacle Studio for a one-time payment. There’s no subscription involved, which means no recurring expenses.

Depending on your needs you can select between Pinnacle Studio, which is a basic version, Studio Plus, and Studio Ultimate.

Their price varies from $59.95 for the basic version to $129.95 for the Studio Ultimate suite. Unfortunately, they don’t have a trial version available, but they do offer a 30-day money-back guarantee for all of their products.

Download link – Click here to download or know more about Pinnacle Studio.

5. Corel VideoStudio

Corel VideoStudio is a great alternative to iMovie. Even though it has almost every professional editing feature, using the VideoStudio isn’t that complicated.

It has a lot of pre-configured editing templates which you can use for basic editing, while you can use advanced motion-tracking, video blurring, and masking features for serious projects. It has good after-sales support and has detailed tutorials to get you started.

Highlighted Features 

• Instant templates – Instant templates can save you a lot of time. Corel VideoStudio has a lot of predefined templates and filters which you can instantly apply to your video clips. Also, you can create your custom video edit preset and save it as a template to be used for future video edits. It is especially helpful when you are using your signature color grading for your videos.

• Face Tracking stickers – Face Tracking stickers are a huge hit among social media content creators. VideoStudio’s face-tracking feature can track faces on a frame-by-frame basis and lets you attach stickers of your choice. How cool is that!

• Video stabilization – With the help of the enhanced proDAD Mercalli video stabilization tool, you can stabilize your shaky or blurred edges in your videos. The video stabilization works well with high frame-rate content recorded from Hero GoPro or similar action cameras. 

Pricing

You can buy Corel VideoStudio Pro 2021 for $79.99 and upgrade to VideoStudio Ultimate 2021 for $99.99.

Download link ( or link to the site) – Click here to visit Corel VideoStudio.

6. Wondershare DemoCreator

Even though Wondershare DemoCreator is primarily a screen recording tool, it can be used as an iMovie alternative for Windows. It lets you record your screen action, system audio, and webcam content. Its inbuilt editor is lightweight and can be used for decent video editing too. For editing videos/ audio, you can import your video into your project and start editing. 

Highlighted Features

• On-Screen drawing tools – While other software lets you record your activities on screen, Wondershare DemoCreator gives you the option to use drawing tools during recording. The drawing tools act as pointers and help you save a lot of editing time.

• Gameplay recording mode – Wondershare DemoCreator automatically recognizes games running in the background and lets you record your gameplay without compromising with your gaming experience. You can use the hot-keys or custom shortcuts to start, stop or pause the recording at any point.

Pricing

DemoCreator’s monthly plan will cost you $7.99 per month or $32.99 (ongoing discount of 20%) for an annual plan. You can also go for a perpetual plan for $59.99 for a single Windows machine.  

Download link – Check out their website to know more about DemoCreator and download a trial copy of the software.

7. Adobe Premiere Rush

As the name suggests, Adobe Premiere Rush lets your record and edit your video content on the move. It is built for mobile devices, but you can use it on your Windows desktop too for detailed editing.

With Adobe Rush you can create engaging videos and social media posts within a matter of minutes. 

Highlighted Features

• Cloud backup – Adobe Premiere Rush wouldn’t have been so popular without its cloud backup. Thanks to auto-syncing, all your edits and recording on different mobile devices get automatically backed up on the cloud. So when you start editing your content on your Windows machine, you need not import or transfer your files. In short, it saves you a lot of project importing/ setup time.
• Cool transitions and effects – You can select from several different transition effects and apply them to your videos. You can even pan and zoom your content as per the target social platform.

Pricing

You can download Adobe Premiere Rush for free for a trial period of 30 days and then you can subscribe to a monthly plan for $9.99 and an annual prepaid plan for $119.88.

Download Link – Check out more about Adobe Premiere Rush here.

Which Is Better, iMovie or KineMaster?

If you are searching for a decent alternative to iMovie for PC, you should try out KineMaster. KineMaster is a video editing app built for mobile devices, i.e. Android and iOS.

But you can still use KineMaster as a free iMovie alternative for Windows. To use KineMaster on windows you would need to install an Android Emulator.

Installing KineMaster on Windows PC

To edit videos using KineMaster on your Windows machine, download an Android emulator like BlueStacks, Or You can even visit the chrome extension from your chrome browser and install a light-weight Android emulator.

Once you have installed the emulator, you can log into your Google Play account and install KineMaster. Now you can start using KineMaster on your Windows PC.

Is KineMaster an iMovie equivalent for Windows?

Using KineMaster on an Android emulator, you can pretty much edit all types of video content. You can layer different videos, adjust color, blend different modes, control speed, and decide keyframe animation.

Just like iMovie, you can even add voice-overs and background scores to your video clip, and export it in the format of your choice. Even advanced features like frame correction and green-screen effects can be achieved using KineMaster.

Even though KineMaster is a great alternative, when you are unable to download iMovie for Windows, it does add a watermark to the exported video. Also, it lacks the professional finish that iMovie and other paid video editors possess.

That’s not all, you always have to rely on an Android emulator to use it on your Windows machine. This extra interface can increase complexity and hamper Kinemaster’s overall editing performance.

So, even though there are platform restrictions related to iMovie, I’d personally recommend using iMovie over Kinemaster.

If your editing rig is dominantly Mac or iOS, choosing iMovie would be the most practical move. But for Windows users, I’d recommend using Adobe Premiere Pro for professional use and VideoPad for personal use, anytime over Kinemaster.

Bottom Line

The bottom line is, there is a lot of video editing software similar to iMovie. You just need to select the one that best suits your needs. If you are looking for basic non-commercial video editing, VideoPad would be the right option for you.

But when things turn serious, you can always resort to Adobe Premiere Pro for adding that much-needed professional touch.

The intended platform for your video can also dictate the choice of the video editor. For social media content creators who want to share quality content often, Adobe Premiere Rush would be the right candidate for them.

If you are thinking of using your editor for an extended period and want all the latest updates handy, you should opt for a subscription payment model. Or else to save on your expenses a one-time licensed editor would do just fine.

The choice is yours.