- BootCamp is a better choice over Parallels for video editing because it runs Windows in a native environment having access to the computer's full resources. BootCamp is free and comes with OS X. I have Windows on a separate internal HDD, I have the older Mac Pro with four internal HDD's.
- Then export a traditional video or photo you can edit and share. Export.mp4 files to edit and share. Export both spherical and traditional.mp4 files that are compatible with other editing software.
Are you curious about what the options are for GoPro software? If you shot some killer footage on your GoPro, and now you want to edit your clips into a fun to watch videos, you are in the right place.
The Best Video Editing Software for 2021. Whether you're a weekend GoPro shooter or a full-time video professional, you need editing software that's powerful and easy to use.
There are numerous options for GoPro software available for your Mac, PC, and even tablet and smartphone. If you’re brand new to editing GoPro videos, I highly recommend you check out my recommendations for GoPro Editing software for Beginners. (Note: The links in this post are affiliate links, and we will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking our links. Read my disclosure policy here.)
Choosing GoPro Software
For new GoPro owners, you may wish to stick with GoPro Software that was created by and is supported by GoPro. This includes Quik for Desktop and GoPro Studio. As you’ll read below, these may not turn out to be the very best options for you, but I still think it’s a good idea to download them and see if you can accomplish you GoPro video editing goals with them. After all, they are free! When you download Quik for desktop (which is available for Mac and PC), the software will also include the GoPro Studio Program. As of August 2017, GoPro Studio is no longer included as a download with Quik, and it’s no longer available to download.
GoPro Studio (No Longer Available)
(Mac & PC) free – I used to recommend GoPro Studio to all new GoPro users since it was created by GoPro and is designed with a beginner user in mind. However, this GoPro software has become increasingly buggy, especially for PC and Windows users. GoPro really wants their customers to be able to throw together their footage and create stunning videos without much fuss, but unfortunately, it often is not that simple when you’re using GoPro Studio. Click here for an in-depth guide to getting started with GoPro Studio. To download GoPro Studio, you must download GoPro’s Quik app.
Quik™ for Desktop
(Mac & PC) free – Quik™ was released in 2016 as a way for GoPro customers to organize and edit GoPro videos with ease. This program essentially does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to editing, but there are pros and cons of using Quik™ (and here’s a follow-up). It’s very basic in terms of functions and often leaves users wanting more control over the length of their video and options for adding non-GoPro-provided music.
Adobe Premiere Elements
(Mac & PC) $99.99 – From the world class graphics editing company, Adobe, you can expect Adobe Premiere Elements to be a top of the line, home movie editing package. I like to recommend Premiere Elements because it essentially has “training wheels,” making it an easy program to learn for a complete beginner, but is also packed with more advanced editing features you can pick up on over time. Premiere Elements offers “automated options, special effects, and in-app guidance to turn your video clips into entertaining movies that will wow family and friends.”
More about Premiere Elements
iMovie
(Mac) free or $15 – iMovie is a fun piece of video editing software. I like to recommend iMovie to beginner home movie hobbyists. It’s very beginner-friendly, and even pros use it to throw movies together quickly and easily. It’s not designed specially as GoPro software, but it works extremely well. The workflow and layout is very similar to higher end editors, so it’s a good gateway, so to speak. If you can get the hang of iMovie, then you’re well on your way to top notch home movies.
More about iMovie
VSDC
(PC) free – VSDC is a free video editor for PC users, and it promises to “Cut, merge video files, apply visual and audio effects, use filtration and image correction, make slideshows and add an appropriate soundtrack.” Download VSDC here. I created a 3-part Tutorial series on getting started with VSDC which you should check out!
Adobe Premiere Pro
(Mac & PC) starting at $19.99/month – As part of the Adobe Creative Cloud platform, Adobe Premiere Pro only comes through the monthly plan. This program is not for everybody, but it is my favorite editing platform by far. If you’re looking for a professional-grade video editing software, I recommend Premiere Pro. Click here for a free guide on editing with Premiere Pro.
Filmora
(Mac & PC) $30 – Wondershare Filmora is a fun piece of software that’s available for Mac and PC, and it’s very affordable. It’s perfect for any level of editing, especially beginners, and it has a bunch of really neat features and effects and stuff that are perfect for editing GoPro videos and family movies. Filmora recently released some updates making it a great platform for editing action videos. Though not strictly a GoPro software update, it’s very slick! Click here for my video on getting started with Filmora.
Video Editing Software For Mac
Final Cut Pro
(Mac) $299 – Final Cut Pro (owned by Apple) is the cool kids video editing software, and definitely suits any hard core video editor. If that’s you, do give it a try. Buy it here.
Cyberlink PowerDirector
(PC) $70 – PowerDirector makes it quick & easy to create videos in minutes, and even comes with it’s own effects, templates, and tutorials.
Vegas Movie Studio & Vegas Pro
(PC) price varies – Formerly under the Sony umbrella, the Vegas Creative Software suite is now under the Magix brand. A number of video editors are available, but I have not tested any of them at this point.
