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OpenShot Review

Worth it

Should I use OpenShot?

OpenShot Video Editor - openshot.org

· 3 days ago

Buy if you're a beginner or casual creator who wants a genuinely free, simple editor. Skip it for professional, long-form, or stability-critical work — get Shotcut or a paid editor instead.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~50 public sources: reviews, Reddit threads, comparison sites, and 2026 security advisories

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

OpenShot Video Editor

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
OpenShot Cloud APIPaid (AWS Marketplace)

Best for

  • Beginners and first-time editors
  • Casual home and social video projects
  • Linux and open-source users
  • Zero-budget creators and classrooms

Not for

  • Professional editors needing depth and reliability
  • Long or high-resolution projects where crashes cost hours
  • Teams needing vendor support or SLAs
  • Anyone who outgrows basic timelines quickly

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Stability and crash complaints recur; save work often and test before big projects.

medium

Support is community forums and Reddit only; no SLAs or guaranteed response times.

low

Desktop editor is free; OpenShot Cloud API on AWS Marketplace is a separate paid product.

low

Users have criticized its privacy policy as thin; check data practices before installing.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Completely free, open source; no subscriptions or watermarks
  • Beginner-friendly; users praise the clean, simple interface
  • Cross-platform: Windows, macOS, Linux, plus Microsoft Store
  • Actively developed: v3.0 shipped 1,000+ fixes; v4.0 adds recording and color
  • Handles basic editing well enough for tutorials and simple projects

Cons

  • Less feature-rich than paid rivals like Filmora and Descript
  • Stability complaints recur across user reviews
  • Some long-time users abandoned it out of frustration
  • Scathing reviews appear on some comparison sites

Sources & method

- 10 sources - No breaches found; 2026 distro advisories show high-severity library bugs patched; app itself widely regarded as safe to install.

official x2review x7security x1
  • High-severity bugs in libopenshot libraries, Fedora 45 advisories (Sept 2026) fixed high-severity issues in OpenShot's libopenshot and libopenshot-audio libraries.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 10

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Fully free and open source, no paywalls
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Repeatedly called friendliest beginner editor
  • Feature depth: 2/5. Less feature-rich than paid rivals
  • Support quality: 2/5. Community forums and Reddit only
  • Security posture: 3/5. Library bugs patched; no known breaches
  • $0 Price Free, open-source desktop editor
  • 16 Trustpilot reviews Small review base; mixed sentiment
  • 4.0 Latest version Released Aug 2026 with recording and color tools
  • 2008 Founded By Jonathan Thomas; OpenShot Studios, LLC

Pricing

OpenShot Video Editor

$0

  • Free, open-source desktop app
  • Windows, macOS, Linux

OpenShot Cloud API

Paid (AWS Marketplace)

  • Server-side video rendering API
  • Separate commercial product

Security

No breaches found; 2026 distro advisories show high-severity library bugs patched; app itself widely regarded as safe to install.

  • High-severity bugs in libopenshot librariesFedora 45 advisories (Sept 2026) fixed high-severity issues in OpenShot's libopenshot and libopenshot-audio libraries.⁸

What users say

Users love that it's free and simple for beginners, but many complain about stability, performance, and missing pro features.

“Sorry, but I'm Never Using This Again”
Reddit, r/OpenShot
“Is OpenShot good enough for making Udemy tutorials?”
Reddit, r/OpenShot

Alternatives

Compare OpenShot with each alternative.

  • Shotcut

    Free, open-source rival with deeper features; most-recommended alternative

  • VSDC

    Powerful free Windows editor cited as a stronger alternative

  • Filmora

    Paid but more polished and feature-rich

    OpenShot vs Filmora

  • Descript

    AI-driven editing for talking-head and podcast video

Full analysis

Based on ~50 public sources: reviews, Reddit threads, comparison sites, and 2026 security advisories

Free, beginner-friendly open-source video editor. Great for simple edits; stability complaints push pros toward Shotcut or paid tools.

Methodology

Based on ~50 public sources: reviews, Reddit threads, comparison sites, and 2026 security advisories

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. OpenShot Video Editor: Free, Simple, and Easy to Startimarly.com
    review
  2. OpenShot review — best for beginner free video editingtryslicemedia.com
    review
  3. OpenShot Video Editor Reviews, Pros and Cons — Software Advicesoftwareadvice.com
    review
  4. OpenShot Video Editor Reviews — G2g2.com
    review
  5. Sorry, but I'm Never Using This Again — Redditreddit.com
    review
  6. Compare OpenShot Video Editor vs Filmora — Capterracapterra.com
    review
  7. OpenShot 4.0 release blogopenshot.org
    official
  8. Fedora 45 libopenshot-audio High Severity Security Bugs Fix Advisorylinuxsecurity.com
    security
  9. OpenShot Video Editor Reviews — Trustpilottrustpilot.com
    review
  10. OpenShot on Microsoft Storeapps.microsoft.com
    official

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