HitFilm Express
(Mac and PC) free – download here
DaVinci Resolve
(Mac and PC) free – download here
Have you heard of my 30 Days of GoPro Series? I created it for GoPro newbies when the Hero5 Black came out, and it’s way better than a user manual! There is a video for nearly any subject, and this week the topic is GoPro editing software! So what I’m talking about is GoPro editing software for your laptop or desktop computer. In a previous post, I gave you some recommendations for computers for video editing, and I want to be SUPER clear… we ARE talking about COMPUTERS… not mobile phones or tablets. I prefer and strongly advise you to use a computer and some real software, especially if you’re new to editing GoPro videos.
(The links in this post are affiliate links, and we will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking our links. Read my disclosure policy here.)
I do have a page on my site dedicated to GoPro Software, where I lay out (almost) all video software options, but in this post, I want to talk about GoPro editing software for beginners. So, let’s talk about your gopro editing software options!
GoPro Editing
So first of all, GoPro has their own editing software, which you may have heard of, called Quik for Desktop. There is a Quik app for editing on your phone, and there’s a Quik app for Mac and PC as well. I went over the Quik app back in video #25 of this GoPro Series, but you should know that Quik is totally free and it’s kind of an all-in-one “hub” where you can import footage from your GoPro to your computer, update your camera’s firmware, and you can do some other stuff, including a little bit of editing… It’s very, very limited in it’s video editing capabilities.
I also need to mention that GoPro also has (or used to have) a video editing platform called GoPro Studio, but as of August 2017, they have discontinued making this software available for download. If you already have it, it should still work fine–or, at least, it should work as it worked before (if you’ve used GoPro Studio and had it not work properly, then you know what I mean).
You probably won’t get software updates or anything like that, so if it works for you–great–go ahead and use it, but if it’s not working for you, then let’s explore what to use instead!
There are some free options out there for both Mac and PC users, So let’s start with free.
Free GoPro Editing Software
If you’re on a Mac, you should have iMovie, and iMovie is actually a great editing platform for beginners and even beyond beginner. I have a Crash Course called Strikingly Simple Edits for iMovie, and near the end of this post, you’ll find a coupon code to save a few bucks at check out. If you’re struggling to get to know iMovie, then this crash course is for you!!
If you’re on a PC, you can download free editor called VSDC. I installed this on my PC and played with it a little and it’s a little confusing at first, but it’s a good place to start if you’re looking for free and you’re on a PC. Recently, I published a 3-part Tutorial series on getting started with VSDC which you should check out!
GoPro Editing Software Under $100
Moving on to platforms that cost less than $100, I wrote a post about this a while ago, but it’s good to keep things up to date!
Premiere Elements is by far my favorite to recommend for beginners because it’s available for Mac and PC, and it gives you kind of a simpler editing mode which is perfect for newbies, and a more advanced mode which is great when you’re ready to step up your editing game. Premiere Elements is made by Adobe, the same company that makes Premiere Pro, which is what I usually edit my videos with. Premiere Elements usually runs around $60-70. I also have a Premiere Elements Crash Course that has become a fan favorite.
Filmora from Wondershare is also a popular choice for beginners. Also available for Mac and PC, it runs about $60 usually and it has lots of filters, transitions, and graphic effects that I don’t use a lot of in my videos. Some people really love Filmora, and others don’t love it, so it’s something you’d need to try for yourself before jumping in to make the purchase.
Some other editors that are PC-only include PowerDirector, Pinnacle Studio, Magix, and Vegas (which used to be a Sony platform, but it’s now owned by Magix).
Gopro Best Video Editing Software For Mac Windows 10
For more advanced editing, like I said Premiere Pro is my favorite, and if you’re a Mac user, you also have Final Cut Pro as an option. Final Cut runs around $300 and Premiere Pro, available for Mac and PC, is subscription based at around $20 a month as part of Adobe Creative Cloud. Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro are considered more advanced software and can be daunting if you’re completely new to video editing, but if creating videos is one of your favorite hobbies, and you enjoy editing, then you will probably enjoy these more advanced programs.
I mentioned already that I have two crash courses for anyone who needs a little hand-holding when it comes to learning to use iMovie or Premiere Elements. You can use coupon code GOPROSERIES at checkout to save a few bucks when you enroll!
Here is a complete rundown with link to GoPro Editing software options for you!
- Apple iMovie (Mac only): https://vidpromom.com/imovie
- VSDC (PC only): https://vidpromom.com/vsdc
- Premiere Elements (Mac and PC): http://amzn.to/2xsVfqA
- PowerDirector (PC only): https://vidpromom.com/powerdirector
- Vegas Movie Studio (PC only): https://vidpromom.com/vegasmoviesstudio
- Magix Movie Studio (PC only): https://vidpromom.com/magixmovieedit
- Vegas Pro Edit (PC only): https://vidpromom.com/vegasproedit
- Apple Final Cut Pro (Mac only): https://vidpromom.com/finalcutpro
- Premiere Pro (Mac or PC): http://amzn.to/2yvfZwF
- Pinnacle Studio (PC only): http://amzn.to/2ho6F5R
- Wondershare Filmora (Mac or PC): https://vidpromom.com/filmora
The best thing you can do for yourself with GoPro editing is to TRY DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOFTWARE! Don’t take my word for what I like or don’t like. Most of these platforms have free trials, so use them!